At any given moment an explosion occurs on the market. The Internet of Things is not just a trend, but a full blast technology revolutionary that can up your income and give you skills in great demand.
Internet of Things is a wide and general naming. But basically, IoT is the link between the physical world and the digital version of things that makes us more efficient. In order for us to interact with our environment through mobile apps, devices, and the internet, we need a network to connect them.
Why is IoT revolutionary?!
Imagine all your techy belonging connected together to keep you aware of goals, achievements, and changes. Or look at how cities have grown digitalized from transport to warming your smart home before you get there. Work environments with smart offices and client databases updated on the go. All of these are thanks to IoT.
And while technology moves forward, we continue to get cheaper deals on hardware and broadband meaning almost everyone will own at least a piece of technology. Cloud storage takes over and creates a virtual parallel world to keep us working efficiently. IoT is predicted to generate revenue of nearly $300 billion a year.
All the big manufacturers and innovators such as Cisco, IBM or Sap will put their money into the Internet of Things to advance the development of intelligent devices. Startups or pioneers like Google are all investing in IoT systems.
What this revolution brings about is also a demand for professionals and skilled experts to grow the industry. Here are the main skills that will set you up for success:
UI/UX Design skills
In an attempt to reinvent the form and usability of devices, IoT will demand high expertise in user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). Displays and visual features will become dynamic, efficient and extremely user-friendly. Therefore, good web and service designers will have a huge role in creating visual platforms with adjustable screens and intuitive designs that offer a full experience to the user.
Mobile development skills
Desktops are powerful, but unable to move around. The movie of the future will have mobile devices starring. To connect all our belongings like smart homes, cars, wearables, phones we will need applications that we can access anytime from anywhere.
Since Android and iOS are the most popular platforms, they will attract the most attention and demand on the skill market. Currently, 90% of mobile devices in use is using one of these two platforms.
Business Intelligence
Handling of massive data will get a spotlight on. With everyone moving on to mobile connected devices to access info at all times, there is a tremendous need for storing, organizing and handling data in a smart and secure way.
Professionals with hard skills in analytics, data management, programming data platforms, and BI executives will be the first in line for IoT career opportunities.
Cybersecurity and data protection skills
The talent gap in this sector is already large. With the rise of mobile data handling, specialists in protecting and securing data exchange and travel will be in high demand.
Once everything you own is connected and driven through mobile apps and smartphones, the danger of hacking into your smart home or account is through the roof.
Experts on data protection, vulnerability assessment, security management, wireless network and PKI security, privacy policy, and data ethics will have to rise to the occasion.
Networking skills
Knowledge oofsensors and communication among devices is sought after. For everything to connect and work efficiently, we would need pros to set up strong networks, design and optimize large-scale systems to ensure fast traffic.
Talented professionals would have skills and knowledge about wireless connections, networking tools, NFC (Near Field Communication, protocols, Bluetooth Low Energy to mention a few. A good understanding of how an application works as an ensemble will also be an asset.
Coding and Software development skills
There’s as many programming languages and platforms nowadays as there are spoken languages around the world. The diversity of it is a huge advantage because it allows for preferences in learning one or the other and becoming skilled.
Evidently, some are more in demand than others. For example, the new wave brought to attention Python that has become very popular. IoT uses it in Raspberry Pi computers. Node.js is another valuable asset in IoT as it offers connectivity among devices while requiring minimal resources. The basis of Node.js is the JavaScript language.
However, you can further explore coding in C/C++ for instance. As you advance in skill and knowledge, you can accomplish even more.
Numbers show that by 2020 we should face a boom in IoT devices. The increase is estimated at 26 billion devices aside from the common computers, smartphones or tablets. Can you picture the preview of years to come!?
