A significant number of Work Hive members work in the industries related to software development, programming, coding, and digital engineering.
Demand in the field has increased dramatically as technology has advanced in recent years and, though programming and software development is a skill that serves so many different applications in all other industries, the work is wrapped up in questions about the future of work and how the relationship between human beings and technology might evolve.
An article written in Hacker Noon, a software development, blockchain, and cryptocurrency blog, discusses five ways that the field of software development will be affected in the future. Even though the article focuses on the development industry, the trends it delineates apply to many other fields as well.
Its list includes:
- More generalists than specialists
- Collaboration over qualification
- Global mindset
- Lattice career progression
- Creative self-starters instead of task implementors
The topic of a global mindset is most applicable to other industries because of the fact that companies are less geographically limited than they have ever been due to better logistics systems and communication technologies. The author states:
"Having a global mindset comes in two folds. First in terms of the products that you are building for your customers: will the product you’re developing work for different regions, different languages, different devices? Second part of a global mindset is towards co-workers. With flexibility becoming number one need for the next generation of workers, it is important to bear in mind that a lot of your co-workers will probably be working from multiple locations, sometimes remotely."
Not only what you are offering on the global scale but how you are offering it and with whom are you developing it are all affected by the global scope of modern business.
The other four categories on the above list are related in the sense that they all represent the trend for flexible, lean, agile business development. Generalists who are able to collaborate well, take initiative and advantage of new opportunities and challenges that present themselves within a company, and the openness to pivot within a company, support other departments, or even combine roles and teams are all factors that relate to the growing movement of open concept offices, coworking spaces, and remote employment.
The speed of technological innovation requires that businesses keep up with demand in order to survive. As a result, businesses must be flexible enough to react to whatever need the customer suddenly presents to them.
What do you think?
How do these five evolving trends apply to your industry, if at all?
