The information age is here and it is here to stay! Growing up today is a lot different from the ‘old days’ when a television was the only screen we saw. Today, kids grow up with multiple devices and it is unsurprising that many would want to make a career in computers.
Information Technology is a vast industry and an industry that evolves fast. Staying in touch with developments in it will make your kid better equipped to choose the right skills to invest his or her time in.
As unpredictable the evolution of information technology is, we have tried our best to identify some trends. Here are some skills a jobseeker must possess to make a mark in the industry in the years to come:
Computer Programming has become a very lucrative industry to be in and skilled developers get paid what they ask for! Higher level programming languages like Ruby, Java and Python are becoming more popular. It would be wise to invest time in getting a solid foundation in algorithms and learning these languages.
Our phones have become our constant companions, and there is no limit to the things we can accomplish using these small and smart devices. Mobile application developers skilled in Android, iOS and HTML5 are very much in demand now; skills in similar technologies are worth investing time in.
The number of devices a family uses has constantly been on the rise since internet happened. It will continue to remain so as we connect all the devices we use- refrigerators, televisions, and security systems to the web and to each other. ‘The internet of things’ is here to stay and same goes for people who develop their skills in this area.
More and more businesses and services are moving towards applications to connect with their audience. And, they want their users to have a seamless and intuitive experience while doing sophisticated actions on the applications. ‘User Experience Engineers’ who specialize in optimizing applications for the smoothest possible interaction with people will ever be high in demand as we move towards a world where there is no time to waste!
Huge amounts of data about businesses, their customers and their behaviour is being stored, managed and analyzed for making important business decisions. This is the age of ‘Big Data’ and people skilled in handling, mining and analyzing ‘Big data’ will continue to be in demand over the coming years. Learning the ins and outs of technologies like “Hadoop’ will help your kid break into this lucrative field.
More and more enterprises are adopting ‘cloud computing’ for storing, managing and processing their data. Engineers skilled in ‘Development Operations’ like deploying servers and software shall be much in demand in the years to come.
As everything about businesses move to the cloud, the security of valuable information has become a big concern for most enterprises. Network security professionals and computer forensics professionals will be sought after as the information age surges ahead.
In this age of digital and social media, the amount of content we consume on a daily basis has increased tenfold. Video editing, graphic editing, infographics and animation would be great skills for a kid with an artistic bent of mind to pursue.
Developing an analytical mind, quickly adapting to changing technologies and mastering them is key to success in an industry as rapidly changing as Information Technology is. A successful ‘techie’ has to become a learner for life and constantly update his or her skills to stay ahead of the curve.