ACM CareerNews for Tuesday, August 6, 2024
ACM CareerNews is intended as an objective career news digest for busy IT professionals. Views expressed are not necessarily those of ACM. To send comments, please write to [email protected]
Volume 20, Issue 15, August 6, 2024
10 Hottest AI Jobs
Information Week, August 1
Artificial intelligence is one of the hottest technology trends of the moment, and that is creating unprecedented demand for candidates with AI-related skills. The demand is especially high for generative AI, which is growing even faster than AI as a whole. At its current rate of growth, by 2030 more than half of the AI job market could be related to generative AI. For job seekers with AI expertise, machine learning engineer, AI project manager, and generative AI engineer represent some of the most in-demand AI job opportunities right now.
Machine learning roles have been on the rise recently, and due to the surging interest in AI, they are now growing faster than ever. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, positions in the field are increasing at a rate of 23% per year. Machine learning engineers often serve on data science teams, helping design and build machine learning models that make predictions based on data. Their job requires a combination of software development and data analytics skills, so a good machine learning engineer generally has experience in programing, mathematics, and statistics. If you do not have a lot of AI expertise but do have project management skills, AI project manager roles might be a good way to break into the industry. As the name suggests, AI project managers oversee the process of designing, building, and deploying AI driven products. They work cross-functionally with shareholders from a lot of different teams to make sure that AI efforts meet goals while staying on time and on budget.
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How to Interpret Some of the Most Common Things Tech Hiring Managers Say
Dice Insights, July 26
Hiring managers can often make vague comments or set arbitrary deadlines, leaving job candidates wondering where they really stand with them. The truth is that companies have to evaluate an average of more than 30 qualified candidates for each open position. In some cases, this vetting process can take weeks or even months, which is why the next steps in the hiring process can often seem so vague or uncertain.
During the hiring process, organizations often tell job seekers that they still have more candidates to talk to before they make a decision. This can be difficult to interpret but, generally speaking, this statement from a hiring manager has no bearing on where you stand. Plain and simple, it just means they are still interviewing other candidates. For instance, many tech companies invite 10 to 30 candidates to interview and a manager may be lucky to complete three interviews a week. While it may be frustrating, you just have to wait until they finish. That said, it is always a good idea to follow-up every week to show interest, unless the hiring manager or recruiter gives you a specific date or timeframe.
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More Colleges Are Offering AI Degrees: Could They Give Job Seekers an Edge?
NBC News, July 29
As artificial intelligence continues to attract attention from employers, colleges and universities are beginning to market undergraduate AI degrees to students. There are now nearly a dozen major colleges and universities that offer undergraduate degrees in AI. While computer science degrees were once seen as a golden ticket to high-paying tech jobs, it is become harder to land tech internships or entry-level positions with increased competition and major cuts across the industry. But AI majors and professors are hopeful that a more specialized course of study may help graduates stand out.
With some of the first AI majors just graduating in the last several years, it remains an open question how the majors will fare, but early signs suggest the new degree could give young job seekers an edge. Carnegie Mellon University was the first in the U.S. to launch an undergraduate degree in Artificial Intelligence in 2018, saying at the time that the major would address the growing demand for AI specialists. The University of Pennsylvania will be offering a major in AI starting this fall, while colleges known for their STEM research like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Purdue University also currently grant undergraduate degrees in AI. There were initially some doubts about how interested employers would be in an undergraduate major in AI. However, the reaction thus far has been very positive.
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This May Be the Most Frustrating Part of Applying For Jobs Online
Fast Company, July 30
After prompting applicants to upload their resumes, a surprising number of companies also ask them to manually enter the information as well. Names of previous employers and institutions of higher learning can be cut-and-pasted, which is tedious but simple enough. However, descriptions of tasks performed and other achievements require careful summarization into even-more-concise bullet points to fit into the space allotted in the designated field. According to HR experts, some applicants might consider this extra burden a dealbreaker.
During a year in which massive layoffs have hit a wide array of industries, any additional friction in the application process is especially unwelcome. Current job seekers are already trying to fit in keywords to outsmart the AI resume filters while also avoiding being flagged by those same filters for being too spammy. Too often, the reward for all this data entry and thoughtful consideration ends up being radio silence. In fact, 79% of job seekers report having applied to a job and not heard anything back whatsoever. Given what the rest of the job-hunting process is like, it is no wonder frustrated candidates find the extra step of keying in data they have already uploaded not just an annoyance but an insulting disregard for their time and energy.
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5 Tips For Landing a Dream Tech Job
BuiltIn, June 7
Navigating the tech job market can be overwhelming, with constantly shifting trends and an ever-growing pool of applicants. If you are struggling to stand out, feeling lost among complex job requirements, or simply unsure how to make your skills and experiences shine, the good news is that there are still plenty of ways to land your dream job in 2024. Whether you are a recent graduate or a seasoned professional, these tips will help you cut through the noise, confidently present yourself to potential employers, and ultimately land the job you have been dreaming about.
