Almost every piece of electronic circuitry is on the lookout to get connected right now. This is leading to the widespread emergence of Internet of Things {IoT}, the connected network of objects that use sensors, actuators, and transmitters to send and receive data related to the object itself. And to say that the Internet of Things is still just a buzzword would be nothing short of idiocy. IoT has jumped way beyond smartwatches and has entered almost every industry that you can think of – from manufacturing to health. According to US Technology firm Gartner, the world will have more than 25 billion objects with computer chips within the next five years. There are real companies out there who are completely changing the way they function by incorporating IoT into their processes.
We are already at a point of time where your refrigerator can let you know when you need to make a trip to the local supermarket, and your kettle will brew your tea when you start from the office. And pretty soon, we’ll have smart fabrics monitoring our health and metabolism, smart sofas correcting our posture, and maybe even some smart people around you! And if the idea of being involved in creating such a world, where everything you interact with is connected to everything else, excites you then driving your career towards IoT is the right thing to do.
Unlike most other industries, it would be wrong to identify IoT as a complete industry by itself, with its’ own specialization in terms of learning. Yet, one of the first things that come to a student’s mind when choosing a career path is the qualification and specialization needed for it. From that perspective, these are mainly the different verticals that one can prepare for –
One of the key features of an IoT system is the amount of data generated. With the sheer number of devices involved and nothing to make sense of it, it’s as good as a pile of junk. Data Analytics are in high demand within the IoT industry with expertise in both structured and unstructured data. The structured data comes into play from specialized sensors that not only send values but also the identifiers for the type of data. Big data expertise and experience would be a strong factor in getting opportunities in this segment. The amount of data that will get generated once you get connected will be huge, and there will be a need to analyze it quickly in order to get insights out of it. People are talking about using predictive, cognitive, prescriptive, and descriptive methods to do that, and all of that comes under the Data Analytics specialization.
Networks and Architecture –
An IoT system can be viewed as a complicated mesh of connected gadgets and objects that ultimately makes no sense if it is not planned properly before implementation. Due to the wide variety of implementations being done and will be possible in the future, there are different types of sensors and transmitters that communicate differently within the system. This is where the network specialization would come in. There will be a broad array of methods of communicating data. Networking specialists have been dealing with computer networks so far, and compared to IoT networks, that’s a piece of cake. Going forward, they will need to deal with large-scale traffic across secure, reliable, and redundant backbones between connected locations.
This is the very reason why there is a dire need for networking specialists who can not only contribute to implementing the IoT network but can take part in its design as well. Even now, completely new networking protocols are being designed to work optimally with low-power sensors and devices. Designing the architecture of the IoT network is a crucial aspect of any IoT project and investing your time into developing expertise in this segment might pay off big time. An IoT architect would be a very important person in any IoT implementation. The guy who understands the systems and how they will interact, who understands the devices industry from an overview, that person shall be a key component of the process.
Security –
This is the current buzzword within IoT. With the sudden explosion of device and sensor implementation, the industry has only now realized that all that data and all those devices also need to be protected from malicious external sources. Not like it’s already a very mature sector in terms of experts available. And with the number of IP-enabled devices growing by the day, cyber-security specialists will be even more sought after in the job market. If the security implementation on your smart fridge is weak, and it is connected to the same network as your laptop, it might be quite possible, and in fact, easy for a hacker to use this path to your confidential data. Some of the key skills in this area are risk identification, vulnerability analysis, Public Key Encryption security, and wireless network security.
Device and Hardware –
Hardware engineers are the people who actually put together the various components available to manufacture the device in terms of design. The same is applicable to IoT as well, albeit with a large number of sensors and transmitters. Not only will the conventional manufacturing of these sensors increase, but there is also already a high demand to design newer sensors and components that run on lower power with higher efficiency. Also, engineers and device experts who can implement competent Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other connectivity solutions are also highly sought after. The designers will also need to be strong with their soft skills, as they will have to work closely with the manufacturing and planning teams.
Mobile and UI development –
The IoT boom has come at a time where our lives are closely integrated with smartphones. And since the whole point of IoT is to connect everything all-the-time, smartphones and mobile devices are ideal candidates for the platform of choice to control IoT devices. Needless to say, this means there is a high demand for Android and iOS developers in IoT. Not that those two roles actually needed any additional demand, but current developers will need to gain expertise in working with programming libraries that allow apps to communicate with external devices and sensors. This demand also extends to User Interface and User Experience designers, with devices and screens of all shapes and sizes showing up in the IoT world. Providing a responsive and persistent user experience will soon be an even more sought-after skill than it is currently.