(Back to the) Future Career: Predictive Data Engineer
In Back to the Future, Biff was able to amass a fortune through gambling after borrowing the time machine and giving a younger version of himself a sports almanac from the future. Big data is popular because it presents an opportunity to make the sports almanac from Back to the Future real. Information is the most valuable thing there is. It’s why the big data and predictive analytics industry is projected to reach $50 billion by 2017.
Getting reliable information about the future is an especially enticing proposition because it’s something that people naturally are bad at. Biological evolution favored those who were able to recognize patterns that would lead their tribe to food or accurately predict what would happen if they tickled a bear, but the infinitely branching nature of consequence makes more sophisticated predictions almost impossible.
Human pragmatism is planted firmly in the present, which also makes people bad at re-imagining context. When asked what the problems of the future will be, people will nearly always describe some variation of today’s problems. The challenge of modern man really lies in identifying what might be just around the corner.
What new jobs will be created to address this?
Predictive data engineers will ensure their organizations don’t squander data opportunities. Through this office, agencies will inspire behavioral change informed by data through a technique known as gamification.
Today’s data analytics platforms are like a beautiful car dashboard that displays measurements with extreme precision, but when the driver turns the steering wheel, there’s a six-month delay before anything happens.
The talent of the predictive data engineer won’t just be in reading and analyzing data, but also in knowing how to work the buttons and levers of the organization to make change happen. Gamification is the steering wheel that will allow an organization to change course immediately.
What gamification does is it motivates behavior change using data as the raw material. It’s about taking it and using it to drive change to get you to a desired state or desired outcome.
Too often, leaders try to change the system, when the focus should be on quickly changing the behavior of people. The predictive data engineer will use gamification to create incentives that are informed by data to make change happen fast. Gamification becomes more powerful as more data points about individuals become available.