Before you start applying for jobs, you need to understand what you want from your career. Are you seeking a specific role, industry, or company culture? Take the time to reflect on your skills, interests, and long-term goals. Jot them down and create a vision for your career. A well-defined career path is far more effective than scattershot job applications. It allows you to target your job search with precision and present yourself confidently in interviews. At the same time, make social media your friend. When used strategically, social media can be a powerful ally in helping you land your ideal tech job. To harness the benefits of social media, you need to understand your audience and select the platforms that best showcase your skills. Consider the role you are applying for and the type of content that resonates with recruiters and hiring teams. By tailoring your content to each platform and focusing on what best suits the job you are aiming for, you can create a compelling online presence that attracts recruiters and hiring managers in the tech industry.
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The Workers Have Spoken: They Are Staying Home
Computerworld, July 22
As companies attempt to scale back remote work policies launched during the COVID-19 era, they are often encountering unexpected resistance from their workers. In short, tech workers are not going back to the office, even as companies come up with new incentives. In some cases, workers are passing up promotion opportunities for the flexibility of working from home. Tech workers increasingly view remote work as a way to bypass crowded morning or evening commutes, experience a better work-life balance, and save on housing or living costs.
According to a recent Gartner report, 48% of employees say the return to office mandates of their companies prioritize what leaders want rather than what employees need to do good work. In short, high-performing employees are more easily able to pursue opportunities at organizations that offer hybrid or fully remote policies. And if they do not get those work-from-home opportunities, they will leave. That, in turn, means losing high-performers to attrition. It can also cost organizations in terms of productivity, can cause difficulty in backfilling the role, and can result in the overall loss of high-quality talent available to fill critical positions.
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Useful Power Words to Describe Your Personality During an Interview
The Ladders, July 18
Being prepared to describe your personality during an interview is essential for highly educated and skilled job seekers aiming for annual salaries of $100,000 or more. The right words can set you apart from other candidates, highlight your unique qualities, and make a memorable impression on hiring managers. In fact, there are nine powerful words to describe your personality during an interview. Words such as adaptable and collaborative can be used to present yourself confidently and compellingly to potential employers.
In any fast-paced IT work environment, adaptability is a highly valued trait. Employers seek candidates who thrive in dynamic settings and respond effectively to change. Thus, you should be willing and able to demonstrate your flexibility. Show you can handle unexpected challenges and shift priorities as needed. You should also be able to highlight problem-solving skills. This Indicates your ability to find solutions quickly and efficiently. For example, you could explain that in a previous role, you frequently managed multiple projects with changing deadlines, ensuring each was completed successfully and on time.
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Retention Continues Upward Surge as Employees Stay at Their Jobs in 2024
HR Dive, July 24
Employee retention spiked upward during the second quarter of 2024, continuing a first-quarter increase and signaling the potential for lower employee attrition through the rest of the year. In fact, retention numbers reached the highest point in 18 months and surpassed the previous high point observed during the first quarter of 2023. The increase is welcome news for employers struggling to retain employees amid a remarkably strong labor market and economy.
Baby boomer and Generation Z employees largely drove the increase in retention numbers during the second quarter of 2024. Millennials had a slower increase, while Gen X was lowest and the only generation to see a decline. Both baby boomers and Gen Z workers had sharp and almost parallel increases across three drivers of retention: organizational confidence, culture and compensation. Based on analysis of the data, it appears that organizational confidence had the largest jump, although it has been the most volatile indicator historically. Culture had the second-largest increase, followed by compensation, which was the strongest indicator for the second quarter. Job market opportunity, which was the lowest indicator for the quarter, still increased by nearly three points and continues to be relatively stable.
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Toward Effective AI Support For Developers
ACM Queue, July 10
Years of software engineering and product development have shown that talking to actual customers leads to creative ways of solving problems. It also guards against ruining workflows the customers are already delighted with. And yet, the emergence of AI has many leaders forgetting these lessons in a rush to create new AI-driven development tools. Companies, product teams, and industry practitioners need to understand the concerns that developers have with using AI in their work. Armed with this information, they can make better product decisions and communicate more effectively about the changes happening around them.
Much of the existing research focuses on the impact and efficacy of AI-driven development tools from a performance-centric perspective. While some research explores how developers engage with such tools, the scope is limited. Yet, it is important to prioritize the voices of the developers. After all, there is a need to understand what the developers want instead of what we think they want, especially since the workflow of developers is multifaceted. Their responsibilities range from application development planning to tasks such as managing communications with team members and searching for career development opportunities.
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Artificial Intelligence, Social Responsibility, and the Roles of the University
Communications of the ACM, July 25
Universities now need to be asking what role they can play in the socially responsible development and use of AI technologies. While these AI technologies have produced numerous economic and social benefits, they also have the potential to introduce biases, prejudices, and other harms. Many industrial organizations and governments have published statements of principles for social responsibility with AI technologies. Going forward, universities need to consider different questions connected with their missions of education, research, community engagement, and public service.
At colleges and universities, issues in AI and social responsibility are currently covered in courses on computing ethics and in modules in technical courses. These courses are sometimes taught by multidisciplinary teams, with members from computing, humanities, arts, data sciences, and social sciences. Since multidisciplinary instructional collaborations are not always valued by university reward structures, it is important to promote strategies that enable advocacy for the value of these collaborations. Examples could include forming instructional teams that include a senior faculty member who can ensure junior colleagues receive credit toward promotion.
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