You can control your home’s temperature and security right from your smartphone. Cities can control traffic and water distribution with the touch of a button. Whether you’re ready for it or not, the Internet of Things is the future. It’s no doubt that jobs—both how we go about finding them as well as jobs themselves—will be affected by the increase in technology available.

What is the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things, a.k.a. “IoT,” is the next iteration of the internet in which everyday devices can communicate with each other via sensors and networks to deliver convenient solutions for businesses and consumers.

Why all the hype? As Techopedia describes it, the Internet of Things is “significant because an object that can represent itself digitally becomes something greater than the object by itself. No longer does the object relate just to you, but is now connected to surrounding objects and database data. When many objects act in unison, they are known as having ‘ambient intelligence.’”

How will the Internet of Things affect your job?

Creative jobs

Companies are always seeking ways to improve time to market, gain efficiencies, and be a step ahead of the competition. Part of staying a step ahead of the competition is making sure consumers are receiving the right messaging at the right time. That’s where creatives come in. And, as creatives gain access to better technology via the Internet of Things, the marketing and design possibilities are endless (and exciting!). The industry most affected by the introduction of the IoT is the tech industry, of course, which rolls into how the jobs of marketers and designers will be affected as well.

Tech Jobs

The reach of new technological updates will be sweeping and therefore, most jobs in the tech industry will see a faster than average rate of job growth over the next twenty years. Jobs requiring software development, data analytics, and quantitative skills will be needed to support the new products and services created by the IoT community.

The growing demand for mobile devices and eCommerce will contribute to a much faster than average job growth for web developers through 2024. Plus, as businesses move to digital platforms, the job growth for computer and information systems managers, often called information technology (IT), is also expected to rise much faster than average with nearly 54,000 job added by 2024.

Of course, with the Internet of Things comes the issue of cyber security, which means the number of cyber security jobs will also rise. As devices require more and more data input by consumers, the need to protect consumers’ privacy grows. As business operations become more connected, cyber security analysts will be needed to create innovative solutions to prevent hackers from causing problems for computer networks.

Marketing Jobs

With the IoT, marketing will be supported by more technology. Marketers will have access to smart data in addition to the real-time data already available. Smart data predicts what customers are likely to do in the future based on current preferences.

According to Business 2 Community, an online resource for marketers, the Internet of Things will give marketers access to more intelligent data than ever before. Intelligent data will make it easier to have deeper levels of conversations with target audiences.

With smart data, marketers will be able to deliver on-demand messaging, making marketing more about reacting than setting the tone. It’ll be increasingly important for marketers to know how to accurately read and respond to an audience in order to deliver a successful message.

Design Jobs

The design industry will continue to evolve to keep pace with new technological advances, which are moving toward providing a seamless consumer experience across all of their devices and products they interact with every day. The ability to understand when and how a user wants to interact with a design will be crucial in being a successful designer in the age of the IoT.

A designer’s focus may change from delivering one piece for one audience to having multiple pieces on hand for that same audience so marketers can deliver on-demand messaging. And, since people’s attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter, designers and marketers will need to come up with extremely innovative, attention-grabbing design to keep the conversation going with consumers.

Roles will become more hybrid as data interpretation and analytical skills are required to design and deliver the on-demand messaging that consumers need. The IoT will bring exciting changes to how consumers experience products and services—are you ready?

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WunderLand is a team of Talent Acquisition Experts who connect companies with in-demand digital, marketing and creative talent. The experience, insight and market knowledge we provide have earned us loyalty and a reputation for quality.

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