We’ve narrowed it down to 3 key areas you should focus on if you want the year ahead to be as successful as possible and get 2021 right.
Thumbs up: you’ve made it past one of the most infamous years in recent history. Hopefully, you’ve had some time to unwind over the holidays. Ideally, you’ve used some of that time to reflect on your professional trajectory and get ready for 2021. Most likely, you’ve simply been too busy enjoying your seasonal favourites to start working on that just yet. No worries. We’ve narrowed it down to 3 key areas you should focus on if you want the year ahead to be as successful as possible and get 2021 right.
Get 2021 right: Adapting to evolving market demands
Technology
is constantly evolving, creating new market niches and specialisations and transforming
existing job functions. The pandemic has added an extra degree of uncertainty
and change into the mix, making it more vital than ever to futureproof your
career strategy through reskilling and upskilling. How to go about it is not too
much of a secret: inform yourself, define realistic goals and learn whatever
you need to achieve them.
Ask yourself whether or not you are doing enough to stay up-to-date with current technology trends. Follow the trade press and sign-up to newsletters that are exclusively dedicated to IT careers. Then reconcile emerging market needs with your own professional profile and aspirations, identifying those hot skills you should be acquiring over the next few months to remain competitive.
Current most in-demand skills include artificial intelligence, cloud and cybersecurity. But don’t forget to develop other, softer skills like business acumen or organisational capabilities. They can well make the difference between aspiring to a great versus a good job.
Remote work: Finding the
sweet spot
At this
point, it has become clear that not only the current remote work situation is
going to last for several more months, but that traditional, on-site
presenteeism is forever gone. No news here, right? So what about it?
Well, as
much as you might think you’ve got the whole working-from-home predicament
sorted out, this should be the year to fine-tune your work routine and to find
that sweet spot that works just perfectly for you. Perhaps it is 3 days at home
and 2 at the office, or maybe you find it easier to always work from home. Perhaps
you’d rather just go into the office once a week for team meetings or to
socialise with colleagues.
If your
current employer or portfolio of clients allows for that level of flexibility,
take advantage of it and put together your own work schedule. Look to see what
you could improve on regarding your daily routine. Experiment with how often
you take breaks and how long these are.
Polishing your professional image
Finally, to get 2021 right, make sure you are paying enough attention to the image you project as an IT professional. and keep in mind that your social media presence, your CV and your professional networking activity all have an impact on said image. And all these moving parts need to be in sync. Not saying that you need to become an influencer in 2021, but chances are that your online image can use a little polish.
But, besides improving your online visibility and making sure you present a cohesive image, you should be thinking of how you position yourself as a pro from a strategic standpoint. Keeping up with the times by reskilling and adding new capabilities is not as effective if you are not marketing it accordingly to any future employers and partners.
Nadia got to the address her sister had mentioned way before noon. Not because she cared about punctuality or anything like that. She hadn’t been able to sleep after the call, and there was only so much walking around to be done in a small town like Coventry. Plus, she needed to survey the area before the meeting. If the events of the past few days have told her anything, that was to always be prepared for the worse. Her sister must have thought that was a safe place to hide from the kidnappers. Nadia wouldn’t be doing her any service if she got spotted out of pure recklessness.
In any case, there she was, hiding behind some bushes like a sloppy burglar. That was, of course, assuming her sister meant 246 Reinford Lane, Coventry and not 246 Reinford Lane, London or some other city. Hopefully not.
It was a small house, one of those narrow and tall townhouses with a small, elevated staircase that connects the front door with the street. The curtains were closed shut on all windows, so there was not much that Nadia could make out from across the street. She examined what seemed to be the door to the basement, a rusty door at the street level with no handle or windows. A side alley led to the back of the property.
After making sure no one besides her was lurking behind a bush, Nadia walked across the street and went into the alley. It ended abruptly on a wooden fence crowned by overflowing vegetation. Nadia went back a few steps and made a run for it. After a couple failed attempts, she managed to push herself over the fence and fell in the middle of a jungle of a garden. Plants were sprouting from literally everywhere, to the point that it was hard to distinguish the flat stones that served as the floor. The house’s back wall was covered in vines. So were the windows.
Nadia fought her way through the greenery all the way to what seemed to be the door into the house. She tore off the vines covering it and tried pushing the handle. To her surprise, the door opened with a tiny squeak. Shhh!
A rancid smell hanged in the air. For all she could see in the pale light coming through the open door, she was in the basement she had seen earlier. A staircase led upstairs, probably to the rest of the house. Nadia stood still and listened for a while. No sounds were coming from upstairs. She started making her way up, slowly but steady, one step at a time. The wood cracked under her feet with every step, making her cringe. But Nadia hadn’t made it half the way up when a fluorescent light turned on behind her.
