Business Updates
The BBC’s Micro Bit finally launched last week just as the children headed off for the Easter holidays.
Many won’t get their hands on the tiny computers until they return from their spring break in mid-April, although the hope is that some will play with their new devices at home over the vacation.
The BBC has bigger ambitions for the little machine, hoping that it will help kickstart a revolution in coding in the same way as its big brother the BBC Micro did in the 1980s.
But how will the Micro Bit – which currently is only on offer to 11 and 12-year-olds around the UK – inspire a generation and what exactly will it inspire them to do?
Computer history
The project is late – and there was clearly a rush to get it into the hands of children before most schools broke up for Easter.
This delay is perhaps unsurprising – it is a complex task launching new hardware especially with the huge range of partners that the BBC is working with – but it has frustrated teachers who are hastily rewriting lesson plans, initially slated for the beginning of the academic year.
It mean that schools now only have one term to start using the device in classrooms and, perhaps more worryingly, when this year group of students leave the classroom at the end of the summer term they will take the Micro Bits with them, thanks to a decision to give the devices to individuals rather than to schools.
“It is vital that there is a fresh supply of Micro Bits each year for it to have a long-term, sustainable future,” said Bill Mitchell, director of education at the British Computing Society (BCS).
The BBC has said that the devices will be made commercially available from next year although there is little detail about how this will work or how much they will cost.
The BBC Micro became the centrepiece of the BBC’s first computer literacy push in the 1980s and a hugely influential piece of kit.
When it hit the market, an estimated 60% of primary schools and 85% of secondary schools adopted it and many of the influential leaders in the technology industry now cite it as having been crucial to their computing careers.
Now those willing the Micro Bit to succeed hope for similar.
“Many of our volunteers and staff say that they learnt to code using a BBC Micro and we want to replicate that with the Micro Bit,” said Code Club director Clare Sutcliffe.
Separate to the roll-out of the device to a million schoolchildren, the BBC is also making extra ones available to after-school clubs such as Code Club.
“We will be getting 20,000 Micro Bits in a few weeks time and we plan to give them to the venues so that they can be used over and over again,” said Ms Sutcliffe.
Computational thinking
There is no doubting the fun that children can have with the Micro Bit and it has already inspired a bunch of interesting projects but what is the longer-term goal of the technology?
Those who argue in favour of the hands-on approach to computer science say that, just as children learning about Shakespeare need to see the Bard’s plays performed to truly understand the work, so those learning about computing need to get under the bonnet.
“The Micro Bit is a device that interacts with the physical world and children can see that the device can have a physical effect, which helps them understand how computation can solve problems in the real world. That is hugely important,” said Mr Mitchell.
He hopes it will create a new generation of school leavers who can “analyse real-world problems and find an algorithm to solve them”, which he said will not only put the UK leaps and bounds ahead of other countries but will also help those children as they enter adult life – whatever profession that they choose to pursue.
“There is a misapprehension that the new curriculum is about churning out a generation of computer programmers but that is not the case,” said Mr Mitchell.
“It is about creating a generation of children who can think computationally.”
Hardcore programming
That is something governments around the world are recognising and back in 2014the UK overhauled the ICT curriculum, which had drifted from teaching hardcore programming in the 1980s to classes about how to use Word and create a spreadsheet from the 1990s onwards.
And in the US, President Barack Obama pledged to provide $4 billion in funding for computer science education in US schools.
The UK’s national curriculum now acknowledges that “high quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world”.
The shift in thinking harks back to the era of the BBC Micro although this time around, Mr Mitchell hopes to inspire more than just the computer geeks.
“In truth the BBC Micro only reached around 10% of children – those who were interested in hardcore programming. For the rest, it was just far too challenging to get to grips with,” he said.
The onslaught of new, user-friendly programming languages coupled with gadgets such as the Micro Bit offers a whole new world of opportunity, he thinks.
The BCS estimates that a quarter of UK schools are doing “an excellent job” in implementing the new computer science curriculum.
The challenge now, said Mr Mitchell, is to convince head teachers in the other three-quarters to put computer science on a par with subjects such as maths and English.
Data scientist has been called the sexiest job of the 21st century on multiple occasions. A data scientist is a rare amalgamation of a data hacker, an analyst, a communicator, and a trusted adviser. In this article, we’ll tell you more about the job and how much you can make at some of the biggest companies.
We presented the list of 13 hottest jobs for 2016 back in February. The runner up position was grabbed by the job of Data scientist. If you are aware of the current scenario in the technology field, this won’t come as a surprise. It has been called the sexiest job of the 21st century by Harvard Business Review.
“It’s a high-ranking professional with the training and curiosity to make discoveries in the world of big data. If your organization stores multiple petabytes of data, if the information most critical to your business resides in forms other than rows and columns of numbers, or if answering your biggest question would involve a “mashup” of several analytical efforts, you’ve got a big data opportunity” — This is how Harvard Business Review describes the job of a data scientist.
However, the shortage of efficient data scientists with right skill set has become a serious constraint in the technology sector. This has also opened a big gate of opportunities for the people with the right mindset.
