Must-learn technologies for staying ahead in today’s fast-changing world

By Express Computer On Jun 1, 2023

By Giridhar LV, founder & CEO, Nuvepro Technologies.

The technology world has always been changing and finding out new uses for itself with the progress of time. When the VC firm Andreessen Horowitz says that software is eating the world, what is unsaid is that every company will end up becoming a technology company.

If you, the readers are thinking of pursuing a career in technology, here are some things that if you can learn, will keep you ahead.

1. Programming: Programming is only about analytical thinking at the most basic level. It’s about analysing the requirement and then suggesting a solution in a language that a computer understands. A number of students think that it is overly complex and get the jitters, you don’t have to. One of the best programmers I know of was an English language student. Indians by nature are used to speaking more than one language, picking up another one is not difficult for us, just learn the rules correctly. Some examples of languages that will help you are Python, Java, Java Script, Go Lang and others. Look at GitHub to get the most popular programming languages to make your choice. Irrespective of which technology area you pick, you will need to have programming as a skill. This is the like the base.

2. Cloud: Are you a person that likes to build new stuff? Look no further, this is the place for you. In speaking with my friends at large IT service companies in India, I hear that almost 40% of the projects that they are executing are transformation projects. A transformation project is one where the technology that was used to build a solution is going through a rewrite, re-architecture or re-platforming. In all these cases Cloud is a common element. When I say cloud, I am referring to one or all of AWS, Azure or Google Cloud Platform. And Cloud continues to grow – the growth was 20% in the year 2023, so lots of opportunities here.

3. Security: Are you are a person that is paranoid about things going wrong, about the need to double-check everything, every lock in the house, change your passwords regularly, and ensure that you only share the most essential with others, then this is the place for you. There are more than 1.5 M open positions in the technology fields related to security around the world. You can learn and implement security tools, and policies for an organization and/or the products that it develops. These are various sub-fields like Network security, OS security, Application security and many more.

4. Data: Are you a person that likes to analyze? And repeatedly ask the question “Why”? Then this is the place for you. The generated data is expected to grow at more than 20% Y.o.Y for the next 5 years, and it may even increase beyond that. Every action you do generates data, walking or driving from your home to some place – your phone or smartwatch is counting your steps or tracking the path you take, and the CCTVs on the way record your movement. A website you visit is tracking all the pages. A place you visit to buy groceries, clothes, or footwear is tracking your buys associated with your phone number. On your phone, every app that you go to is tracking the screens you visit, how much you spend etc. etc. What happens with all this data? All this needs to be analyzed by the company that is receiving it to improve usability, get people to buy more, or fine-tune its advertising. You will start with Microsoft Excel / Google Sheets, then more to SQL, Tableau/PowerBI, and finally AI/ML

5. GPT: And finally, the elephant in the room. Generative AI or GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformers). You must have heard about ChatGPT, Bard and Claude. These are 3 of many such interfaces or products that will come online in the coming days, months and years. While it is too early to understand what changes it can lead to, one thing that is becoming clear is that it can supercharge each of the tasks that we do. I can become a better programmer because I can ask a constant companion if there is a way my code can be made better. As a Data Scientist, I can learn to use it to query my data better. As a Security professional, I can ask if there is any other vulnerability that I need to address and as a Cloud engineer – I can ask if a better way is there to build a solution. If programming was a base skill, then the ability to work with GPT is like icing on the cake.

So, the summary is:

Pick a programming language->Based on what you are as a person – pick Cloud, Security or Data as a direction of your professional growth and don’t forget about GPT, because you will end up using its capabilities everywhere.

And what kind of companies will you end up working in – Fintech, HealthCare, Gaming, Banks, IT Services, Environment, Energy, EV, Insurance, Medical Devices, Hospitals, Chip design firms, and so many more.

Also, if you are still unsure of the direction you want to pick, then look for opportunities to work as an intern in these technology companies. A few months of work is what it takes to get to know what you like.

Must-learn technologies for staying ahead in today’s fast-changing world

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