Necessity of constant learning (quantum computers & IBM Q personal issue)

[burenka]

I’m just 34 y.o. I used to think that I’m really average in talents and skills, even below average. I didn't know math or science well. Never was a successful programmer, software developer or engineer. The only thing what I am trying to do is constantly learning new things.

Let’s remember 10 years back, when you needed to hire for example digital marketing manager, your skill demands was quite low: you wanted them to be able to:

• basic communications skills inside team, to understand some product features
• connect some words into advertisement slogans
• explain to designers how to attach that slogan to picture
• send an email
• know what forums is; and search engines exist

This list is quite simplified, but.. What is today? When you are going to hire new digital marketing manager, you will expect them to:

• Know everything about all modern distribution networks, including theoretical materials understanding and practical tools knowledge.
• Have strong analytical skills, including understanding of conversion chains, multi-channel funnels, math-statistics advanced concepts
• Have good webmastering, website creating skills, web-design, layouting, UX/UI-design, and good copywriting skills, SEO, SERM. Ability to instantly create several landing pages and so on.
• Use basic programming skills, starting from Google Sheets and MS excel handling and to R-scripting and some data mining understanding.
• Have video production understanding, scenarios-writing skills, communications-with-influencers experience, and PR/Media distribution advanced concepts understanding.
• All modern trends and concepts understanding, including neural-networks basic understanding and blockchain fundamental basics and some applied experience
• Able to send an email.

And this is just for juniors, for Sr. marketing manager list would be even bigger, and also will require proven several-years experience and solved cases with each bullet from it.

10 years ago I have about 10 people in marketing team to handle 2-3 marketing channels, today I have just 1-2 people who are handling the same amount and much deeper and more efficiently.

Over just 10 years requirements in almost every IT-related area have dramatically changed. Remember HTML-developers and Jr. PHP coders? Compare with modern Full-stack software developer and Front-end-rocket-developer requirements. Product managers, brand strategists etc. Just wonder a little into your memories and you’ll find a lot of examples of this very great phenomena:

Every year requirement in modern IT grows and expands really strong.

And every new generation goes much faster in their educational speed and quality. Just take a look at modern children construction-kits, for example Arduino or Raspberry Pi kits recommended for 10 years-old kids.

It is hard to predict, how requirements to digital marketing manager will look in 10 years later, but I do believe them will change significantly. And as today we smile remembering skills years ago, so imagine how in 10 years later our current (on-the-edge) skills will look.

I was interested in topics related to quantum computing since this topic had appeared. Over several years I passively read some articles about them, watched some basics videos etc. Not so deep, but well-aware about key concepts and potential.

Beginning of 2019 was pretty intense for me, so I skipped a lot of new things and “constantly learning approach”. Several weeks ago I decided to take a look “what's new in there, in quantum things”.

You can't imagine the depth of my wonderment. Just 8-9 months ago it was mostly theoretical thing. And today, I’m able to code algorithms and run them on IBM Q using my smartphone. I searched on bitcointalk about last topics related to quantum things, they are mostly dated by end of 2018.

Just 8-9 months and I became strongly outdated in this topic, not even scratching the surface.

Check some:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/quantum/install-guide/
https://www.ibm.com/quantum-computing/

Future is running so fast, how not to be late?

[Twinsenito]

I feel you. This topic is not only relevant to marketing or "quantum things". Modern update speed is just insane. Information flow is just incredible. You just can't keep up to everything that goes out to you even if you're trying - you just have to choose the most relevant topics for you. There are few reasons for this, I'd say:

1) Modern technologies

PCs, quantum computers, smartphones, etc. - it all makes a new generation mindset. You just have to read tonns of information as soon as it appears to keep in touch with the world and not to feel out of the world. And most importantly - you have all the tools right in your pocket. Modern world is fast. It's not waiting for the slow ones. If you want to know what's going on, you MUST be online with the world.

2) Globalization

With the increasing availability of internet I'd say it's pretty normal that novadays you can easily make a team from different cities and even countries. What's the difference? There's none. You can have text, voice, videochats, share files, create docs together. It allows people and companies from all over the world not to limit themselves to just people who are nearby. You can choise the best of the best within the requirements and budget you have - no matter where they're located.

3) Huge competition on market

There are just too much companies that are making almost the same products with minor differences. It leads to the competition going strong like never before. If lots of companies are making, let's say, almost identical products or researching similar methods or technologies, they just have to be REALLY GOOD. But that's not enough as well. You also have to be really fast. You have to find some shortcuts, you always have to find the ways to optymize every proccess.

All in all, it leads to simple conclusion. Modern world is fast. It's not willing to wait for the ones that are slow. In order to be relevant on the current market as a specialist you have to keep in touch with all the trends constantly or otherwise you might wake up one day understanding that you've become outdated yourself. It's hard, but it's true. Don't get too depressed about it. It's a good thing. It's a different approach, but it leads to much faster evolution of everything we know and do.