According to Glassdoor, data scientists make about £82,000 a year, on average. At some of the biggest technology companies, here’s how much these geeks make:
Apple: £105,233
LinkedIn: £98,028
Twitter: £64,600
Facebook: £94,100
Microsoft: £84,136
IBM: £77,600
What kind of person does all this? What abilities make a data scientist successful?
Think of him or her as a hybrid of data hacker, analyst, communicator, and trusted adviser. The combination is extremely powerful—and rare.
Check out Ryan Orban of Zipfian Academy and Dennis O’Brien of Idle Games talking about becoming a data scientist.
//www.slideshare.net/ryanorban/how-to-become-a-data-scientist
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r4m9aym2xvyadzk/SFDataScience_DennisObrien.pdf
Check out a range of some other jobs that you may be interested right here //bit.ly/1Pa80Eq
Software Development could be the perfect job for you!
Have you ever thought that Software Development could be the perfect job for you? Software developers design, build and test computer systems that help organisations and equipment to work more effectively. Examples of work of software development include information databases, programs that control robotic systems, and cloud and mobile applications.
If you are keen on computing, can pay close attention to detail and enjoy solving problems, software development could be the ideal job for you.
Employers look for other personal attributes and skills, beyond academic credentials, when assessing candidates’ suitability, for instance creativity, a collaborative approach and an entrepreneurial spirit are as important as aptitude and experience.
So to help present the skills needed for software development in a different light, here are 10 signs coding could be right for you; signs that aren’t always accounted for in academic tests.
- You’re a problem-solving pro
Lots of people will simply tolerate problems without looking for a proactive way to solve them, particularly if tolerating the problem is easier. If you don’t take this approach, but actually enjoy the challenge of solving problems of all kinds, then that’s a great sign that you could be suited to software development. If, in your desire to solve problems, you also take into account realistic constraints – such as timeframes and budgets – then this could be a real asset in your search for a career.
- You have a passion for strategy games
Yes, it can be true that gaming is good for you, particularly where strategy games are concerned. These help hone your ability to make decisions based on a number of relevant factors, taking into account both short and long-term consequences. As well as computer games, those who enjoy offline games like chess, bridge or risk, could also have an underlying aptitude for programming.
- You have a musical mind
While the evidence for the correlation between music and maths is still in debate, it seems commonplace for those with musical talent to have mathematical abilities too. You often find some IT buffs and coders have additional interests such as composing music, singing, or playing an instrument.
- You have a talent for winning arguments
No, we’re not talking about full-blown shouting matches. But if your logical approach to arguing your points in a structured way means that you frequently win over your opponents, this could be a sign that you have the systematic thinking needed for software development.
- You love making things
You can get the same sense of satisfaction from making something in the virtual world as you can in the physical world. Indeed, in the digital world, you aren’t constrained by practicalities like materials and space, so imagination is your only limit. Having a natural curiosity for how things work, and how to make them work better, is a good indication of a nascent software developer.
- You’re a people person
Contrary to the stereotype of the IT team hidden away from the rest of the company, working as a developer can actually involve a great deal of interaction with others across the business. This means that an enjoyment of communicating and an ability to explain things in a way that is easily understood by others are both really important.
- You’d like to know more about the theory of computer science
While you may not have digested the full history of computer science, an interest in the theory behind software engineering is an important aspect of a coder’s skillset. You don’t want to spend your time re-inventing the wheel, so being interested in what others have discovered, and being prepared to build on those foundations, will fast-track your potential achievements.
- You’re a team player
Coding itself is a very collaborative process; continuously reviewing and redefining code with others helps you to shake out bugs, makes your work more likely to meet users’ needs and is one of the best ways to learn. Developers therefore need to enjoy working together and should be prepared to study, critique and improve one another’s work.
- You are intrinsically motivated
Putting some amateur psychology to use, it seems to be true that the best developers are intrinsically motivated. This means they take their reward and motivation from the process of finding a solution to a problem, or creating something innovative in itself. In other words, developers often do what they do for the love of doing it, rather than just being paid to do it.
- You love technology
This is fairly obvious, but it is worth re-iterating that if you want to work in software engineering, you need to have an appreciation for the amazing possibilities that technology brings to the world. Being interested in how you can harness the potential of technology, for whichever company you want to work in, will definitely stand you in good stead, and is a sure sign you are on the right career track for success in coding.
Job opportunities for software engineers are expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall employment of computer software developers is expected to increase by 30% percent from 2016 to 2020. The demand for software engineers is increasing because of the Internet’s expansion and the growing complexity of data-processing systems used in business, telecommunications, healthcare, and government.
So what do you do now?