“Welcome, sister.”
Nadia gave a jump and turned around with a racing heart. There was her sister, sitting on a worn-out leather armchair by the door.
“You really are that easy to predict, aren’t you?” The smirk on her sister’s face brought Nadia back to her childhood days and the not-so-nice version of her sister. She had changed so much over the past years. Nadia hadn’t seen that mocking smile in a long time. Something was off. “Classic Nadia, always one step ahead, or at least happily thinking so. Well, this time I was the one ahead, wasn’t I?”
“Ahead of what? Seriously, can you tell me what’s going on with this whole thing? How did you free yourself? Where were they keeping you?”
“Free myself? You really don’t get it, do you? It beats you to think someone could outsmart you or want you harm. It always has.”
“Alright, you are freaking me out, siss,” said Nadia. “Spill it. What’s going on.”
“Why don’t you take a seat?”
“I’m fine.”
“As you wish,” said her sister crossing one leg on top of the other and resting her back against the armchair. “Do you recognise this?” she said holding up a card. Nadia did recognise it right away. It was the invite card that Tom had given her to get into the party. It was hard to believe only two days had passed since then. And it felt like ages ago.
“How did you get that?”
“Oh, it’s easy. I made it myself. You see, there’s just so much you can squeeze into such a thin material these days. Recording the data was the easy part, I just needed you to have the card with you while you were in the holovisor cabin.”
“So Tom…”
“Yep. He was acting on my behalf. Don’t blame him. Let’s just say he wasn’t too keen on me letting the police know about his boyfriend’s little magic tricks with his taxes. A pity he decided to make it up to you and ended up shot for it.”
Nadia’s blood was boiling, her head spinning between confusion and sheer disbelief.
“But why…”
“Because it needed to be done. You had it coming all along. Since we were kids, I’ve had to deal with your oh-so-perfect aura. You know, it wasn’t that fun seeing everybody praise every little step you took while I failed at every major goal I set out to achieve. You were the one who was good with numbers, the one that made it into the good schools. Don’t you get it? I wanted to be you, have your career, your life, not have to depend on a miserable admin salary. Well, now it’s my turn.
As much as it hurt, Nadia wasn’t entirely surprised by her sister’s revelations. She had exhibited that kind of attitude for most of their childhood. But Nadia thought they had left those years behind, grown into adults who got along just fine. Heck, she thought they had even become friendly to a certain degree. Her birthday gift sort of sealed that conception. Her sister, reaching back to one of the few things they had in common growing up: Ziza.
She understood all of a sudden.
“EVE”
“Exactly. See? You are not that stupid after all. It wasn’t too complicated to install a backdoor into the AI before giving it to you. I must admit I had quite some fun telling you what to do.”
“But everything that EVE, I mean that you told me to do was petty stuff. You couldn’t have retrieved the Duplo data through that.”
“Agreed. But it was enough to open little wholes within the system, right where I needed them, so that I could start transferring information to the card. Worked pretty well.”
Nadia felt so stupid. It was a very simple trick in reality. One of the world’s most protected systems, breached through carelessness and personal deceit. The wailing sound of sirens could be heard approaching in the distance.
“I took the liberty of calling some friends,” said her sister. “They should be here any minute.”
“What did you do with the data?”
“Why, sell it, of course. I am now what they technically call filthy rich.”
“I’ll tell them everything.” The sirens grew louder and louder.
“Good luck making them believe this crazy story,” said her sister with a chuckle. “Goodbye siss, enjoy your prison cell. It will be your home for many years.”
With that, her sister stood up and walk out into the garden. Nadia heard a crashing boom as the special operations team busted through the house’s main door.
The success of the CTO is largely based on their ability to deploy new technologies at the right time. And, since technology progresses every day, a good CTO needs to be fully up-to-date with current developments and challenges.
But, while they need to be tech-focused, balancing tech acumen and computer skills; good CTOs must also possess other, softer skills like creativity and strategic thinking.
Teamwork and collaboration skills are, of course, also key. To accomplish something that has not been done before, CTOs will need to work together with several in-house engineers and external vendors.
A hybrid set of skills
While no two CTO job descriptions are the same, change is common to all their functions. They must therefore be adaptable and flexible to respond to the ever-changing needs of the market and the company’s customers.
Moreover, successful CTOs have to complement their technical skills with those needed at the senior management and executive levels.
