Developing our Future

by Jonathan Wells, IT Recruitment Managing Consultant

Developing our Future

What does the future look like for our next generation developers and technologists?

Apps are the here & now:

Today’s world is full of apps. There are apps for everything! The word App has even made it into the dictionary, its definition linked directly to being a mobile device function:  “a self-contained program or piece of software designed to fulfil a particular purpose; an application, especially as downloaded by a user to a mobile device.”

In today’s fast paced, competitive, consumer driven world we are constantly looking at ways to make our lives easier, more convenient, and more mobile. Here at People Source we speak to developers on a daily basis who are working on a vast range of apps, from gaming and entertainment, to finance management and fitness programmes. 

Apps have become a global phenomenon, and have driven developers around the world into a competitive frenzy: who can build the best, most useful, most downloaded, most entertaining, most functional app? They are in the news all the time be it positive or negative, and are changing the way we go about our day to day lives. Apps are even trickling into the way we shop, with marketers around the world inventing new strategies to advertise to consumers via mobile devices. Jobs in app development have fast become one of the most coveted careers in the technology industry and recruitment of highly skilled software engineers has become the key focus of most technology companies, from small chic digital agencies through to global corporate players.

Technologies you need to know to stay ahead in app development:

Today’s developers need to keep their fingers on the pulse. With the next generation techno geniuses leaving college having built the next gaming phenomenon as part of their coursework, there is even more need to keep abreast of the latest technologies in order to stay ahead: practical languages like Java; efficient coding like C++; C#; Objective C; PHP; and Ruby; the more design led HTML5; JavaScript and CSS; and fun languages like Python. Developers can’t rest on their laurels and need to keep learning new skills in order to keep up with the pace of technological advancement. 

The Robots are coming…

Hot in the press before the end of 2013 was Amazon's announcement about the use of drone technology to deliver packages, automating a key process in their business model. Although the evolution of robots has been slow, the technology does make up a large proportion of the workforce – doing anything from filling up your bottle of coke to making the car you drive around in. 

But robot technology has advanced far beyond the mechanical arms that make up most factory floors. A regular debate at People Source HQ is whether this is a positive addition to our already ‘smart’ world, or whether introducing the icons of science fiction into daily life is actually going to help us progress. There have been mixed views on the advancement of automation technology, especially its use in military operations and the recruitment of robots to replace workers. But when you look at projects like SAFFiR, the human like Robot that assists firefighters in tricky situations, and rescue bots like those used in disaster zones, we can start to see the positive implications of automation in our day to day lives and the opportunity to have robot technology assisting a human workforce. Rodney Brooks covers this topic expertly in a recent Ted Talk, commenting that Robots can become our essential collaborators, freeing us up to spend time on less mundane and mechanical challenges (check out the video link at the end of this article).

3D Printing technologies are fast becoming integrated in the development of robotics, with a key focus on solutions for people with disabilities such as the Exoskeleton that is currently being tested by keen skier Amanda Boxten who was paralysed in 1992. This will revolutionise how the medical industry can assist people back to independent living.

Technologies paving the way for automation development:

3D technology isn’t new, especially when it comes to architecture, with CAD being a programme long used by architects around the world. Today, design based programmes are becoming the future for 3D printing. Recruitment of candidates with technology skillsets like: Inventor; PDMS; AutoCad; Unigraphics; and Solidworks is becoming the norm in the technology industry. Robotics development relies on programming languages and technologies such as: C++; Urbi;  C#, VB.Net; FORTH; VAL; and LabVIEW.

The future is bright

So how will our current technology advance in the future? How will convenience driven apps and automation create a better world for the next generations? There is plenty of debate about how robotics will change the world; inventor & futurist Ray Kurzweil of Google has predicted that by 2030 computers will have the capability to do everything humans do –only better. The more pessimistic are prophesying this advancement will result in a Skynet dominated world of the Terminator. Technology is changing the way we live and we need to realise our capabilities and how this will drive our advancement in a more positive direction. 

We are already doing more to clean up the planet, be green and use resources better, a great example being Boyan Slat’s recent invention – at the age of 19 - that could clean up the world’s oceans. In our opinion, developers and technologists of the future should be inspired and driven by this, and we feel that the next generations will use apps and robotics alongside a human workforce to sustain a better environment. Technology will assist in better agriculture (imagine a world without chemical pesticides), reducing industrial pollution, better managing our climate and cleaning up our transportation methods. 

TED Talk | Rodney Brooks on why we will rely on robots:

People Source has an extensive background recruiting within the information technology sector across multiple disciplines and we are currently placing both contract and permanent staff with clients who are working on major development projects around the world. 

Check out our jobs page here for opportunities in software, web and electronics development.

Jonathan Wells, Managing Consultant at People Source, is well versed in Software Development Recruitment and has an extensive portfolio that spans the UK and Europe. His clients work with him on an exclusive basis because of his experience in recruiting Software Engineers, Developers, and Technology Consultants for key implementation and development programmes. To find out more about Jonathan's expertise check out his profile here.