Technology is now
growing at such a rapid speed that yearly estimates of trends can seem
out-of-date before they even go live as a published blog post or article. As
technology evolves, it facilitates faster change and progress, causing an
acceleration of the rate of transformation, until sooner or later it will
become exponential.
Technology-oriented
professions don’t change at the same speed, but they do grow, and the experienced
IT professional recognizes that his or her role will not stay the same. And an
IT worker of the 21st century will continually be learning (out of necessity if
not desire).
What does this mean
for you? It means staying up-to-date with technology trends. And it means
looking into the future, to know which skills you’ll need to know and what
types of jobs you want to be qualified to do. Here are eight technology trends
you should watch-out for in 2020, and some of the jobs that will be created out
of these trends.
1. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
Artificial
Intelligence, or AI, has already received a lot of thrill in recent years, but
it continues to be a trend to watch because its effects on how we live, work
and play are only in the early stages. In addition, other branches of
Artificial Intelligence (AI) have evolved, as well as Machine Learning, which
we will go into below. AI refers to computers systems built to imitate human
intelligence and perform tasks such as recognition of images, speech or
patterns and decision making. AI can do these tasks faster and more precisely
than humans.
Nine out of Ten
Americans use AI
services in one form or another every day, including navigation apps,
smartphone, streaming services, personal assistants, ride-sharing apps, home
personal assistants, and smart home devices. With regards to consumer use, AI
is used to schedule trains, measure business risk, predict maintenance, and
improve energy efficiency, among many other money-saving everyday jobs.
AI is one part of
what we refer to generally as computerization, and computerization is a hot
topic because of potential job loss. Experts say computerization will eliminate 73 million
more jobs by 2030. However, computerization is creating jobs as well as jettisoning
them, especially in the field of AI: Experts foresee that jobs in AI will
number 23 million by 2020. Jobs will be created in development, programming,
testing, support and maintenance, to name a few. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
architect is one such job. Some say it will soon rival data
scientist in need for skilled professionals. To know more about potential jobs
in AI, read about building a
career in AI or why you should earn an AI
certification.
2. MACHINE LEARNING
Machine Learning is
a subcategory of Artificial Intelligence (AI). With Machine Learning, computers
are programmed to learn to do something they are not programmed to do: they
learn by discovering patterns and insights from data. In general, we have two
types of learning, supervised and unsupervised.
While Machine
Learning is a subcategory of AI, we also have subcategories within the sphere
of Machine Learning, including neural networks, natural language processing
(NLP), and deep learning. Each of these subcategories offers an opportunity for
specializing in a career arena that will only grow.
Machine Learning is
rapidly being deployed in all kinds of industries, bringing forth a huge demand
for experimented professionals. The Machine Learning market is estimated to
grow to $8.81 billion
by 2022. Machine Learning
applications are used for data analytics, data mining and pattern recognition.
On the consumer end, Machine Learning powers web search results, real-time ads
and network intrusion detection, to name only a few of the many tasks assigned
to it.
In addition to
completing numerous tasks on our behalf, it is creating jobs. Machine Learning
jobs rank among the top developing jobs
on LinkedIn, with almost 2,000 job listings posted. And these jobs pay well: In
2017, the median salary for a machine learning engineer was $106,225. Machine Learning
jobs include engineers, developers, researchers, and data scientists.
3. ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION OR RPA
Like AI and Machine
Learning, Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, is another technology that is
generating jobs. RPA is the use of software to automate business methods such
as interpreting applications, facilitating business transactions, dealing with
data, and even replying to emails. RPA automates repetitive tasks that people
used to do. These are not just the basic tasks of a low-paid worker: up to 45
percent of the undertakings we do can be automated, comprising the
work of financial managers, doctors and Chief Executive Officers.
Although Forrester
Research predicts RPA automation will impend the
livelihood of 230 million or more knowledge workers, or almost 9
percent of the global workforce, RPA is also creating new jobs while eliminating
existing jobs. McKinsey finds that less than 5
percent of businesses can be totally automated, but about 60
percent can be partially automated.
For you as an IT expert
looking to the future and trying to understand technology trends, RPA offers
plenty of career opportunities, including developer, project manager, business
analyst, solution architect and consultant. And these jobs pay well.
SimplyHired.com says the usual RPA
salary is $73,861, but that is the average compiled from salaries for junior-level
developers up to senior solution architects, with the top 10 percent earning
over $141,000 annually. So, if you’re keen on learning and pursuing a career in
RPA, the Introduction
to Robotic Process Automation (RPA) course should be the next step you
take to start a RPA career.
4. EDGE COMPUTING
Previously a
technology trend to watch, cloud computing has become mainstream, with key
players Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud controlling
the market. The use of cloud computing is still growing, as more and more
businesses migrate to a cloud solution. But it’s no longer the developing
technology.
