Top 5 Favorite 2022 Tech Predictions

(Photo credit @sunlifter)

Happy New Year to all of you! I can’t quite believe that we’re already in 2022. It’s a great time to consider whether a new year means a new job/career for you. 

#announcements

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2. I’m also launching a series of short workshops to help you jumpstart your job searches! Based on the LinkedIn poll I did, multiple workshop topics are appealing! (There’s still time to vote if you want to push one forward to the top.) I’ve decided to offer the first one as a free session on understanding tech, and then 4 other paid workshops related to tech resume revamp, job search strategizing, developing 30-second pitches, and finding contacts. 

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#tech+careersoundbite

It is incredibly popular to do predictions around this time of year. Rather than add to the noise, I thought it would be useful to share 5 of my favorite tech+career predictions for 2022 & add my own commentary. I’d love to hear what you think! 

1. “The next generation of top talent will have “Polygamous Careers,” transforming the corporate world as we know it.”  – Scott Belsky, Chief Product Officer, Adobe.

   1. I love this one for likely obvious reasons. It’s great for creative types who have many interests & career goals, and helps to elevate side hustles from an auxiliary activity to one critical piece of your career/skill portfolio. It’s not really a new concept but I love the thought of it becoming more mainstream within many organizations. 

2. “NFTs will become mainstream and attract far more diverse consumers.” – Nicole Quinn, Partner at Lightspeed

   1. When I read this, it convinced me that I need to take NFTs more seriously: ‘NFT trading volume hit $13bn for 2021, which was a yoy increase of 43,000% (!!).’ I’m fascinated by how this tool can help creators of all types to better monetize their artwork, and at the same time, how brands can leverage the usage of unique NFTs in the new metaverses being developed. Your avatar could wear a piece by a designer or you could own a unique copy of a song from a new artist - and these are verified by the blockchain. More to come on NFTs in a future newsletter!

3. “The Zuckerverse Is the Biggest Tech Fail of 2022” – Scott Galloway, NYU MBA Professor & Founder, Section4

   1. Ready Player One has shown us that one company designing a metaverse game can easily go horribly wrong, and Meta (aka Facebook) is no different. They have already hosted 3 concerts that were poorly attended. And while I have no doubt that some will be attracted to their metaverse, if it is siloed off from other virtual worlds, it’ll likely die on the vine. 

4. “The spirit of Silicon Valley continues a spread outward.” – Tomasz Tunguz, Managing Partner, Redpoint Ventures

   1. The dispersion of tech talent from Silicon Valley to remote locales & the conviction of Theranos’ disgraced CEO Elizabeth Holmes is part of the subtle dismantling of a power concentration in Silicon Valley. It will always retain an allure & plenty of power due to all the company HQ’s – but it has been fascinating to watch other cities like Miami & Austin suck talent to them. I will be very curious to see what will happen in the coming months as hybrid/remote work becomes more commonplace. 

5. “Precision medicine is imperative to scaling care delivery amidst rising demand.” – Aike Ho, Principal, Acme Capital

   1. We need continued innovation in digital health to support the rising demand for healthcare services (hello neverending pandemic!) coupled with the decline in the number of healthcare professionals here in the US. The only way to scale services is via tech-enabled healthcare services. Tho as there are some worrisome trends about AI bias that could cause some unintended consequences, we & the growing health tech startups need to remain vigilant. Many of the communities that require tech services are in low-income and rural areas that are losing healthcare workers at higher rates. 

#random

Forget the metaverse - instead, contemplate the existence of the Multiverse. The TV show Fringe delved into this topic if you want to nerd out on a very weird yet binge-able show. 

Trailblazing and handling rejection

(Photo credit @zhangkaiyv)

Happy new year to all of you!! It was great to end the chaos of 2020 by being featured in Thrive Global alongside some amazing female entrepreneurs: Trailblazing Womxn to Watch in 2021. Like many of you, I’m looking forward to a year that allows me the chance to grow and thrive, and not just survive (yes - I’m talking about you, 2020).

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It's a new year -- and time to sharpen those tech job search skills. Check out my Coaching options to get you ready to find the tech job of your dreams.

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It’s that time of year when people like to make predictions, so I thought I’d put forward a couple of my own. What do you think? Email me and let me know if you have other ones to share!

1. Certain tech companies will have to start thinking a LOT harder about their brands and their image/reputation. 

   • As I was reading this CBInsights article about business moats, I noticed all the tech firms were highlighted for cost and network effects moats. That observation along with the recent lawsuits really got me thinking about how cavalier some tech companies are with their brands. There is an understandable focus on the technology & products as a primary driver, but they seem to forget that humans also like to identify with the brands they choose to purchase from. People also like to know that their values are being considered and cultivated, and the constant legal and regulatory challenges are beginning to permeate the wider public awareness. 

2. If we have a K-shaped recovery and a roaring 20s redux, we need to prepare for how to ensure that inequality doesn’t become even worse. 

   • In a few of the big trend articles I saw, others indicated that ‘a K-shaped recovery will send companies to court the wealthy’ and ‘the pent-up desires from 2020 will launch a creative [and hedonistic] decade.’  But if you combine these trends, I see a potentially dangerous further stratatification of our society.  If companies overfocus on those with wealth, the vast majority of people at the other end of the spectrum will be left even further behind. I remain optimistic that some brilliant entrepreneurs will also see this pending challenge and launch new companies to meet this demand.

3. Netflix and streaming will not kill movie theaters.  

   • While I can admit that streaming offers massive convenience, there is still an enduring allure to “going to the movies.” Comedies are funnier, horror movies scarier and romances more sweeping when there are other patrons around you, all experiencing the same thing. One of my favorite movie experiences was watching Scream in a theater full of chatty & engaged people, all of us yelling at the idiots on-screen & having a great time. I miss this sense of camaraderie with my fellow movie-goers, and can’t wait to return to the theater!

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#random

Here’s what we know about the signal from Proxima Centauri : while it’s likely not a message from extraterrestrial beings...the question remains: what if?

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Want a Career in Tech but aren’t sure where to start? Take a look at MY COURSE, ‘TECH SEARCH COMPASS’ FOR STEP-BY-STEP SUPPORT