Programmer’s current status
There is a chronic labor shortage in the IT industry. Therefore, programmers are also in high demand in the IT industry.In addition, the technology in the IT industry is advancing rapidly, and programmers cannot be trained in time, so their market value is increasing.
However, as the market value of programmers has increased, the future of programmers is starting to change a little.
In this article, we will show you how to increase the future potential and value of programmers.
Do programmers have a future?
Until now, programmers have been doing “collecting excellent human resources”.However, in the current IT industry, it is becoming a trend to “develop human resources”.
For this reason, up until now, experienced people with skills have been active in programming, but in the future, it is possible that the image of programmers will become stronger, such as young people and even inexperienced people who can gain experience. .
If you are aiming to become a programmer from now on, there are several points that you should keep in mind.
Four points to consider the future of programmers
As you can see, the future of programmers is slowly changing.
Therefore, if you are thinking of becoming a programmer in the future, you will need to have a good grasp of the future potential of programmers who are in the midst of change.
From here, let’s look at four points in thinking about the future of programmers.
Programmer’s Future Point 1: Can be active in various fields
One of the major changes in the IT industry in recent years has been the shift from large-scale waterfall development to small-scale agile development.
In agile development, the cycle of work goes around in a short period of time, so you can be involved in a lot of work.In addition, it is conceivable that the development cycle will be shortened in the future as technology advances.
Therefore, by acquiring the new technology, programmers can be involved in work in various fields in a short cycle, so they will be able to play an active role in many fields.
Programmer’s Future Point 2: Technological progress is fast
In order for programmers to get jobs permanently, they need to keep learning to keep up with new technologies that change year by year.
One of the characteristics of the IT industry is that technology advances rapidly. As a result, the skills required of programmers can change dramatically in just a few years.
As a programmer in the future, I need to not only learn new skills, but also improve my current skills.
Future prospects for programmers Point 3: How offshore development spreads
In recent years, an increasing number of companies outsource work such as programming to overseas companies with low labor costs.Even ordinary companies sometimes outsource manufacturing to overseas companies or own factories overseas in order to reduce the manufacturing cost of their products.
There is a similar movement in the IT industry, but programming in particular has the property that anyone can do it anywhere, as long as the environment is in place. This kind of outsourcing of system development and other tasks to overseas companies is called “offshore development.”
In other words, the fact that programming jobs flow overseas means that the number of jobs for programmers in Japan will decrease accordingly.
Programmer’s future point 4: Ease of career advancement
Career advancement as a programmer is an easy-to-understand flow of aiming to become a system engineer involved in the upstream process of system development design and planning.
The main job of a programmer is “programming”, and this programming job is part of the middle to downstream process of system development.
Experience as a programmer can be used to advance your career as a system engineer, so it can be said that it is easier to aim for career advancement compared to other occupations.
Four reasons why programmers are easy to advance their careers
As a major career advancement from a programmer, system engineer will be mentioned first. This is because compared to other occupations, it is easier to advance your career from a programmer, and the flow is easy to understand.
From here, let’s introduce the specific reasons why programmers are easy to advance their careers.
Reason for easy career advancement 1: It is easy to aim for a job in the upstream process
When a programmer thinks about career advancement, it is easy to aim for a system engineer. This is because programming, which is the work of programmers, is in the middle and downstream processes of system development.
If a programmer aims to advance their career to a system engineer, they aim to be involved in the upstream process of system development, and have the advantage of being able to learn while specifically grasping what is necessary in the future.
Reason for easy career advancement 2: Easy to change jobs
The IT industry is suffering from a chronic labor shortage, so if you have a track record in programming, it will be easier to change jobs.
Some people aim to be the same programmer when changing jobs, but there are also people who aim to advance their careers to system engineers or change jobs to other types of engineers.
Many of the skills and experience you gain as a programmer can be used by other engineers, and you can gain experience while maintaining a wide range of future prospects.
