Walking through an art gallery days or weeks after an exhibit opening can be the perfect time to reconnect with the soul. The echoing halls will entice you into a space of visually attractive pieces hanging on white walls. You appreciate them, but you want to understand them better, so you look at each little title card placed right next to every work. On it is, of course, the title and sometimes a brief description or a poem to communicate better how each artist conceptualized their work.
You continue to look around in a blur until one artwork stops you in your tracks. You understand the language it speaks in its every colorful stroke. You didn’t have to read that white card beside it to know what the artist is trying to tell you and the other viewers. You stare at it some more before you feel that tug in your chest.
Immersing yourself in technology can be a similar experience. The automated things on screen can keep you using them for their appeal and convenience. However, there may come a time when you will seek that genuine connection from someone who understands your worries best. Engineers and Tech Professionals recognize what you need in this age of innovation.
But technology is growing too fast and slowly becoming more and more powerful. Gone are the days that IT and technology companies are the ones employing highly technical skills. Now, we have so much automation and this might be a problem with our professionals. Will the day come that we will no longer need them?
Human vs. AI: Is Automation an Advantage or a Disadvantage to Employees?
People think the future is caught in a web of monochromatic wires. There is talk among online forums and social networks that digitizing can be a sufficient replacement for hired human employees in the near future. Designers, artists, and even software engineers are among those who are anxious about this thought.
Automation through advanced software such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t necessarily bad. Instead, these powerful programs are tools that help ease the work of the tech professionals under your care. In fact, the two can be so good together that the average salaries for US engineers with machine learning expertise rose by 22 percent in 2019 and then by another 3.1 percent in 2020.¹
One of the possible advantages of having machine-related skills is that tech job qualifications can be met more conveniently. The disadvantage, however, is that since the job became easier, some employers might use this as an opportunity to lower their offered salaries for certain vacancies.
Despite all of these, humans are still the more advanced drivers on the innovative road. Tech professionals can make more sound judgements than an AI who can only process data based on how they were programmed. They are encapsulated within their walls that don’t recognize what it’s like to think out of the box.
Read back on more skill sets: In-Demand Technology Skill Sets for 2022
No Shortage: The Demand for Engineers and Tech Professionals
Not even the best employee is safe from losing their job, but they can always get back on their feet with the number of opportunities to welcome them. Here is why software engineers and other tech professionals shouldn’t doubt their relevance in their field.
Recovering from the 2022 Layoffs
In 2022, there was a threat in the industry among the biggest digital companies when over a thousand tech companies laid off 150,000 employees. You’ve surely seen on the news that Meta had let go of 11,000 employees while Twitter fired half of its previous team. Even Coinbase, a cryptocurrency firm, had to let go of 18 percent of its employees. The troubling detail is that most of these employees who lost their jobs were software developers. ²
Smaller businesses can help these now-available employees get back on their career path by hiring their already-proven expertise. This may now become a challenge to new graduates who would find themselves competing with the number of ex-Twitter or ex-Meta employees in the candidate network. There are now more talents to choose from, based on how much you are offering. Be sure to be quick, for more and more fields are wanting them.
The Increased Demand for Tech Experts
Hold on to your genius tech guy for there is still a growing demand for engineering and tech experts. Job postings in the tech field increased by 25 percent from January to October in 2022.
In fact, 52 percent of the top 50 employers in bigger need of tech talents are not even from the tech field. Some of these vacancies are for healthcare and finance. One of the causes of hiring is that every trade is working on advancing their online and mobile experiences for their consumers. ³
Healthcare organizations and hospitals began demanding tech-adaptive professionals for they help store patient data and develop advancements in hospital care such as through Telemedicine.
For companies that work offshore or remotely, their cybersecurity team or contract employees keep their access secure and smooth even as they work from different corners of the globe. This also helps them make sure that their operations are working properly and are recoverable in case of cyberattacks or the accidental clicks of an employee who easily gets lost around the work process.
Future-Relevant Skills for Ground-breaking Professionals
There are always new things to develop in industries to make work easier and more productive, but how can we all catch up?
With unpredictable inflation across the world and changes in lifestyles due to trends, people need to keep adjusting their routines. It can be exhausting without the help of someone more knowledgeable in an unfamiliar gear you are required to use.
Tech professionals, such as IT experts, need to come up with innovative and user-friendly solutions.⁴ Yes, people want the latest gadget, program, or mobile app, but only professionals that understand the frustration of not knowing where to sign up or how to log in can develop the most convenient solutions. Here are two important skills that will help anyone adapt to new inventions and processes.
Compassion in Providing Pioneering Solutions
Caring for others might be a skill set that’s challenging for some. Providing solutions to address the pains of another is important to lead in tech. Your great need to respond to situations and how fast you can creatively think of answers makes you more relevant.
Think of it this way–As a human, you can run through fire and hope to survive with whom you are saving, but the latest car invented would probably just drive through it and not know where to find them amidst the smoke, let alone how to hold their hand–and if their hand really needs holding.
This is where technology and professionals differ as technology will always have its limitations and will only decide based on data and existing information. Reacting on a whim based on the situation and consequence is something that our professionals have that sets them apart from the ever-growing technological progress around us.
Drive to Train Future Tech Leaders
With the continuous advancement of technology comes new hands to stir them. Training the next generation and starting with your new hire can benefit the industry. There will always be a new item to add to your qualification checklist.
Yet, there may come a time when you’ll have to go through hundreds of applicants, but no one seems to be familiar with this new thing you are wanting to hire for. Current employers and employees must be willing to mentor others to bridge that gap between a candidate and a new tech tool in order to competently fill any openings in their respective businesses.
EFFICIENTLY FILL THE TECH VACANCIES IN YOUR BUSINESS!
Your business deserves to be co-run by the best workers: human professionals. No advanced machinery can understand your visions and purpose better than someone with a heart and a mind that aligns with yours. Find people with open arms and welcome them to the bright future you seek.
Look no further help in recruiting your next big talent. Raso360 can provide you with personalized recruiting solutions and connect you with candidates who will be most proud to work with you. We offer Staff Leasing, Staff Augmentation, and Recruitment Process Outsourcing.
Let us know how we can help!
References
1 Tekla S. Perry. “AI and Machine Learning Salaries Drop But average U.S. tech salaries climbed nearly 7 percent in 2021”. https://spectrum.ieee.org/software-engineer-salary#toggle-gdpr . Published last February 3, 2022. Accessed last February 28, 2023.
2 Steve Taplin. “Why Software Talent Is Still in Demand Despite Tech Layoffs, Downturn and a Potential Recession”. https://www.entrepreneur.com/science-technology/why-software-talent-is-still-in-demand-despite-tech/442751 . Published last January 30, 2023. Accessed last February 28, 2023.
3 “Tech Job Postings Are Up 25% in 2022; Demand for Talent Remains High”. https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2022-12-13/tech-job-postings-are-up-25-in-2022-demand-for-talent-remains-high . Published December 13, 2022. Accessed last March 1, 2023.
4 Steve Taplin. “The Demand for IT Is Here to Stay”. https://www.entrepreneur.com/science-technology/the-demand-for-it-is-here-to-stay/420361 . Published March 29, 2022. Accessed last March 1, 2023.