“Every business is a digital business” – we have all heard this statement. And it’s true. Tech plays a key part in the functioning of several businesses. As per a McKinsey report, Covid pandemic has advanced pace of digitization by several years. Given these shifts, one can only imagine the opportunities available for tech professionals now and in the near future. While tech jobs have always enjoyed a certain level of glamour given the high pay, lavish offices, and a chance to do cutting edge work, anyone who is considering a long-term career in the field must be aware of key trends associated with this sector. Here are some things to keep in mind if you want to grow in this field.

Keep learning

All technology becomes obsolete, and the pace of obsoletion has grown faster in the last few years. Changes across tech areas, whether it is hardware, software, or business models, have been occurring at breakneck speed. New tech areas that did not exist just a few years ago may become the next big thing in the next five. Big data boomed in the second half of last decade and Artificial Intelligence is just beginning to take off. To keep up with these shifts, you must learn to embrace change and learn continuously. To be sure, you will have plenty of options to learn both formally and informally. Most organizations offer internal training and external certifications opportunities so make most of them.

Work in diverse tech areas

This is closely related to the first point. Be ready to explore different areas within tech. Rapid advancements in the field may cause roles to be redundant. You may need to retrain to find and fit in a new role. That does not mean your experience and exposure from the previous jobs are no longer worthy. In most cases, you will be able to bank on your experience and problem solving abilities to be successful in the new role. Keeping abreast of trends to get a good understanding of sunrise and sun-setting technologies would help. For example, Big Data, AI, Cloud, Web 3.0, and the Metaverse are gaining much traction today and the skills required in these areas will be in hot demand.

Be prepared for disruption

Right this moment, a high schooler might be building the next big app, one that may pose a new threat to your established enterprise application overnight. Your success and achievements are only as good as your last satisfied user. Don’t get complacent. And remember to stay humble because tech can level the playing field in a matter of weeks. The mantra – faster, better, and cheaper is pertinent in the tech field as well in terms of new products/solutions replacing the incumbents.

Tech jobs tend to be well paid jobs

Businesses pay well for in-demand skills. But you will need to prove your technical expertise through multiple rounds of interviews and tests. This is true for tech roles across the board whether you are looking for a job as a solution architect, data engineer, or cloud automation engineer. That means you need to practice, practice, and practice to ace these rounds. You should participate in industry events to showcase your expertise, use professional networking platforms, and also contribute to the field by sharing your tech knowledge. These activities will help in building a stronger talent profile and help attract even better remuneration..

Develop Communication, Collaboration, Critical thinking, Problem solving skills

As a software engineer you might have to work with other coders. As a RPA Technical lead you might have to work with other business /functional heads to understand the business processes that need to be automated and design a solution aligned to their vision. As a data analytics consultant you might be tasked with developing a Data and Insights platform. For this, you will need to understand the business operations thoroughly. You should have collaborative spirit and excellent communication skills to do your job effectively. Especially as you grow senior, you need to be an ace problem solver. Whether it’s a tech problem, a team problem, or a business problem, people will look up to you for solutions. Keep honing your critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Hybrid work model jobs

For many organizations, the practice of remote work might have been triggered by the pandemic. But for the tech sector, it’s not new. With many organizations across the board offering this flexible model, it looks like WFH is the new normal across industries. So, prepare yourself to optimize your collaboration skills across virtual and physical work environments. Tech is a field where new and exciting things happen every moment. It’s a great tool for a change at an individual and societal level. If you think you are the kind of person to enjoy this process, get ready to jump on the bandwagon of artificial intelligence, analytics, automation, and cloud. Who knows? You might be the architect of the next big breakthrough the world needs.