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We recently listened to business leaders at the recent Quantum tech conference. We heard from leaders at Boeing, for example, about quantum skills and getting into the Quantum Computing space at the recent push towards skilling people up for Quantum. He called it Pi shaped engineers. Increasingly, workers must possess both broad management abilities and deep specialised skills, as Forbes it. We write down a few points here to consider when considering talent decisions in the Quantum space.
Quantum with everything
Clearly, those who can navigate multiple domains and dimensions will do well. But the question is what is the harder part, domain expertise or the quantum part. Is it easier to train a medic in Quantum and Machine Learning or easier to train a Quantum developer in medicine? Clearly what is required will depend upon the business.
In the future, organisations will depend more and more on such multifaceted workers, people with skills that resemble the Greek letter pi (π). This group will have a broad mastery of general management skills atop a few spikes of deep functional or domain expertise.
Forbes on PI SHaped Skills
Is there a perfect Quantum resume?
How do software developers get into Quantum? Clearly there will be a natural progression for some who are currently involved in software engineering to get into the quantum space. Of course hiring people is always about individuals and being able to plug the gap required. Much of requirements could depend on programming Quantum black boxes which might just suit software developers better.
We have covered careers in Quantum and at Quantum Zeitgeist we have regular jobs posted on our careers pages. Each of our pathways and careers are individual as are our wants and needs, which means there is often not a single way of transitioning into Quantum. Microsoft have attempted to offer a tailored learning pathway in an innovative neat unique path determined by a Qubit, which differs from some of the other online learning materials.
Domain Expertise + Quantum Knowledge
Unless you’re working in the research quantum space, you’ll be looking at applying quantum to your existing workflows, whether this is QML (Quantum Machine Learning) or some other aspect, which means you’ll have deep understanding of the problem space and will look to Quantum for advantages in solving that problem.
Learning Quantum Computing, doesn’t mean needing to learn everything there is about Quantum Physics. Just like we understand how to program a classical computer without understanding everything there is to know about silicon fabrication, there is not the need to understand everything about Quantum physics. Of course practitioners should understand some of the operations and the basics of Qubits. Essentially linear algebra plays an important role, so whilst advanced physics might not be requisite, developers or want to be quantum developers should understand the mathematics which drive Quantum.
Quantum Courses for the Many
As Quantum becomes more widespread and reaches more and more individuals, then more Quantum courses have emerged. Developers have gotten very excited by Quantum – but it does require a change in thinking. To facilitate that thinking there are online quantum courses which are proving very popular with learners.
Here are some of our favourite Quantum courses from around the web
- Brilliant Quantum Course – this is one of the popular courses that is very fun for learners and proves very popular. It covers lots of the basics of qubits and mathematical concepts (QZ gets commission for purchases).
- QuTech Quantum Computing and Quantum Internet.
- Microsoft has a great recommender system that aim to help you find the right level for your learning.
We have plenty more resources on Quantum Computing, Learning Quantum Computing and Quantum Machine Learning.
