The Future of Computing in Kenya; Are Your Ready?
Are you a software engineers? A computer scientist? A website developer? Or a cyber security expert? Either way, I’m willing to bet you have noticed the immense speed of revolution in the technology space over the last decade. I mean the ease of developing software with premade solutions like wordpress has greatly improved. Also, there are open source libraries for everything.
It is therefore important that you equip yourself in anticipation of the future of computing which is going to affect every aspect your life. These changes are bound to also affect our system of governance, entrepreneurship, and leadership. So you don’t really have a choice. And while these new technologies are deemed a threat to computing careers in most developed countries, Kenya is not spared either. This is why it is important for you to be prepared to face the future of computing with confidence.
Computing in Kenya are you ready for the future
Having said that, our next question should be: what exactly do we mean when we talk about computing?
What is computing?
This is the process of utilizing computerized technology to perform various tasks. It does not come as a surprise that most people are even interacting with computing every day without realizing. For instance, using a cell phone, sending an email or even swiping your debit card amounts to computing.
According to USBLS, the computing profession is projected to be among the fastest growing professions with nearly three quarters of all new science and engineering jobs being directly related to computing. Of these jobs 10% will be in system analysis, 21% in network and administration and 27% will be software engineering. This means that as a computing professional, you have a better competing edge to reap from technology as compared to other professions.
Computing in Kenya; Are you ready for the future?
Opportunities in Computing as a Career
Being prepared for the future computing means equipping yourself with computing skills. If you learn these skills and grasp them well, then you are definitely going to be in a better position to enjoy the benefits resulting from digitalization in future.
Here are some of the most sought-after computing skills.
- Data science – Generally speaking, this is the process of obtaining meaningful information out of the large volume of data. Why is this important? While collecting data is useful in knowing trends such as customer behavior, failure to obtain important information out of them is quite useless. This is why the need for data scientists is set to rise. It is through advanced data analysis that has made Facebook and Google the giants that they are now.
- Data analysis – It is projected that by the year 2020, the need for data analysts will be way over the roof. This is due to a large amount of data being collected every day by devices; thanks to advanced technology. Hence data analysts will be needed to draw meaningful information from those data.
- Mathematics and computer jobs – Jobs in this field will be on the rise. This is due to the high demand for software developers and computer programmers as predicted. As advanced devices are continually being developed, these devices run using software; this is why its developers will be on high demand.
It is due to the projected high demand for these skills in future which makes the computing professional quite promising. With such skills, the future of computing has a place for you in its job market.
Why Attitude and Character Are Important for Career Success in Computing
Having the right attitude blended with good character is quite vital for career breakthroughs. It is the basic step towards achieving a fulfilling and impactful computing career.
Here are some of the best computing profession traits:
- Be dependable – You can overcome lack of experience by simply being a dependable person who is also willing to learn quickly. The employer should be able to rely on you to show up at work on time, work under minimal supervision and not waste the company’s resources for personal gratification.
- “It’s a guy thing” attitude – Female students should drop this attitude since computing is not a gender-based career and they too can excel in this field if they dedicate themselves to it. Another attitude that you should drop is that computing is hard.
Attitude and character have played a key role in modeling people to successful career breakthrough. For instance, Elon Musk is one of the living examples. Despite facing lots of challenges from investors and the market, Elon had a desire that kept him moving. It is through having the right attitude that he has managed to usher our planet to a new age of space travelling among other impressive ideas
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On Leadership, Entrepreneurship & Computing
Just like any other career, if you wish to be successful in computing, you have to go the extra mile. It is not enough to know how to code.
You need to know how to apply your computing skills to existing situations to solve a problem, bring change to your society and create more opportunities for others.
That said, if you want to succeed in the computing field, you will have to cultivate the culture of entrepreneurship and leadership in your life. A simple way to do this is to always ask yourself questions like, what is that? Where does it come from? How does it work? How can I improve it? This is the basis of entrepreneurship.
As for leadership, understand that you must be a leader of yourself first before you lead others. The best way to go about leading yourself is to understand your emotions. After all, when you know how to regulate your emotions, you can regulate your life and become a better leader of yourself.
Last but not least, please get rid of the idea that you need to be passionate about a job to do it. Remember, it is way easier to bring your passion to a job, than it is, to find a job that fits your passion.