What an IT Career Will Look Like in Ten Years

We’re living in a pretty exciting time — things that were once considered fantasy are now reality. For example, we now have access to self-driving cars, drones and information at a press of a button. Here are just a few of the ways that IT roles and jobs will evolve over the next decade.

WORKING REMOTE
Much like freelance work and the gig economy, working remotely is expected to gain popularity over the next ten years. This will increase the need for tools to help streamline deadlines and goals. According to a recent survey shared by CNBC, around 70% of professionals work remotely once a week and 54% work remotely at least half of the week.

Tools to ensure that all deadlines are being met will be essential to keep project managers feeling informed and organized. IT specialists will need to develop collaborative platforms that can easily facilitate remote work so that workers can communicate and contribute to projects efficiently and effectively.

EVOLVING SECURITY THREATS = NEW ROLES
As the world of security threats continues to evolve, there will be new roles created to combat these issues. Many IT roles will likely be dedicated to organizational structure rather than just technology. The integration between HR, company culture and information security will gradually form into one leadership role that will become a crucial position in the cybersecurity and culture of the office. As information and data security become more complex, there will be more specific roles that will be critical to the overall function of the company.

APP DEVELOPMENT
Technology will soon become readily available to all with thousands of microservices available. The rise of low code development programs and tools for data visualization will become more accessible to business owners, and as a result, will lower the cost of app development. Cloud and SaaS solutions have low code or no-code abilities that have simplified software development, making it easy for more people to excel at software development.

SPECIALIZATION
The more specific your expertise is, the better. There will be a growing need for data scientists with specific experience. For example, fields like pharmaceuticals, transportation and medicine are all hyper-focused. This trend will continue into the technology realm with more specific IT roles. The best way to be valuable in an IT role is to be knowledgeable about everything but an expert in one thing. Technology expertise in certain fields will allow for the different specializations to collaborate to ensure that they are never stuck at an analytics dead end.

AUTOMATION IS KING
Automation is changing everything. From the tasks at hand to workflows, there will be a continued dependence on these technologies. This will result in a demand for IT practitioners that are skilled in automation and a change in the positions that are impacted by automation. Employee onboarding is one process that might be impacted by automation, at midsize or event small businesses. From logging onto all of the company’s applications to sharing email lists, this is something that can easily be done with a few clicks of the mouse, thanks to automation.

LIGHTWEIGHT CHATBOTS
Lightweight chatbots in IT may also help with minutiae time (time that IT workers would previously be tasked with menial tasks). Now IT professionals can simply engage with a bot to do a password reset and other mundane tasks. This will serve as a major time-saver for employees so that they can tackle more big picture items. As a result, there will be a better employee experience.

These tools will minimize the amount of help desk requests, while also shrinking the number of employees that are on help desk teams. Skills surrounding IoT and edge computing will likely be more in demand as the fall of the help desk team continues.

HIGH-LEVEL THINKING
With the increase in automation, the amount of menial work will be minimized. Teams will need human-driven, high-level work. There are some risks to this that shouldn’t be ignored. The major downside in the desire for high-level thinking is that roles shift towards more highly educated candidates, which could lead to employee inequality.

Additionally, areas of the business that were previously unrelated to technology will now be at risk of automation, with software systems migrating to data and statistical solutions that are widespread. Automation and AI have the potential to take high tech jobs that were once thought to be safe long-term careers for IT professionals.

DOMAIN EXPERTS
Without domain expertise, companies will struggle with finding AI technologies that are suitable for their business. Development, integration and testing should be cut across roles and units. While many IT organizations have expansive technical knowledge, the new challenge will be bringing together different IT teams to work for a common goal. Overall, the focus will shift from the marketing data scientist to the IT scientist who has that expertise, plus the additional knowledge it takes to invest in the future of AI.

THE NEW WORKFORCE
Companies that don’t adapt to the changing needs of the workforce will lose in the end. With younger employees wanting to participate more in decision making and have their voices heard, it’s essential that employees have the ability to work collaboratively across the organization and participate in high-level conversations so that they feel like they are making a greater impact on the company. With the IT shortage in the US labor market, it’s crucial that employers are able to shift their work to fit the culture, technology and other incentives that IT professionals are searching for.

These are just a few of the factors that will be responsible for changing the IT industry in the coming years. Emerging technologies and shifting workplace demands will be the focus as IT matures another ten years.