CultusNowadays, it seems like a career gold is to be found – not in the hills, but in the valley – Silicon Valley, that is!! In our highly dynamic, globalized post-NAFTA economy, it seems that “traditional” IT jobs are not what they used to be. If corporations can outsource it overseas or automate it to a non-unionized robot, they will. No one knows what the future holds, but the general consensus holds that the most exciting, profitable and sustainable jobs in technology fall within three overarching domains. Here’s a quick look at what the best and the brightest minds at the crossroads of engineering and business should look forward to.
Tech consulting
It’s no secret that outside of the most giant corporations, employing a full-time floor of IT professionals just doesn’t make sense. Traditionally, specialized IT pros could expect to command dazzling salaries, but nowadays, in an era of fluid labor, corporations outsource traditional IT administration to third party consultants. That may mean anything from huge multi-national consultancy firms, to lone consultants who rent themselves out to local SMEs. As a result of this, tech nerds just getting into workforce should look to be consultants at data center capacity – to troubleshoot, manage and deploy case-by-case solutions for larger companies. Launching a career as an IT consulting, but a dead end job. IT administrators and similar support professionals can look forward to a long-term career, by beginning to work for big vendors or consultancies and then making a smooth transition (as needed) towards a multitude of clients.
Developing
There’s probably no clearer sea change in the IT industry, than the massive migration into developing, coding and programming jobs. Back in the old days, the main point of IT was simply managing and using both hardware and software. In the today’s cloud based era, consumers expect the online apps to work smoothly in a user friendly way that rarely needs tech support. To put it another way, you might say the job of tomorrow’s tech worker is to make tech workers less necessary! The chief area in which the shift in developing technology will play out is in the world of mobile applications – not just mobile web applications, but also more crucially, the expanding of native apps. In the past, the center of gravity of much of the tech industry was concentrated around people who supported and deployed, but in the imminent scene, those who actually get apps off the ground will garner more weight.
Project Manager
While we’ve already mentioned that most large corporations are likely to downsize traditional IT department, be sure that Project Managers will be alive and well in the industry within every level of business units and departments. Think of a Project Manager as a business analyst who when it comes to technology, helps leaders and managers make the most informed decisions. Of course, such professionals will need as much of a leg up in traditional business and communication, as in technology itself. In brief, Project Managers are an essential conduit between technology vendors and consultants. If you have a nose for business and your finger on the pulse of emerging, game-changing technologies, putting it on a Project Manager hat may be the perfect fit. If there’s a single master key to open the doors of the most promising tech jobs of tomorrow, then it is fluidity. It means that IT workers should not only have a bulging tool belt of traditional tech nuts and bolts and MBA savvy, but they should also be willing and able to mobilize on a number of fronts, physical and otherwise .
Camille McClane is a passionate freelance writer, whose main interests currently lies in the emerging technology, IT-related career fields, Cisco training and all things involving computer repairing. She resides in Southern California with her son and their dog, Bubba. She hopes the readers of Cultus are able to take away something from this article and would like to thank you for reading!