Interested in a Career in AI-IoT? Here Are the Skills You Need

New technologies have become the need of the hour, making the old ones obsolete. Emerging technologies are transforming the world of work, pushing the workforce to acquire new in-demand skills and adapt to future jobs as new technology is installed in the relevant places. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, around 40% of workers will require reskilling for six months and 94% of business leaders report that they expect employees to pick up new skills on the job, a sharp uptake from 65% in 2018. And so, it is also creating new roles and responsibilities in organizations to drive profitability and optimize resources. 

According to Statista, there will be more than 75.44 billion IoT devices by 2025, up from about 9 billion in 2017. If we take an example of an IoT company, skill assessment is particularly important as it helps to select the right talent but also develops the current talent. The industry is growing rapidly, and professionals will need an array of skills to succeed as this trend continues – engineers and developers are in increasingly high demand. These professionals will need a diverse skill set that enables them to develop and maintain the infrastructure at scale at every level of the technology stack and agility to keep pace with the changing technologies. 

Also read: 5G Adoption To Herald A High Tide Of Jobs In India

Based on job-posting data, data scientists, computer scientists/researchers, and data architects will see the most AI-related requests from employers. For data scientists and others who sort, store, and analyze massive datasets, increasingly sophisticated AI and machine learning tools could result in far superior insights and predictions. An IoT machine can be regarded as a complex mesh of linked gadgets and gadgets that make no sense if it is not always planned well earlier than implementation.

So, what are the skills required to be a successful AI-IoT professional?

Embedded Systems: Electromechanical devices that can measure, perceive, or react to the environment around them are building blocks of IoT. These devices have a bit of computational ability to measure using sensors and then transmit the signal from those sensors. That is where knowledge of embedded systems comes in handy, which is the most needed skill set for IoT. 

Embedded systems (within IoT), the objects with sensors embedded in them, connect to the web to communicate. The knowledge in areas of embedded systems, electronic design, fabrication technologies, measurement systems, and hardware knowledge of the machines used for creating an embedded system will allow one to enter the field of IoT and become an IoT professional.

Artificial intelligence And Machine Learning: IoT and AI are converging to form the artificial intelligence of things (AIoT). Gartner predicted that more than 80 % of enterprise IoT projects will involve some AI component by 2022. IoT devices intend to collect enormous amounts of data called sensor data, which then gets analyzed. AI/ML helps database administrators organize data, determine how to maintain the correct readings on all grounds and optimize the facility. Using AI enables predictive analytics to improve the environment. AI performs complex data analysis using data science. He/she should do the work with minimum supervision and be adept at scientific methodologies, find the problem, research the solution, and provide a fitting solution. 

Node.js Development: Node.js is an essential and popular open-source development environment for an easy connection for developers who are looking to pivot into the IoT space. Node.js is used with connected devices, such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi. Arduino, a single-board microcontroller, helps in embedded programming interfaces. Raspberry Pi, a low-cost, miniature, single-board computer is used in software development with Python and Node.js. Node.js enables Arduino and Raspberry Pi to communicate with each other.  

Mobile App Development: Mobile apps are built to control IoT devices. IoT developers who know how to create user-friendly, high-performance mobile applications are in high demand. Cross-platform connect and communicate with cloud servers and a range of hardware with real-time data become an essential part of the solution.

Information Security: Information security professionals’ importance is highly valued in the IoT space, given the number of devices that connect and communicate. The system needs to be protected from outside threats and be secured completely. Security engineers in this field need to be creative and adaptable and should be skilled with tools from specific vendors, such as Orbit, a business management platform, and Cloudflare, a secure content distribution network. For an infosec personal, good computer networking skills, and working knowledge of hardware/internet/wireless/security aspects/operating systems are very essential. 

UI/UX Design: UX designers in the IoT space should be aligned with IoT software developers. A UX/UI designer’s prime responsibility is to use the principles of user-centered design and align them with the artistic skill set of design to create a rich interface that will be visually appealing. He/she should have impeccable designer skills and know various well-known patterns and concepts to design pieces of software which are both usable and accessible. 

API Automation, Testing, and Cloud Computing: As the data gets collected, availability of the same at the flick of a second is made possible by sharing it on a distributed cloud computing framework. Time-critical data is processed at the edge and data that is not time-sensitive or requires more intensive processing can be sent to a centralized location. 

Also read: Pandemic Shifts BFSI’s Sought After Skills From DA, AI/ML to Cybersecurity and Cloud-Tech

Inspiring the younger generation to look at the big picture with the right attitude and essential skill sets in innovation is crucial. Innovation takes a lot of patience, perseverance, and sacrifices and it gives strength to postpone one’s gratification to a later date. 

As companies rely heavily on pre-employment assessments, the talent assessment can be automated using online assessment software, with a series of questions, a more creative approach, a series of games, job simulations, etc. Testing for job-specific skills and assessments that are based on work responsibilities and everyday tasks is important. Companies should effectively check for the skills that matter and relate to on-the-job performance. You can use AI-based assessments to choose the best applicant based on objective performance standards. AI in assessment is employed to stop human bias from having an influence on recruiting decisions. It also improves the experience of the applicant helping improve employer branding. 

It is vital to test both technical and soft skills when conducting skills assessments, as both are essential in the workplace. Skills are the most valuable properties one can hone, and they can give the opportunity to master tasks and improve work performance. Skill assessments are used by companies while hiring, developing, and promoting talent. It allows companies to fine-tune online training initiatives, increase productivity, and narrow performance gaps by recognizing the core skills the corporate audience needs to fulfill the work assignments.

Custom-developed resources, articles, eLearning videos, and websites, will surely help the current employees to add a few essential skills. Thus skill assessments give the company the ability to personalize the online training strategy to meet the evolving needs of employees and create an individual development plan in the true sense. According to an article by Deloitte, organizations must implement a completely new workforce operating system if they are to prosper. Instead of controlling the work that is done in jobs that are arranged in a hierarchy, they must now orchestrate the dynamic matching of skills to work. While personal interviews still cannot be replaced or made redundant, the skill-based assessment provides precision, and efficiency, reduces bias and provides valuable insights to the organization on the capabilities of the applicant/employee.

Author: Rohit Kochar comes with 27 years of experience in building high-growth, highly profitable, high-valuation global companies. He founded Bert Labs in 2017.