We keep hearing about how we constantly need to up-skill and re-skill to keep up with everything that hits us in a year: pandemic, large scale automation, Machine Learning trying to mimic actual humans and doing a better job than them eventually. Phew. The fear of getting replaced by a bot and otherwise is real. So where do you go from here? How do you chart your professional growth story without being deemed redundant? How do you go from point A to point B and work for the best of best in the United States of America? What are the top skilled jobs in America, along with the top companies?
Let us take this from the beginning. First, let us look at some data LinkedIn crawled to reveal the top companies people want to work for. A sentiment analysis run was done based on billions of user action. We will then break down the skill set required to work in these companies to gauge the scale and opportunity of growth in skill in the next five years.
1. Alphabet
Who wouldn’t want to work with the largest search engine in the world, which completely revolutionised multiple industries by just concentrating on one key thing: user intent? It is as Silicon Valley as it gets. Hence, there are no prizes for guessing that the key skill sets you require to gain entry here are Data Structures, Matlab.
2. Facebook
Who wouldn’t want to work with a platform which has 2.7 billion active monthly users ever worldwide? A company that started in a dorm room that use data to fuel marketing like no other. Facebook knows you better than you know yourself most day. The key skillsets required here are Data Structures, Pattern Recognition.
3. Amazon
Who wouldn’t want to work with a company which essentially redefined how all aggregators work just by its sheer distribution network? The newest adage is ‘If it not on Amazon; it does not exist. It cannot even get truer. The key skillsets required here are Solution Architecture, AWS, Data Structures.
4. Salesforce
Who wouldn’t want to work with one of the biggest Software as a Service (SaaS) providers that rewrote Customer Relationship Management (CRM) rules in its entirety? Using cloud technology to build relationships with your customer was invented here. The key skillsets required here are Data Analysis, Cold Calling, Sales Management.
5. Deloitte
Who wouldn’t want to work with the third-largest privately owned company in the US of A? It is the king of auditing, consulting, and providing tax services. If you have your roots in chartered accountancy, this is the place to be. Apart from the obvious, the key skill sets required here to set you apart are Python, Adobe Photoshop, Troubleshooting.
6. Uber
Who wouldn’t want to work with a giant who essentially changed the way America commutes? Despite many more competitors that surfaced post its launch, it has a whopping 71% market share in the ride-sharing economy and a 22% market share in the food delivery sector. The key skillsets required here are jQuery, Cloud Computing.
7. Apple
Who wouldn’t want to work with a company that inspired everybody across continents to ‘think different? If there ever was a disruptor company, this was it, which is probably why if you search for ‘Apple’ on Google, the fruit doesn’t feature in the first three pages. The key skillsets that are required here are Matlab, Machine Learning, Python.
8. Airbnb
Who wouldn’t want to work with the largest accommodation provider globally, which ironically doesn’t own any properties? It has over 150 million active yearly users and received 250+ million bookings a year until the pandemic hit. Regardless it was one of the fastest recovering businesses post the damages inflicted by covid. The key skillset required here are Adobe InDesign CC, Agile Methodologies, User Experience Design.
What Are the Biggest Insights We Can Draw from the Top Companies and What They Seek?
All the companies mentioned in our list have originated in Silicon Valley and captured the west coast after that. New York and San Francisco is where it is essentially at. Apart from the core skill required for the job you are applying to, you would need a second set of skills which will be your big differentiator in the millions of applications these companies receive each day. It is no secret that technology-powered careers will be the low-hanging fruits in the next five years for sure. There are various top skilled jobs in America, but let us identify the one that are most prominent.
Cloud computing
Most business functions are moving their business functions to the cloud, which is essentially a global network of remote servers. Cloud engineers are responsible for developing and managing cloud computing systems so service consumers can easily store their data. To facilitate this, you need sound technical skills to perform migrations and ensure data security. A career in cloud computing is one of the top skilled jobs in America. Jobs data helps analyzing the job market easily.
Artificial intelligence
This one is a no-brainer. Everybody wants to minimise costs and optimise error-free outputs by replacing humans with bots. And they get to gather a humongous amount of data while doing it. As a professional steeped in AI, you are expected to build, test and implement AI models, and maintain the underlying AI infrastructure of the business. So you have to start honing these skills early, and a strong base in statistics, coding, and software design will help. AI expertise is one of the top skilled jobs in America.
Mobile app development
Mobile screens have replaced desktops. Websites have given way to mobile apps. This is one of the soundest ways of ensuring that the customer’s return rate is high and he interacts with your business in more ways than one. It is an intricate bunch of processes involving programming and creating Software designed for super-fast mobile devices. Coding, of course, is the very crux of this.
Video production
With more and more social media platforms favouring video and long-form content over statics, video production has become an integral part of the marketing department. It is a long, drawn-out process: scripts, mood board, lighting, camera, microphone, and the most technical bit, editing. Video production is a very good soft skill set to develop. You can choose your niche if you don’t want to map out the whole process.
User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI)
If there are digital displays (there currently trillions of them!), there is a need for a thorough knowledge of UI and UX. You need to know how your consumer chooses to interact with your product, where they drop out the most, how they intuitively navigate through the functions. All of it. This is one of those areas where you require both technical and design know-how.
Even if the world is galloping towards automation, the bots don’t control us. We control them. So as long as we keep rewiring ourselves, the sky will continue being the limit.
