Tech moves fast, and keeping up means constantly upskilling. Over the past two years, roles in automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning have skyrocketed in demand.
According to the 2024 Annual Work Trend Index from Microsoft and LinkedIn, which surveyed 31,000 people in 31 countries, two-thirds of leaders said they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills
Five roles across Canada to apply for today
- Remote Senior Full Stack Engineer, SyncWith, Canada
- Unicorn Leadership Trainer, Unicorn Labs, Ottawa
- Network Administrator, City of Yellowknife, Yellowknife
- Product Manager (Canada), TCL North America, Markham
- Fullstack Developer Consultant, Webisoft, Canada
Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum’s ‘Future of Jobs’ report estimated that while automation may displace 85 million jobs, it will create a staggering 97 million new positions.
No matter what industry you work in,automation and machine learning are reshaping processes, workflows, and overall workplaces. Success in today’s job market comes down to learning the skills that employers can’t afford to ignore.
Here are three ways you can thrive in the current and future job market.
Adopt a growth mindset
Resisting change for the change’s sake will stagnate your career. While the term ‘growth mindset’ may give you the ick, a closer look at its meaning cuts past the bluster of business influencers on LinkedIn, and passive income advocates selling low-quality, AI-generated PDF guides on Instagram.
American psychologist Carol Dweck popularized the idea of a growth mindset, and argues that people are more likely to succeed if they think they can improve their skills by work, education, and persistence.
This could be as simple as reframing challenges as opportunities, and being more fluid when it comes to learning opportunities.
You don’t need to complete formal education in a topic to be proficient in it, and you certainly shouldn’t wait for company-mandated AI training.
Professionals with a growth mindset learn by doing, by collaborating with others, and by really listening in the company’s all-hands and town halls. They also subscribe and listen to industry podcasts, actually attend the online webinars they sign up to, and travel to industry conferences.
Pick one to do this week, and then make expanding your horizons a weekly to-do.
Learn at your own pace
You don’t need to drop everything and start an MBA to upskill meaningfully.
Depending on your area of focus, sites and companies like Datacamp, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, edX, Udemy, Google, and Hubspot all offer courses you can complete at your own pace.
Some of these modules and courses can be completed in a relatively short time, but give valuable and niche insights into leveraging AI for your particular needs.
Many of these platforms are gamified or split into bite-sized modules, allowing workers to stay current with emerging trends without disrupting their current work schedules.
Time to network
As well as being a place to glean industry-specific insights, conferences are also a place to network.
We know, we know, no one likes networking. But as AI and automation change the types of jobs that are available, soft skills like relationship building and collaboration are set to become all the more important.
AI is also moving so fast that leaders and builders often step up to help each other by sharing what’s worked, and more crucially, what hasn’t. This makes networking in AI a little less cringeworthy than general networking.
If you’re not in a location where in-person networking is possible, don’t forget you can meet people online, through courses, webinars, and workshops.
Many organizers of these events encourage interactions outside the set event hours, and attendees frequently share links to GitHub READMEs, projects, and portfolios so attendees can continue the conversation afterwards.
And perhaps the biggest perk of networking? Hearing about job opportunities that haven’t been posted—or might never be.
Another great place to look is BetaKit’s Job Board, which is tailored for Canadian tech professionals and features roles from the country’s leading tech firms.
Ready to find your next tech challenge? Visit the BetaKit Job Board today