Reason for easy career advancement 3: Working from home and freelance work
Some people who work as engineers work from home by telework or remote work, or acquire skills and become independent as freelancers.Programmers can work anywhere as long as the environment is in place, so they can work from home or work as a freelancer.
These working styles have a high degree of freedom in terms of time and place, and have the advantage of not having to worry about interpersonal relationships.
However, if you become a freelancer, you need to get a job yourself, so you may be able to increase your income, but you may not be able to get a job and your income may decrease.
If you are considering going independent as a freelancer in the future, you need to acquire not only skills as a programmer, but also knowledge as a manager.
Reason for easy career advancement 4: You can work overseas
In Japan, where there have been many major disasters in recent years, there is a risk of being unable to work.
Therefore, as a kind of offshore development for the purpose of dispersing risk, we sometimes create a development team overseas. If you join the development team, you may be able to work overseas as a programmer.
Also, the programming languages and development environments we handle are not completely different depending on whether we are overseas or overseas. It is possible to work as a programmer overseas as long as you have high skills. Some people go abroad to gain programming experience in order to improve their future prospects.
If you can work as a programmer overseas, you will be able to acquire the latest overseas technology, so you will be treated as an excellent human resource even after returning to your country.
5 Ways to Increase Your Value as a Programmer
Programmers are still in high demand in the IT industry.
However, in order to continue working as a programmer in the IT industry where technology is rapidly advancing, it is necessary to increase your value as a programmer.
From here, let’s look at ways to increase your value as a programmer.
Method 1 to increase value: Keep track of industry trending technology
Year after year, technology in the IT industry has made remarkable progress. As such, programmers must keep up with advances in that technology. Programmers need to constantly grasp the trends of the industry and constantly strive to acquire the technology.
Let’s improve our market value as a programmer by honing the skills we have cultivated so far and keeping up to date with the latest information.
Value Strategy 2: Acquire AI Development Skills
In order to get a job as a programmer, it is necessary to constantly grasp the trend technology of the industry and acquire that technology.Currently, there is a growing demand for IT personnel with AI-related skills.
If you acquire the skills to deal with AI development, you will be able to become a programmer needed in the future IT industry.
Value Strategy 3: Gain IoT Development Skills
As mentioned earlier, programmers need to constantly grasp the trend technology of the industry and acquire such technology, and the skills to respond to AI development are important now.
In the future, along with AI, human resources who have acquired IoT development skills will also become IT human resources for which demand will increase in the future.
IoT is a mechanism that can digitize things and things that are not currently in your hands or by your side, so there is still room for development. You can’t go wrong with your skills.
Value Strategy 4: Develop Management Skills
Programmers do not work alone, they work in teams.
In the future, if you advance your career from being a programmer and become a system engineer or project manager, you may have to organize a team and manage the flow of system development.
For future career advancement, it is important to acquire management skills while polishing skills as a programmer.
Value Strategy 5: Learn Security Knowledge and Skills
As the information society advances, the importance of security increases.
Security requires a wide range of advanced, specialized knowledge and skills. In addition, security-related technology is advancing at a dizzying pace, just like IT technology.
Security-related skills are a field that will continue to be in demand in the future, so it can be said that it is an important skill to increase your market value.
Is it true that programmers will retire at 35?
Programmers are notoriously tough jobs.
Programmers need to continue to acquire advanced and specialized skills no matter how old they are, so there is a theory that you can work as a programmer until about 35 years old, both physically and mentally.
However, in reality, there are many people who are active as programmers over the age of 35, so there is no limit to the work of programmers at the age of 35. However, it is important to understand that it is a tough job as it is said to be.
Also, in recent years, the working environment in the IT industry has been improving, so keep in mind that the working environment for programmers may also improve in the future.
Think about the future of programmers
In today’s so-called IT society, the demand for programmers continues to grow. At the same time, the landscape of programmer prospects is changing daily.
If you want to become a programmer in the future, understand what is required of future programmers and try to increase your value as a programmer.
Let’s move while thinking about the future so that we don’t miss the changing situation.
