The Rise of 'The Articulate Geek': The Jobs of Future Have Not Even Been Named Yet

Introduction

The Information Age is not built with bricks and mortar, but with software and wires. Our tools which have built our world - hammers and drills - are now being replaced by software tools, and we need to produce a workforce who can drive these tools. With this, a bolt-on at the end of your studies, or a 'transfer' course is not enough to create a new workforce. It requires graduates who are comfortable in writing code, and in bringing together fragments of information to see sense. It involves sensing, analysing and protecting each bit of information, wherever it might be placed.

It brings education, health care and democracy to every single person on the planet, and breaks down our artificial barriers that have often held back our societies.

Cyber physical

Never before has there been such an opportunity to change the world, and the jobs of the future will focus more on  cyber physical than on the jobs, tools and environments that we have used in the last two thousand years. We are now entering a new dawn, and the jobs of the future will not even have been thought about yet.

Okay ... in 40 years we have built the most amazing Age ever ... the Information Age! But where are we going to get the Data Scientists and the Cyber Security professionals of the future? Not from the foundation we're building at school level in Scotland.

It's only at university-level that we start to see the foundation of the future being built, but even then universities are struggling to get enough people through the courses which are most relevant. Computer Science courses often have a range of output, each of which might be highly relevant to the jobs market, or produce those who skills are not in demand.

You're a Prof ... what do you know?

Over the past few years I've been lucky to create the Web infrastructure for the Bright Red Publishing Digital Zone (one of the best companies I've ever had the pleasure to work with), so we have a good understanding of the issues involved [here]:

In Scotland, though, we are really struggling to attract enough kids into computing and engineering, and where the Computer Science subject still has a feeling of being a little dry in places. In some schools, too, it is struggling to sustain itself at N5 and Higher level. From our analysis of the subjects studies for those who register for the Bright Red Digital Zone, we can see that Computing Science is behind French, and on a par with History and Health and Food:

Maths and English are obviously at the core of school education, and should  always be, and it is great to see that the three sciences fall in behind, but Chemistry and Biology still lead over Physics in subjects taken.

One thing that we did with the Digital Zone was that we spent a great deal of time working on Maths, Physics and Computer Science, and aimed to provide a foundation of on-line learning that allowed every pupil an equal chance to learn. For us the stars of the future are just as likely to come from Wester Hailes than from Morningside.

In Computer Science, the N5 subject splits into two elements: Software Development; and Information Systems Design. We can analyse the number of tests taken by those who use the Digital Zone to see the subjects which are the most engaging and those that are the least:

Figure 1: Software Development

Figure 2: Information Systems Design

What is interesting about Figure 2 is the peak around Security Risks, and where Environmental Impact and Legal Implications show a bit of a dip. What is disappointing is that "Computer Networks", which is possibly one of the most relevant of areas in the whole syllabus, seems to have little coverage.

Robots, automation and AI take over

The stark reality is that the next wave of robots, the Cloud, and smart devices, will see jobs shifting away from administrative and blue-collar posts towards those in IT, and it will be the requirement to capture, process and react on data that will be the key focus for many companies. How do you make people healthier? Find out what makes them sick! How do we make schools work better? Find our the best teaching style for each learner. Data will be at the core of everything.

A current claim is that 65% of those entering school will work in areas that do not exist just now. For the past few years we have seen the rise of Cloud Engineers, Security Analysts, Embedded System Designers and Penetration Testers, and which did not exist a decade ago.  In the areas of data science and cyber security there is unlikely to be enough graduates around to cover the demand from industry.

Cities must provide, attract and keep the geeks

These skilled workers are in demand in every region of the world, and industry will be attracted to wherever they can find the talent. Cities such as London, Dublin and Edinburgh are now key hubs for attracting and keeping talent as they provide a high-quality environment for IT professionals.

Within the Silicon Glen era we say companies base themselves in towns with industrial estates, but in an Information Age companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon base themselves in the centre of cities producing large amounts of tech-savvy graduates, as smart people bring smart ideas, and innovation is the key driving force in the industry. Tech graduates often study in the city they want to work in, and then stay there. There is no jumping on trains to go to the outskirts of a city, they want to be based in its heart. 

With pressures around immigration control, cities must also look to provide an educational infrastructure which is focused on technology. In England this is working fairly well with academies, but one must wonder if there is a strong push in Scottish schools towards producing a model where every pupil studies computer science. Why are pupils so scared of writing programs on a Raspberry PI? It's fun! Perhaps they are switched off? Or perhaps some teachers are a bit scared that they are teaching pupils who know much more than them.

But a core element could be that parents can't just see the future, and are still looking to the past for careers. Like it or not, we overproduce graduates in areas where there are few jobs.

The US are leading on Computer Science

In the US, President Obama's TechHire initiate provides $4billion in funding and aims to fund learning in Computer Science, with significant investment in training teachers and in providing equipment. In the scheme they want every child to be exposed to Computer Science, and aim to create the next generation of worker.

In the Bay Area in Silicon Valley, for example, there are currently 13,700 Computer Science vacancies, but only 416 master's degree graduates. We find too that we are continually approached by local companies looking for 10s of graduates at a time. Dell SecureWorks, ECS, and many other companies have been visiting our campus, each eager to pick off the smartest graduates.

Conclusion

We did some research a few years ago, and the three things that influenced kids into career options were: the parents; great teachers; and salaries. So  perhaps need a root-and-branch analysis of our education system, and show kids that the future is in areas that their parents, and even their teachers, cannot even see at the current time. One thing that is sure is that the Cloud will only grow in its application.

After watching "Freaky Clown" and Dr Jessica Barker at the Cyber Insight Camp, I think we need more people like them, and who can make technology "fun" and "interesting" ... these people are the rock stars of our industry, and they are the great teachers.

I've seen so many great Cyber Security presentations recently, and, unfortunately, for academia, most of them are from industry. Industry has thus spotted the need to feed into school level, and get kids interested in technology.

So I've observed the rise of the 'Articulate Geek', and who is someone who loves technology ... and not embarressed by it. They might work in the area, but also have a network of Raspberry PIs in the rafters of their loft. But they are people that you would be happy to put in front of your CEO ... they are articulate. These were exactly the people I observed on the camp ... and who have a burning desire to learn new things and who are also respectful of those around them ...

The new 'articulate geeks' are no 'hide-in-a-back-office' people, they are confident, and strive to learn new things, and they love sharing their knowledge. They also have respect for others and can see no barriers for the possibilities. For them technology is the key to solving any problem.

To them, individuals can now change the world, all by technology. At their hands, too, are the most amazing tools that human-kind has ever had ... and ones that are in the hands of everyone. They grab Python code and there's little in the way of graphical interfaces, as they run tools to capture, process and analyse.

One thing that is for sure ... get your kids to enjoy maths and physics ... they are great subjects ... and are exactly the things the industry wants ... smart people .. who can solve problems.

Get your kids interesting in technology ... and they can change the world! There's no need to hide our love of technology any more, as it's changing the world - for the better.

I'm a Prof ... and even I get inspired by others ... and be an 'Articulate Geek' ... so get our there and inspire the next generation.

Technology is so much fun, and it's changing the World!