An intriguing summary of the latest steps for betting on your technology future by adding layers of skills appears in Thursday's New York Times. Although the research supporting this model of career development came early from the Dallas Fed in 2003, here's an MIT faculty person saying the same thing today:
"Technical expertise by itself is not sufficient, and that is more true now than it has ever been,” said Bhaskar Pant, executive director of professional programs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s school of engineering.
Typically it takes four to six years to gain technical competency in the work setting. However, all the smarts indicates that you'll want to broaden that expertise with people skills ASAP. People skills are necessary for project management, for managing up, for networking and all the business functions from retailing to manufacturing--that is, if you believe work survival and success are important.
Here's how a corporate expert puts it:
The technology workers most in demand in the future, according to James E. Spohrer, a researcher and director of university programs for I.B.M., will be “T-shaped people.” Such people, Mr. Spohrer explains, possess a deep knowledge in one technical discipline topped off by a wide portfolio of skills, from project management to industry expertise, that makes them more valuable to employers. Although these writers are referrring to people with engineering and science backgrounds, it's true that all business functions will require the same broadening for success. So think of these conclusions as strategically necessary, and think beyond the current recession and work difficulty. Structural changes and modifications will be true in the foreseeable future. The pace of technological change will not let up, and that creates the need for communication skills in every business function. Here's the rule: stay focused on layers of skills that will help you stay ahead in careers (yes, plural careers) that are unlikely to become outsourced, automated or obsolete. That's just plain old street smarts.