#83: What career would I choose if I had to start all over?(part 1)
Valid also for people who would want to make a shift
👋 Hey, Leo here! Welcome to The Tech Leadership Playbook. Each week, I explain the concepts needed to become a better tech leader and grow your career. Subscribe to get every issue in your inbox.
Hey Friends,
Welcome to the 82nd edition of my newsletter.
Personal Update
This week, I finished something I have been doing for a while, and that’s redesigning my website.
I didn’t hire a designer, so I just wanted to have a simple one. It connects to this newsletter and you have a more detailed story about me and my career path.
I will soon have a way to book coaching calls with me via the website and will start publishing some articles too.
There are still a lot of things I am figuring out with the website and with this newsletter, but I will adapt as I go.
I’d love it if you gave it a look, and please reply to me telling me if you have any feedback.
I’ve also done a very interesting course last weekend on Change Management. It’s a very complex topic, and it’s something I was very interested about.
I also visited my team in Belgrade, Serbia, this week. We had a great time talking and planning the future.
And had a lovely dinner in a traditional Serbian restaurant, with singers, great food, and spectacular local wine.
Now, let’s go for a deep dive into a topic I have been planning for a long time.
Choosing your career (part 1)
A couple of weeks ago, another Director from the Corporate Income Tax and I held a presentation for some students who were interested in how AI impacts the workforce.
While preparing for the presentation, I realized it was something that was on my mind for a long time, and I want to tell you my thoughts on this.
So, if I were a student right now, what should I focus on?
Well, the question is not as easy as you might think.
The first reason is that technology is moving so fast that we don’t know what will happen in 10 years and how our careers will turn out.
We can only speculate.
Our grandparents, and even our parents, lived in times when you would study something and start working in a field, and not much of that work would change during their lifetime.
Now, things are a lot different. Put frankly, there is a high chance that some of the jobs we are preparing students for will not exist in a decade.
The other reason I cannot give advice that will satisfy everyone is that people are different and like different things. Some are more techy, others are more into the arts, and others are passionate about things like law or medicine.
Because the topic is quite complex, I divided it into two parts.
Today, I will give my advice to people who are into tech, and in the next edition, I will talk about the other ones too.
So, here are my top 5 fields if I were starting all over as a technical person
0. Sofware Developer
I put this as 0, because the ones I talk about are usually just specializations for people who have software development knowledge.
In the end, everyone who works in tech will need to have at least basic programming skills to be able to stay relevant in the field.
And you can have a comfortable life as a classic software developer. However, I dare say that the growth potential for the next jobs will make them even more attractive.
1. AI and Machine Learning
It’s obvious that AI has become the norm of technological innovation and the main driver of change across several industries.
I think we are just at the beginning of the AI revolution, and we will see the impact in all domains ranging from healthcare to finance, manufacturing, and even creative fields.
Roles such as AI engineers, data scientists, and even AI ethics consultants are already in high demand.
As the field is rapidly evolving, professionals who can build AI systems or apply them in a business context are looking at a future-proof career.
2. Data Analytics
You might have heard this saying:
Data is the new oil
Whether we like it or not, data is the fuel of the digital age, and data analytics professionals have the ability to transform it into precious insights.
The field is particularly appealing as it can be applied to any domain, from marketing to sports and healthcare, just like AI.
Talking about AI, the new machine learning capabilities have further enhanced the capabilities of data analytics. This enables professionals to use AI to uncover patterns and make accurate predictions.
For career seekers, foundational skills like statistics and Excel can lead to more advanced roles in AI-enhanced analytics.
3. Cybersecurity
As organizations have become increasingly digital, hackers have more sites to break than ever.
Cybersecurity professionals are the only line of defense we have against these threats.
Statistics show that the estimated global workforce gap for cybersecurity is in the millions, which makes it a very promising career field for those who want job security and growth potential.
Roles like cybersecurity analysts, penetration testers, or security architects are critical and will be in high demand for years to come.
4. Cloud Computing and DevOps
Most businesses have migrated or will migrate to the cloud.
Which makes expertise in platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud essential.
DevOps is a natural companion to cloud computing. The development and operations team needs to automate and streamline the software lifecycle.
For students, roles in this field offer the opportunity to work on the latest technologies, like container orchestration, serverless computing, or infrastructure-as-a-code.
DevOps and Cloud experience are the foundation of fields like site reliability engineering (SRE) or edge computing, which makes it a versatile and safe career choice.
5. Human-Centered Technology
Technology is becoming more integrated into daily life, so designing simple, intuitive, yet beautiful experiences is increasingly important.
UX/UI designers and human-computer interaction (HCI) specialists ensure that technology serves users effectively, making it an excellent choice for tech students who are interested in creativity and problem-solving.
The field is constantly evolving, with AI-powered interfaces, augmented reality, and voice-controlled systems. For example, creating immersive AR experiences requires a deep understanding of both the technical backend and the psychology of user interaction.
Human-centered design blends technical skills with human empathy to help build the products of tomorrow.
Final Thoughts
The five fields I’ve highlighted represent areas of immense growth, and each contributes to the future of innovation.
It’s important to remember that these are not the only ways, and they’re just my opinion. As someone who has been working in tech for many years, I dare say it’s an educated one, but it is still an opinion.
Again, I want to emphasize the strong foundation, which is software development. Even if Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, says people won’t need to learn code anymore, I dare to disagree. Programming is more than a technical skill; it’s a way of understanding how technology works and creating a problem-solving mindset.
Finally, this will only get you to a point. If you want to make sure you have a long, successful career, you need to stay curious, adaptable, and committed to learning.
Embrace the journey, experiment, and find the intersection of your passion and the world’s needs.
Don’t think about it as a career but as a way to help others grow.
And shape the future while doing it.
Your Turn
What career would you suggest to someone who is starting out right now?
What are the jobs of the future?
Recommendations:
This piece from Thorsten on how to communicate effectively at work.
This short video from Coinbase about the history of money. Will Crypto be the future? Hard to tell.
As someone who struggles transitioning from “giving the solution”, to “asking the right questions”, this resonated a lot.
Well, I hope you liked this edition.
Thank you for reading, and join me in the comments section for further discussions!
Leo
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