Eight emerging technology jobs that are going to explode this year - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

Eight emerging technology jobs that are going to explode this year - Viewpoint - careers advice blog The next 12 months in emerging technology promise to be exciting. Why? Because the technology that has previously been conceptual or specific to certain sectors is about to proliferate and become mainstream. So, what jobs will arise from this, and where might they exist? 1. Virtual Reality (VR) Developer Until recently, VR was a technology typically associated with gaming. Yet we are now beginning to see the application of VR in other commercial and social pursuits. Construction companies are now hiring VR Developers to give their clients a walk through a building before it has been built, the elderly are using headsets as a relaxation tool and Higher Education institutes are considering the application of VR to create virtual classrooms.   With this boom in the use of VR in day to day life, comes an increase in the amount or Virtual Reality Developer jobs. 2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Developer AI is about to become the new UI. With the rise of virtual assistants in the home such as Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant, we will begin to engage with technology in a whole new way. Will this be the beginning of the end of screens? Probably not immediately. However, it will make technology a lot more accessible to a new demographic and offer up a different way to engage existing users. 3. Internet of Things Developer With the smart home becoming a reality and smart cities firmly on government agendas, there will be a significant opportunity to create new applications for this emerging and exponentially growing market. 4. Internet of Things Engineer Not only will we need to create the applications, we also need to develop the hardware that will provide the data for the IoT. These will range from smart cars to smart street lamps to smart bins and smart fridges and a whole world beyond. 5. Data Scientist With the explosion of the IoT and sensors becoming part of everyday life, we will be creating data at an even faster rate. However, data without insight is of no value, so you can expect to see greater demand and maturity in the world of Data Science and Advanced Analytics. 6. Data Analyst Whilst there is currently a high demand for these skills, this will exponentially grow as technology such as AI assistants will not understand every spoken word of every user, this data needs to be tagged and processed in order to facilitate effective machine learning, bringing about the need for more data analysts. 7. Cyber Security Engineer Data is everywhere and with this comes the risk of a breach. For example, wearable health tech provides huge opportunities in preventative healthcare. However, can you imagine the consequence of a data breach with someone’s personal medical information? More personal sensitive data being captured, along with new legislation in the form of the General Data Protection Regulation, means that organisations are investing heavily to secure this data for the fear of reputational and financial consequences. 8. Augmented Reality Developer I am on the fence with this one. 2016 saw the breakthrough year in AR gaming with the launch and success of Pokémon Go. However, Google glasses didn’t capture the public’s imagination and I suspect that VR might overtake AR as the preferred platform, but I may be wrong! Hopefully you found this blog interesting. Here are some other IT articles which you also might enjoy: Fewer women means less tech talent: Help tackle the gender imbalance in IT Top 10 emerging coding trends you need to know about Six questions to ask yourself before making the jump into IT contracting The long-held promise of mobile payments The future of mobile marketing: is it location, location, location? Join our LinkedIn Group Join our LinkedIn Group to share your thoughts and stay up-to-date with the latest on business, employment and recruitment news in the IT industry. Join our Group