What Engineers Need To Know To Succeed In This Shaky Market
Out with the old, in with the new
The tech market is crumbling, or at least, rebuilding itself. With the big tech companies laying off thousands of workers, there’s only one certainty: AI is the only field growing. Booming might be the correct word. If you’re an engineer looking to transfer to a career in AI, there’s a couple of things to keep in mind. Firstly, this is an excellent time to build up on not only a skill set but a broad understanding of AI. Even if you aren’t interested in enhancing AI products you should learn to work with AI tools to succeed at your current job and stay ahead of the curve.
As it usually happens, every advancement in the tech field obliterates some jobs, but creates others. Software developer jobs are in constant flux. While most people focus on the dread of losing their current posts, the ones that can look beyond have great perspectives. One of the hottest jobs on the market right now is that of “Prompt engineers”. Seasoned engineers and coders might frown upon this denomination and toss it aside as a marketing stunt. Aren’t prompt engineers a lesser kind of engineers? Well, that depends on the angle. Prompt engineering is the process of designing and crafting the text that is later used to prompt a machine learning model. If you’ve played around with the new cool AIs you might have experienced disappointing and undesirable outputs. Prompt engineering might not be an art, but it needs some subtlety to excel at it. The tech market is in need of people that are slightly ahead in their understanding of this new material. And while some might believe that anyone can brand themselves as prompt engineers and get a high paying job, there’s more than meets the eye. Right now prompt engineering requires a robust background in software engineering as an understanding of not only Large Language Models, but language itself.
To start in the field, aspiring AI engineers should hold a bachelor’s degree in either IT, electronics or computer science. The requirements escalate every day, now a Master’s degree makes for a great foundation and differentiation token. A couple of years ago, there was a huge skill gap between the knowledge that college graduates possessed and what companies were asking for. Nowadays, that relationship has been inverted. More often than not, engineers and coders have skills desired by companies but they lack a broader understanding of topics that can really take AI further.
The true value of words
Prompt powered AI is showing that very soon natural language may be replacing code as the main input language for AI software and services. The assumption makes sense. It is said that with the rise of artificial intelligence technology the vast majority of programming jobs will disappear within two decades. And while there are still many job opportunities for programmers, we could risk the hypotheses that perhaps in the near future code writing won’t be as needed.
Imagine when natural language will suffice to carry out the desired tasks thanks to AI. That will allow skilled workers from areas outside of computer technology to join the teams. Philosophy and Logic will start to play an important role in how we relate to machines. A prompt engineer job posting from Anthropic AI has made the rounds not only for the high salary but for its requirements. Next to Python programming, the company asked for a high level of familiarity with the architecture and functioning of Large Language Models. It is known that philosophers and linguists have been employed by tech companies for a couple of years now. Their knowledge is very valuable when creating LLMs. The trend seems to push towards a reappraisal of these professionals and their particular knowledge.
There will always be a demand in the tech industry for people who are code savvy. However, engineers who want to secure their places in the ever fast changing market should broaden their horizons. Perhaps it’s time to investigate other areas of knowledge, particularly those which aren’t very associated with computer technology. And for the social scientists reading this article, there might be an opportunity there for you as long as you immerse yourself in the field.
The world as we know it is changing. The job market is in the midst of a deep transformation. To succeed in it one must think outside the box and compliment its education with outside sources.
Use your imagination and keep learning.
