Today I will show you how to make every year your year in tech… without colouring your hair

Happy new week everyone! I hope two posts last week was not too much? This week we are going back to routine, only one newsletter a week.

Today, I will be drawing insights from my fourth Mini Report. Mini Report 4 was one of the most tasking for several reasons. First of all, I had to ensure tech reports from three credible sources (The Economist, World Economic Forum & McKinsey) could somehow be told into one concise story. Second, I decided that Mini Report 4 was also going to be an insights session. Finally, this Mini Report was not “core economics“ (open to debate) which my previous reports were all about, instead the report was talking about the tech labour market in Nigeria.

In today’s newsletter, I want to focus on only McKinsey’s report which highlighted that software engineers and data scientists are in high demand for a lot of tech sectors. We will be using Figure 1 and Figure 2 to really buttress this point (both images are below).

Of the 13 tech trends, jobs with the most postings were software engineers and data scientists in 8/13. The “scientist“ (not data scientist) roles were more research and lab-based. Largely driven by software engineers, the combined roles of data scientists and software engineers account for 61.6% of job postings in the tech space - a very wide net. In Figure 3 (image below) we see the exact distribution of the trends in Figure 1. What the two images shows us is that; if you really want to have a strong competitive advantage in your tech career, the most protected roles for now are software engineers in the (i) cloud and edge computing and (ii) future of mobility sector (read the Mini Report to understand what each sector is actually about).

So back to the subject matter of this newsletter. Why exactly are software engineers and data scientists the hot cakes? To really answer that, we must understand where they are most wanted (Figure 1):

• Applied AI

• Industrialising Machine Learning (MLOps)

• Next-generation software development

• Web3

• Advanced Connectivity

• Immersive-reality technologies

• Cloud & edge computing

• Future of mobility

What did you notice from these 8 sectors? They are very new. In fact, some are still at incubation stages (MLOps & Future of Mobility). Asides Web3, it is very hard to find solid software engineers or data scientists in Nigeria that are actually doing any of these 8. You don’t believe me? Pause and think about how many software engineers or data scientists you know whose day job is any of these 8 (or any of the 7 if you remove Web3).

Basically there is so much demand there because the proprietary and foundational knowledge of these 8 tech trends are actually being figured out. Let me use a Case Study for you just so you understand how nascent the 8 trends are.

Case Study - Advanced Connectivity & Apple ….

Let’s start by actually understanding what advanced connectivity is all about first of all.

Advanced-connectivity encompasses a constellation of cutting-edge technologies such as 5G and potential 6G cellular networks, wireless low-power networks, and low-Earth-orbit satellites. These innovations collectively work to revolutionise network capabilities, leading to enhanced user experiences globally and heightened productivity across sectors like mobility, healthcare, and manufacturing. By reducing latency, broadening geographic coverage, increasing energy efficiency, and optimising data throughput, advanced-connectivity paves the way for more seamless and efficient digital interactions. These advancements unlock new realms of possibilities, ranging from real-time remote surgeries to streamlined industrial processes, ushering in a transformative era of connectivity and technological progress.

Let me breakdown the big English 🤣.

Imagine you are in lego world and have a lego (the toy) set that can be built to form anything.   

Imagine that each time you build a lego rocket it helps your phone and computer talk to each other really, really quickly. Let us call this rocket - 5G. Let's also say that each time you add ten extra blocks to the rocket you are not only able to make your phone and computer talk to each other, but you are able to do it from anywhere in the world now - we call this 6G. 6G makes it possible for people all over the world to connect their phones and computers to talk to each other for various reasons such as chatting or playing games, and all of this even before Ronaldo can score his next goal (that is, very quickly).

Let me burst your head now... let's imagine Lego company decide to release an even better lego set (version 2) and this version 2 is like a special invisible rope that connects things like your watch, your lights, and even your car to not just your phone but the internet without using a lot of electricity. This way, you can control them from far away and they won't run out of power too quickly.

How will these work? There are satellites flying around the Earth (like annoying mosquitoes) in lego spaceships, and they help make the internet reach everywhere on our planet, even in really faraway places like your grandfather's village in Otukpo. It wants everybody to collect! Sorry, connect!

Version 2 makes everything we do on the internet even better. It's like making video calls with your friends without any delay, helping doctors do surgeries from far away, and making factories run super smoothly. It's like a big leap into the future where everything is connected and works really well together. Version 2 (advanced connectivity) are like superpowers for our gadgets and machines, making our world very maaadd! But quite scary at the same time.

Advanced Connectivity is exactly what Apple utilised for their Iphone 14 (and upwards) satellite connectivity. According to Apple:

Advanced Connectivity is MTN’s Alter Ego - the real everywhere you go! Apple’s satellite connectivity is so mad that it makes you on the grid even when you are off the grid. Essentially, you can actually never be lost (e de sound like monitoring spirits sha 😭). If Apple is just doing it, just know that a lot of people are sha behind 😂, and that is why I said the tech sectors demanding software engineers and data scientists are their equivalents of “discovering fire“ for the first time. The software engineers and data scientists are the ones that will find the right “first spark“.

A new week to start afresh?

As I said before, if you really want to have a strong competitive advantage in your tech career, the most protected roles for now are software engineers in the (i) cloud and edge computing and (ii) future of mobility sector.

For some people tech is only about the money. For others it is about creating things out of nothing. If you like to invent out of nothing and make a lot of money 🤣🤣 then consider entering one of these 8 sectors as a software engineer or data scientist. Personally, Data Scientist de enter my eye 😩.

See solid update wey I don drop for una sha! You are welcome 🤪. Now that I have shown you how to make every year your year in tech, let me leave you with the real MVP ….