Check out your local Colleges, Universities or online courses to find out how to get started in software development. Further information can be found below.
e-skills UK
1 Castle Lane
London
SW1E 6DR
www.e-skills.com
British Computer Society
1 Sanford Street
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN1 1HJ
www.bcs.org.uk
Institute for the Management of Information Systems
5 Kingfisher House
New Mill Road
Orpington
Kent
BR5 3QG
Tel: 0700 002 3456
www.imis.org.uk
Institution of Analysts and Programmers
Charles House
36 Culmington Road
London
W13 9NH
Tel: 020 8567 2118
www.iap.org.uk
Skills Framework for the Information Age
www.sfia.org.uk
Microsoft UK
www.microsoft.com/uk
Sun Microsystems
www.uk.sun.com
Oracle
www.oracle.com
Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
www.ciwcertified.com
Developer.com
www.developer.com
Or you can contact us to have a chat about your options and jobs available in your area, get it touch now we would love to here from you: Contact Us
13 Hottest IT Jobs for 2016
If you’re thinking about switching jobs this year, here’s a guide to the hottest IT jobs that are expected to earn the biggest salary increases in 2016. If you’re a CIO or an IT leader and you’re planning on doing any IT hiring in 2016, you’ll want to factor this information into your budget plans.
Salaries are rising throughout the UK, and the biggest salary growth is in IT. While average annual salaries of all the professional fields studied the UK are expected to rise 4.1% in 2016 compared with 2015. A lot of IT jobs are going to do much better than that, with some expected to see average salary increases of as much as 9% this year.
So, which IT jobs are the hottest?
We’ve identified 13 IT jobs where the average salary increases in the UK are expected to outpace the rest of the IT field. The data is collected from thousands of IT job searches, negotiations, and placements done by recruiting and staffing offices, as well as from local offices in the UK.
Not surprisingly, some of the hottest IT jobs have to do with big data and analytics. What is surprising is that there’s only one security job on the list. There are some surprises. Check out the list to see how your IT job stacks up. Even if you aren’t worried about your raise for 2016, one of the best ways to stay employed is to stay employed in the hottest IT jobs.
13. Data Modeler
Percent increase (est): 6.2%
12. Business Intelligence Analyst
Percent increase (avg): 6.2%
11. Applications Architect
Percent increase (avg): 6.4%
10. Data Architect
Percent increase (avg): 6.4%
9. Web Developer
Percent increase (avg): 6.4%
8. Senior Web Developer
Percent increase (avg): 6.6%
7. Lead Application Developer
Percent increase (avg): 6.7%
6. Developer/Programmer Analyst
Percent increase (avg): 6.8%
5. Chief Security Officer (CSO)
Percent increase (avg): 7.0%
4. Mobile Applications Developer
Percent increase (avg): 8.2%
3. Big Data Engineer
Percent increase (avg): 8.9%
2. Data Scientist
Percent increase (avg): 8.9%
1. Wireless Network Engineer
Percent increase (avg): 9.7%
Clearly, working with data or doing something mobile is the best way to get a big raise.
There are other areas of tech that are poised to present new opportunities. For example some technology reports have noted that wearables will become a hot new place for IT professionals in the next two to three years. Start thinking about how you can apply your skills to wearables in the next few years, and your job may land on this list in 2020 and beyond.
To check out some of our latest HOT IT Jobs click here now: IT Jobs
5 Tips on ‘Job Searching’ from a ‘Job Seeker’!
Job Searching can feel like the biggest mission for a lot of people and its even worse when you’ve never even had a job before. The vicious circle of ‘I need experience for job but I have no experience’. However, it is important to remember that everyone who has a job started off without one and finding one. Here are some tips that will hopefully get you in the right direction.
- Get involved in a job searching services
Finding the nearest Job Club or agency that provides job help would be the first ideal thing to do to get all the information you need. You’ll also get help with cv writing, cover letters and job searching effectively. They may also get you involved in employability workshops with actual employers so you can talk to them and get more of an idea of the world of work. Plus find people in the same boat as you so you can help each other out and not feel alone.
- Volunteering
All in all, volunteering is much easier to get into than finding a job. There’s always a good cause that people need help with and contributing makes a big difference. You will learn new skills and get involved with warm, friendly people. This can all be put into your cv potentially increasing your likelihood of getting a job.
Another thing is that if the people you’re volunteering for like you enough, they may be able to employ you themselves!
- Don’t wait for jobs to be advertised
If you have information on companies you’re thinking of being employed by, just send your cv and cover letter to them or ask for information regarding vacancies or things you may be able to offer. A lot of jobs don’t actually get displayed and even if they don’t have anything on, companies might remember you in future.
- Ask friends and family
The phrase ‘Its not what you know, its who you know’ comes into play here. Getting information from your loved ones can take a bit of weight off yet keep you on your toes at the same time. They’ll understand what you’re looking for and having more than one pair of eyes searching for jobs for you makes sure you don’t miss opportunities. If you’re lucky someone you know who’s employed might be able to get a placement for you.
- Network
‘Its not what you know, its who you know’ happens here too. More and more people search for potential employees on the internet. Many more jobs are advertised on the internet as well so you may have a better chance of getting work going by that route. Plus you can talk to all kinds of people online who can give you more information since almost everyone uses the internet in one way or another. Many people who wish to work in the creative industry, the hardest place to get work into promote their work online and make friends with other creatives therefore increasing their profile and likelihood of getting work.
