Our scientists, researchers, academicians, and technology evangelists are making new inventions every day and every hour, rather every second to make our lives filled with ease and comfort. These inventions, state-of-the-art technology, and any other virtual thing is nothing less than a dream for baby boomers. The millennial grown-ups are actually the ones playing an instrumental role in transforming the world once we knew by transforming themselves and making the world an entirely new place for living. The Gen Z - the 4 to 24 years old are the new guests in this transformed world!
The newest of technologies that are used for numerous resources like manpower and investments are becoming 'regular' to Gen Z as they are born-with and growing up with these technologies. The use of high-end cell phones is nothing but absolutely normal to them. Talking and working upon IR and VR world has become a layman term for them. From this, we can surely say that there is a need for more latest real-time technologies to make life more convenient. With the latest real-time technologies, we will also need to amplify the mental growth of Gen Z by inducing knowledge and content in these technologies at the early stage.
Current Scenario in India
In India, at one end there is a huge amount of capable workforce waiting for an opportunity to prove them, while on the other side the Information Technology is making an advancement with its associated fields like AI, IoT, IR, VR, Robotics, etc. It is a fact that the demand for Indian youth is exceptionally high all across the globe, but it would be an understatement to state that this youth holds the potential to innovate, process and execute any new technology. For this, the youth should understand the market agility and then start studying according to their interest in higher education. However, a question still remains - The market for a given technology or industry could be in-demand today, but will the demand be still intact by the time a student completes the degree? The answer is to this is really tough, especially for any budding engineer.
Before finalizing any degree program, a student should study three things - i) Current Market Trends. ii) Existing Job Scenario. iii) Future Career Prospects. The records suggest that the IT industry has always been on top in the charts of employment and job satisfaction, barring a few specific years (once in a decade in the last 30 years). At present, a major section of the service industry is totally dependent on the IT Sector, where Indians are successfully leading the work by producing skilled manpower for the service industry. Due to their constant innovative mindset and hard work, over the years, the Indians have proved their caliber across all the formats of the industry and they are still doing so.
When I personally opted for higher education in the field of Computer Science and Engineering, it was on the emerging front. Now, we were having tremendous scope for developing the framework for generations to study and follow. But when I compare the IT Industry from the time I joined to now, there is a huge difference and pundits of this industry are predicting that it is going to evolve at a much faster pace, in a relatively shorter time span. Moreover, some may join me in pitching the statement that this industry extends significant support to other fields of engineering as well. In an era of Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and so on, every allied field of engineering is more or less dependent on Information Technology.
One can say that the IT industry since its exploratory phase is not updated, instead, it is completely changed. Therefore, in my opinion, the IT industry or Computer Science Education is having huge potential, great career opportunities and a lot many things to explore. What is essential is an open-mind to cultivate new ideas and understand the future requirement.
"Behavioral skills are something which is in talks these days by the Industry Stalwarts".
The industry has a variety of colleges to choose some perfect manpower for their organization. This is an attribute which lies within the proximities of an educational entity that how it is managing the change and making their student's industry ready. But how this readiness comes is a big question before each and every institute of higher education.
There has been a paradigm shift in academic-industry standpoint as per the requirement and delivery of suitable candidates for jobs. Earlier the industry was only inclined to have a candidate with good communication skills, clubbed with an attitude to learn and grow, where companies used to invest time and money in making their fresh employees productive and committed. The ratio of having inductions and training by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) was very high. Alternatively, today, the scenario is completely changed. Now, companies share their expectations and learning modules well in advance with the educational institute and desire to deliver them by its faculties to the students within the tenure of the degree program from college.
In addition to the technical aspects, through my own experiences, I have discovered that behavioral skills are something which is in talks these days by the Industry Stalwarts. The organization also looks into this aspect of a candidate who possesses exceptional technical and aptitude skills. The combination of this is an assurance of having a high performing employee right from day one. Student training and competency development tools are easily accessible and available to all but what sets a candidate apart is "values." It is the values that an educational institution can inculcate in a student to produce leaders, innovators, great thinkers, and technology evangelists to have a rich and sound belief system and to think beyond the defined limits.
