The team needs more engineers and we need them today. We talk about the engineer shortage. But the problem is not what we think it is. We’ll explore how hiring for only CS degrees misses exceptional opportunities. Unconventional backgrounds breed great developers. Homogeneity boxes us in. Diverse teams are more productive, more profitable, and more excited about what they’re accomplishing. Diversity isn’t just demographics. It’s about benefitting from distinctly varied perspectives. Who better than the former philosopher, marine biologist, stage hand, or anthropologist? In this talk, we’ll walk through why it’s worth competing for them. Forget the rock star; hire the opera singer.