Very far in your career that is…
Blockchain-Based-Solar-Powered-Machine Learning, Anyone?
Imagine this.
You have an interview with the technology team of your dream company. They ask you to talk about all the latest happenings in the technology space. Since you mentioned “excellent communication skills” in your resume, you know, because everyone is supposed to these days ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, you’re obliged to respond in the most excellent manner possible. Now what?
The Best Way To Communicate
Now we’re not Human Resource experts, but we would bet that during most interviews, what the interviewer is really looking for is how good you are at communicating — regardless of how knowledgeable you are about certain topics. Why? Well, after years of trial and error, businesses have figured out that most of the expected benefits of technology implementation never pan out because of a lack of communication between highly-technical staff and the rest of the company. You might be the most skilled Blockchain-Based-Solar-Powered-Machine Learning-Data Scientist in the world but if you can’t communicate, its difficult for anyone to see your value.
Unfortunately, the way we normally communicate, using words, is filled with nuances of intonation, inaccuracy and interpretation. Fortunately, there is a way we can all communicate that is conducive to better understanding: fact-based. What’s is (arguably) a synonym for facts? Data.
Don’t Take It From Us, Take It From People Who Know What They Are Talking About
According to an article by Vizlib, data literate business employees contribute more in the workplace. Learn how to communicate using data and you will be handsomely rewarded for avoiding the misunderstandings that plague technology based businesses. Added bonus, you wont have to beg your mama/kaka (uncle) to get you a job in a company because Data, to be cliché about it, is the new gold (according to the World Bank, at least) and you will be an expert miner of it.
Let’s Not Underestimate How Fast Things Change
Now you might say its all well and good but Nepal is a developing nation and its too early for data literacy to be useful here work here but that’s probably what everyone said about computers or even smartphones. When business desktop computers were introduced for the first time, the majority of workers did not have a clue what to do with that dabbaa (box).
“It would appear that we have reached the limit of what is possible to achieve with computer technology, although one should be careful with such statements as they tend to sound pretty silly in 5 years”
— John von Neumann, 1949
Fast forward a few years, the fear of using computers at work eventually disappeared and computers are — for some people — more important than subsistence.
Its Happening Right Before Our Eyes
IDC, a global provider of market intelligence, estimates a 10x increase in data volume by 2025 (source: qlik) — that’s only 4 years from now! That’s 48 months! There is a decent chance that your current or future employer will eventually have more data than they know what to do with it and if you start learning about data now, you get a 4 year head start to be ready for the moment.
So have [an understanding of] data and you’ll travel to new horizons for a long time to come.
