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Careers of the future: Technology jobs for professionals
Nothing is constant except change, and the same can be said about the job market. In preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it’s becoming essential for professionals – especially those in technology jobs – to equip themselves with the necessary skills that would help them stay competitive in the workplace.
A report by the World Economic Forum, Jobs of Tomorrow: Mapping Opportunity in the New Economy, shows that tech skills dominate many jobs of the future while digital skills will become increasingly critical to the world of work.
The WEF added that not every emerging job requires hard tech skills, but every emerging job will require basic tech skills such as digital literacy, web development, or graphic design.
| May 11 | 3 mins readConversely, three of the jobs in the report – cloud, engineering, and data clusters, which are also among the fastest-growing overall – require disruptive tech skills like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, or cloud computing.
“Because technologies like AI are so pervasive, many roles in areas like sales and marketing will require a basic understanding of AI,” it said, adding that these disruptive tech skills are in high demand across the board. Blockchain, cloud computing, analytical reasoning, and AI are among the most in-demand tech skills on LinkedIn.
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity — this means it’s crucial for technology professionals to continuously reskill and upskill themselves in preparation for the new world of work.
Rather than risk falling behind, the report presents technology professionals an opportunity to identify the key skills that they can benefit from in their careers.
Technology jobs for the future
The report outlines seven professional clusters – Care Economy; Data and AI; Engineering and Cloud Computing; Green Economy; People and Culture; Product Development; and Sales, Marketing, and Content – along with the top roles within those clusters.
Some of the emerging technology jobs under the data and AI cluster include AI Specialist, Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Big Data Developer, Data Analyst, Analytics Specialist, Data Consultant, Insights Analyst, Business Intelligence Developer, and Analytics Consultant.
To succeed in these roles, WEF has identified the top skills that will be important for those in these professions, which include Data Science, Data Storage Technologies, AI, and Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), to name a few.
Meanwhile, some of the large-scale emerging jobs under the Engineering and Cloud Computing cluster include Full Stack Engineer, Javascript Developer, Back End Developer, Cloud Engineer, among others. The top skills needed under this cluster include Development Tools and Human-Computer Interaction.
Based on the data collected, WEF notes that it’s important to think creatively about ways to fill these emerging skills and roles to prevent these gaps from intensifying in the future.
Professionals can take it upon themselves to ensure they remain relevant and future-proof their careers by upskilling. There is a myriad of programmes for current tech professionals to embark on that will equip them with the tools to stay relevant or transition into a management position. These include masters and PhD programmes, postgraduate diplomas or certificates in addition to online courses.
For instance, you can pursue a master’s in data science at traditional brick and mortar institutions such as RMIT in Australia, or even via online platforms such as Coursera from some of the top institutions in the world. The University of London offers a postgraduate diploma in data science and AI.
There are also programmes that fuse management skills with technology, such as an MBA with digital business for professionals who want to broaden their skillset beyond technology.
With these insights at hand, professionals can work their way towards ensuring they remain gainfully employed and fulfilled in their respective careers.
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