On whether you can prepare for future jobs

There was no such thing as a social media expert five to ten years ago and some the fastest growing jobs are in user experience design, iOS and Android development, and business intelligence – some of which didn’t exist before 2007.

This statement came from a piece on the changing nature of jobs. The above jobs were created largely by the mass uptake of the smart phone since 2007. Social would be a very different place without neat apps, geotagging and great cameras in phone. UX wouldn’t exist as we know it without the mad rush of companies needing to adapt to smart phone specs and finally business intelligence – well, that could exist, however the huge amount of data generated from phones has changed that landscape as well.

Jobs change over time. The point of the article is that it is possible to come from a diverse range of backgrounds and still arrive in the same role. This article emphasises soft skills such as enthusiasm, team work, interpersonal skills but personally I felt it underplayed some of the more tangible skills you need to be effective. While UX might be intuitive – it certainly comes into its own when working with people that have the technical skills to modify apps/websites and understand, at an almost academic level, what is happening from a design point of view.

There is a tension between employers seeking diverse experience and those that want niche skills sets. Employers hope that employees bring something fresh to the mix through their previous backgrounds but also hope that a person is a ninja in their field of expertise. From the employee point of view – if you stay too focused you lose your adaptability, too diverse and you may find that when looking for a job you are piped at the post by someone with a closer aligned skills set.

So what to do? Do the best you can, stay diverse, keep up to speed with new interests and take advantage of free online courses to hone your skills.