By Paweł Pełtak, IT Manager, People
Source: Warsaw Business Journal, Number 05 (45), May 2018
A blockchain engineer secures cryptocurrency transactions, a Machine Learning Specialist teaches machines to perform tasks, and a DevOps Engineer combines the roles of developer and system administrator – these are some of the jobs that have appeared in the job market over the past few years and are becoming increasingly popular. They may soon become as much in demand as Java programmers
Just a few years ago, no one had heard of jobs such as blockchain engineer, DevOps engineer, pentester or scrum master, at least not in Poland. Now, large corporations and international companies are increasingly on the lookout for top-notch IT people, with job titles such as Hadoop specialist, cloud architect or ML specialist becoming commonplace. Polish programmers, who have long enjoyed a very high rank among world leaders, surpassed only by China and Russia, can cherry pick their employers, as the shortage of specialists in some of the most cutting-edge technologies is already very acute in Poland and across Europe.
IT jobs of the future
Machine Learning Specialists
They know their way around Artificial Intelligence. At the intersection of IT, robotics and statistics, they create systems that can improve its own performance using the learning data sets it has been fed.
Hadoop Specialists
They are experts in Hadoop platforms, which are used for managing large data sets. Huge swathes of data are divided into smaller portions, which are then stored and processed on multiple servers. Hadoop allows for analyzing data coming from e.g. social networks.
DevOps Engineers
The name comes from the portmanteau of development and operations. An engineer in this position carries out the duties of both a developer, who programs applications and those of a systems administrator, who maintains the environment the applications function in. A DevOps Engineer is a link facilitating communication between different teams within one company.
Blockchain Engineers
They work at the intersection of technology and finance. Currently, blockchain is being used to create mobile payment platforms, upgrade banking infrastructure as well as to ensure transaction security.
Scrum Masters
Scrum is a methodology for agile programming. It is a way of making complex problems simpler, redefining roles and tasks and making sure the software development process runs smoothly and all the bases are covered. The Scrum Master is responsible for making sure the Scrum method is understood and operational.
Pentesters
Also called legal hackers (the name is short for penetration test) are hired to attempt an attack on a company’s security systems. They look for weaknesses, diagnose errors and show how to correct them. Given the growing number of cyberthreats and the ever more frequent hacker attacks, they are very much in demand these days.
These are just some of the examples of new professions that follow rapid technological development. For many of these job, there are still no pay scales and salaries are being adjusted “on the go.” One thing is certain, though; those who catch up to the changing reality quickly will enjoy some of the highest salaries in the business.
Glossary:
- to be on the lookout for – rozglądać się za
- top-notch – pierwszorzędny
- commonplace – oklepany, nagminny
- to surpass – przewyższać
- shortage – niedobór
- cutting-edge – nowatorski
- acute – poważny
- portmanteau – zbitka wyrazowa
- to facilitate – ułatwiać
- intersection – przekrój, skrzyżowanie
