Are You Ready to Wear Multiple Hats in Tech?

The world is changing quickly and we need to prepare for where how it’s going to end up, not how the world is today. Read until the end to see my thoughts on what the future of tech roles will be in 2-5 years! (If you prep now, you can have a huge head start!)

A lot of the education on tech is focused on what is happening now and not a lot around what it might look like in 5 years from now. However, since we’re all young and have a long career ahead of us, we need to plan ahead.

So here is my hot take - and basically no one is talking about this.

There will be a “Great Consolidation” of jobs.

Imagine a world where the hats of Product Managers, Designers, and Software Engineers are worn not by teams, but by individuals. Sounds like science fiction, right? Well, history has a knack for turning fiction into reality.

When Tech Transforms, Jobs Transform

If we use the digital age (the advent of computers) as an example - tasks once spread across typists, file clerks, and secretaries consolidated under the banner of 'administrative assistant'.

We’ve seen this play out many times over the last few decades:

• Content Creator: now Youtubers can be 1 person teams but it used to require videographers, photographers, editors, writers, producers and many other people to make videos.

• Indie Game Developers: To make games played by millions of people we needed huge teams of artists, voice actors, special effects, editors, developers and more. Think of Stardew Valley, Undertale and Papers Please that were made by single people.

• Ecommerce Store Owner: there can be 1 person running an ecommerce store when in the past you needed dozens of people doing warehousing, fulfilment, marketing, product development etc. Now you can outsource everything and work alone.

AI: The New Catalyst for Consolidation

Now, enter AI, our next frontier of change. This isn't just about automating tasks; it's about enhancing our capabilities to the point where one person can juggle the roles of several. Let's break it down with some real-world magic:

1. Design meets AI: This can be almost fully automated with time

2. Coding Co-Pilots: allowing people to build code they previously couldn’t. Novices can eventually code like experts.

3. Product Management: AI can help test features, aid with ideation and much more

4. Data Analysis: AI can crunch numbers automatically and answer questions for you

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The Flip Side: What We Must Watch

With great power comes... you know the rest. Consolidating roles means broader skill sets are needed, and some specialized jobs might disappear. But it also paves the way for dynamic roles where creativity and decision-making take center stage.

Remember how soft skills like leadership and emotional intelligence became your best friends in the workplace? Their stock is about to go up! As we blend roles, these skills will become crucial in navigating the complexities of a multi-disciplined position.

My guess on a new role: the Integrated Product Engineer

I think this will be one of the consolidations we see over time. Even now my engineers are starting to build their product sense and we’re seeing 10x the benefits.

As an Integrated Product Engineer (IPE) you will be analysing data, finding features to implement and implementing them all yourself (with the aid of AI of course!)

What does this mean for you?

I think now is the time to start building more robust skillsets and becoming more interdisciplinary. If you’re a data analyst, start learning about product, design and engineering. (same goes for product managers, designers and engineers)

The more skills you have, the more robust you become. Robustness is the ability to be strong and effective in all or most situations and conditions. I.e impervious to changes.

What will you be learning this month to become more robust?

Cheers,

Ajay

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