As the quantity of
data we’re dealing with continues to increase, we’ve realized the limitations
of cloud computing in some situations. Edge computing is designed to help solve
some of those challenges as a way to bypass the inexpression caused by cloud
computing and getting data to a datacentre for processing. It can exist “on the
edge,” if you will, closer to where computing needs to happen. For this reason,
edge computing can be used to process time-sensitive data in inaccessible
locations with limited or no connectivity to a centralized location. In those
situations, edge computing can act like mini datacentres. Edge computing will
increase as use of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices intensifies. By 2022, the
global edge computing market is predicted to reach $6.72 billion. As with any rising
market, this will create various jobs, specifically for software engineers.
If you wish to get
a thorough understanding of what edges means , and how is it different from
cloud computing, read more here.
5. VIRTUAL REALITY AND AUGMENTED REALITY
Augment Reality (AR) enhances the environment
of the user while Virtual Reality (VR) immerses the user in an environment. Although
VR has primarily been used for gaming so far, it has also been used for training,
as with VirtualShip, a simulation
software used to train U.S. Navy, Army and Coast Guard ship captains. The
popular Pokemon Go is an example
of AR.
Both VR and AR have
gigantic potential in training, entertainment, marketing, education and even
rehabilitation after an injury. Either of them could be used to train doctors
to perform surgery, offer museum goers a deeper experience, enhance theme
parks, or even enhance marketing, as with this Pepsi Max bus
shelter.
There are major
contributors in the VR market, like Google, Samsung and Oculus, but plenty of start-ups
are forming and they will be hiring for their services with time. The demand
for specialists with VR and AR skills will only increase. Getting started in VR
doesn’t require a lot of specialized skill. Basic programming knowledge and a
forward-thinking mind set can land a job, although other employers will be looking
for optics as a skill-set and hardware engineers as well.
6. BLOCKCHAIN
Although most
people think of blockchain technology in connection to cryptocurrencies such as
Bitcoin, blockchain offers high security that is useful in many other ways. In
the simplest way, blockchain can be defined as data you can only add to, not
take away from or change. Hence the term “chain” because you’re making a chain
of data. Not being able to change the preceding blocks is what makes it so
secure. Furthermore, blockchains are consensus-driven, so no one entity can
take control of the data. With blockchain, you don’t need a trusted mediator to
oversee or authenticate transactions. You can refer this Blockchain
tutorial for a detailed and thorough understanding of the technology.
Several industries are involving
and applying blockchain, and as the use of blockchain technology increases, so
too does the demand for skilled professionals. In that regard, we are already
behind. According to Techcrunch.com, blockchain-related jobs are the second-fastest
growing category of jobs, with 14 job openings for every one blockchain developer.
A blockchain developer specializes in developing and executing architecture and
solutions using blockchain technology. The average yearly salary of a
blockchain developer is $130,000. If you are captivated by Blockchain and its
applications and want to make your career in this fast-growing industry, then
this is the right time to learn Blockchain and be ready
for an exciting future.
7. INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT)
Many businesses
are now being built with WiFi connectivity, meaning they can be connected to
the Internet. The Internet of Things is the future
and has already aided devices, home appliances, cars and much more to be
connected to and exchange data over the Internet. And we’re only in the early
stages of IoT: the number of IoT devices extended to 8.4 billion in 2017 is
estimated to reach 30 billion devices
by 2020.
As consumers, we’re
already using and benefitting from IoT. We can lock our doors remotely if we
forget to when we leave for work and preheat our ovens on our way home from
work, all while tracking our fitness on our Fitbits and welcoming a ride with
Lyft. But businesses also have much to
gain now and in the near future. The Internet of Things (IoT) facilitates
better safety, efficiency and decision making for businesses as data is
collected and analysed. It can allow analytical maintenance, speed up medical
care, improve customer service, and offer benefits we haven’t even imagined
yet.
However, despite
this boon in the expansion and adoption of IoT, specialists say not enough Information
Technology (IT) professionals are getting trained for Internet of Things (IoT)
jobs. An article at
ITProToday says we’ll need 200,000 more IT workers that aren’t yet in the pipeline,
and that a survey of engineers found 25.7 percent believe inadequate skill
seems to be the industry’s biggest hindrance to growth. For someone interested
in a career in IoT, that means easy entry into the field if you’re motivated, with a range
of options for getting started. Skills needed include IoT security,
cloud computing knowledge, data analytics, automation, understanding of embedded
systems, device knowledge, among others. After all, it’s the Internet
of Things, and those things are many and varied, meaning the skills needed
are as well.
8. CYBERSECURITY
Cybersecurity might
not seem like evolving technology, due to the fact that it has been around for
a while, but it is emerging just as other technologies are. That’s in part
because threats are constantly new. The malicious hackers who are trying to
illegally access data are not going to give up any time soon, and they will
continue to find ways to get through even the toughest security measures. It’s
also in part because new technology is being modified to enhance security. As
long as we have hackers, we will have cyber security as
an emerging technology because it will constantly evolve to defend
against those hackers.
As evidence of the
strong need for cybersecurity experts, the number of cybersecurity jobs is growing three
times faster than other tech jobs. However, we’re falling short when
it comes to filling those jobs. As a result, it’s expected that we will have 3.5 million
unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2021.
Many cyber security
jobs pay six-figure
incomes, and roles can range from ethical hacker to security engineer to Chief
Security Officer, offering a promising career path for someone who wants
to get into and stick
with this territory.
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