How not to feel overwhelmed by technology trends

coco - Jan 20 - - Dev Community

Globant published a report about tech trends this January 2024. It talked about what they thinks will be 2024’s trends: AI, Quantum Computing, Robotics, Blockchain and Immersive experiences. I read it; I like it. However, I think that it is too Globant. I mean, Globant is one of the biggest companies in the world; therefore, they can face Robotics, Quantum Computing and -practically- everything. I cannot.

I know that kind of reports are useful, but it could be felt a little intimidating from my point of view. I mean, if you are reading it from the perspective of a student or a developer who wants to know what to study to progress it would sound very difficult to do robotics. That’s huge!

However, I know I must follow them in order not to be left behind. So, this is what I thought:

  • First, these are global trends, perhaps I need to look next to me, something closer.
  • Second, I need to find what I am interesting in. I almost sure it must be a trend that I like.
  • Third, I need to follow more than one. You know what they say: ‘You don’t have to put the eggs in a single basket’.
  • Fourth, I will need to make my own roadmap to get it. More than one indeed.

Close to me:

I was a web developer. I am a leader now. But I work in web developer world still. I’m not in a software factory; it is a communication Agency. We focus mainly on UX and UI.

But I feel our world is moving out last year. It’s not just about Artificial Intelligence that can make a good code without a problem. There are a lot of no-code tools over there and they are also quite good. You can make a web without coding, and they are so much better known. You can also make React Components without coding and that’s huge. However, I do not think our job is in dangerous. I think it is changing and we need to follow those changes.

I truly believe I must focus on three huge topics. These are my trends:

  1. Robotics/IOT
  2. Gamming
  3. And Big Data/AI

As I said, these three topics are huge, but they have a lot of mini subjects inside. It is a very long road to get into one of these industries. However, if we can split any of them it will be easy to get into. I truly think the team can work for any of these industries, we just need to follow a roadmap.

If we could bring, they all in web developer world or -in other words- if we could look at any of them as a web developer point of view it would be easier.

IOT to enter a Robotics Industries:

It is very difficult to make a robot. It usually takes a lot of people each of them with different knowledges. IOT, in the other hand, it is easier because it reduces the skills you need to make a sensor which works. You can buy an Arduino’s kit and make it by yourself in your home. However, I’m still a web developer and I don’t know anything about electronics.

Therefore, I know I can make an API that IOT can connect to. I can structure a database to save all the data the sensor is sending and also a dashboard to view and organize this data. I also can design a cloud infrastructure. In the future I would learn how to make an algorithm to process or filter the data and this will take me to the machine learning someday. Dream on!!! But it is possible.

I mean, I can help an IOT industry as a web developer without learning anything. Of course, if I would like to start with that. Then, I will have to learn other things to get better.

How can I design games or Immersive experiences?

Nowadays, we are making playable ads. These are short ads user has to interact with in order to get the CTA and download the APP. The playable ads are mostly used for Gamming promotion, but now it is used for any kind of apps.

We are developing these ads using JavaScript and CSS. However, we have the chance to learn anything else. Flutter, React Native, Unity. Why not? We are already making mini games. :D

APIs would help to start working on big Data and then to Machine Learning:

We are also making APIs. It’s very common. Web developers need many APIs to get information. We started in 2020, but last year they had a big growth. Each endpoint is visited by 500 thousand people per day.

We can use them as an opportunity to make a big refactor using machine learning to process or filter this data. We can start with a small algorithm and evolved to machine learning in the future.

Conclusion:

When I read that Globant’s Report I felt a little bit scared because I am far away to make my own robot or a Metaverse. I don’t even know how to start on it. However, I realized that we could split these huge trends into mini steps available to follow up for any of us. Everyone has some skill that can be useful in these times of changes. Go for it!

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