In what is an ironic twist for a technology leader, the role becomes less technical as they become more senior. It is precisely the ability to move beyond technical specifics and towards more strategic and managerial functions what is most difficult about this transition.
In addition, a CTO must master the art of delegation and leave the code behind.
What makes a good CTO: Essential skills
Based on all the above, agood CTO should possess:
Excellent communication skills: The effectiveness of their position depends on their ability to communicate across departments and teams. They also need to relay highly technical information to individuals with little to no technical knowledge
Adaptability: In order to better support the business as a whole, the CTO must understand every angle of the business. And also know how to adapt technology to each case and need
Leadership: They need to operate as technology and IT team managers. Inspiring and encouraging the rest of the team to meet the strategic goals
Understanding of market and customer expectations
Exceptional organisational skills
Great negotiation skills
Strategic thinking: They need to think about the organization as a whole. They have to be able to plan ahead, identifying future problems and trends
Coding: While the CTO has left behind the more technical years; understanding of current programming languages is key to better communicate with engineers and be able to conceptualise more efficient and realistic technology products
A computer science, engineering or related university degree; an MBA or other appropriate graduate degree are always a plus and preferred in the industry
Discover out Top 10 of Developers in Belgium to Follow on Twitter with Mission Control Center by Mindquest. All of them are worth your attention
Discover out Top 10 of Developers in Belgium to Follow on Twitter. If you are a developer from Belgium ; are looking to become one ; or are simply interested in the topic of web and app creation ; here’s a list with the local experts you should be following on Twitter.
In no particular order. Some are self-taught devs sharing their experiences and advice, others are public speakers and minority advocates. All of them are worth your attention.
Eva is an open source and JavaScript expert working as a developer for the video platform VIBBIO. She is an alumna of Rails Girls Summer of Code. A global fellowship program for women and non-binary coders whose aim is to make the open-source community more diverse. Eva also runs a blog, includeJS, where she writes about her journey as a self-taught dev.
Pieter is one of the most active members of the Belgian Visual Studio community, leading the country’s 1,200-member-strong user group. Pieter is also a co-founder of Techorama, a deep knowledge IT conference that attracts about 1,700 every year. A certified Visual Studio MVP and Scrum Master, he has a training and consultancy business (Sparkles) focusing on ALM solutions.
Louis is a front-end specialist who describes himself as more of a doctor/physiotherapist of everything front-end. He is one of the organisers of Creative Front-End Belgium, a space for local developers to meet and talk shop. And he’s always working to help the community with his expert insight. He posts regular content on his site mamboleoo and runs a newsletter about SVG.
Although technically from California, Brenda is a Belgium-based front-end developer working towards becoming a full-stack developer. Brenda provides web design services and shares regular tips and tricks to help out other developers. She is also a stay-at-home mom juggling entrepreneurship, learning and motherhood all at the same time. You can check her work and posts here.
Jachim is a PHP expert working as a developer for Combell. He is a Zend Certified Engineer and conference speaker. He is passionate about helping the developer community, serving as a coach for CodeDojo Belgium and enabling his local PHP user group. You can find out more about his work and views on his site.
Freek is a Belgian PHP superstar working as a developer and package creator at web-design agency Spatie. In addition to having built and running various well-established web solutions, Freek is an organiser of Full Stack Europe. Full Stack Europe is a yearly conference that caters to the entire development team across stacks. He blogs at Freek.dev.
Dries is a PHP developer working for the Laravel framework, where he maintains the community portal and builds components like the Blade UI Kit. Like Freek, Dries is an organiser of Full Stack Europe, as well as of, Full Stack Belgium. You can follow his work and adventures on his personal site.
Bart is a web developer at up-time-as-a service company Nucleus. As a quality assurance engineer, he focuses on developing fool-proof and extendable web applications on- and offline. In this regard, Bart works to help other web devs by maintaining the PHP Quality Assurance and organising the local PHP community. He also volunteers for the Red Cross and CodeDojo Belgium.
Pieter is a full-stack engineer living in Antwerp. Passionate about new technologies, he has extensive experience managing the complete project lifecycle from requirements gathering through to implementation. His blog posts have been echoed by publications such as Forbes. You can find more about his adventures here.
Kenneth is an independent software developer and technical lead at development and consultancy firm Agilix. He is an active member of the Belgian development community. Taking part as a public speaker and regularly posting content on his blog.
Weekly news. Discover last news about IT: Uber faces reality and news about SAP that shared a few significant announcements...
Weekly news. Discover last news about IT: Uber faces reality and news about SAP that shared a few significant announcements.
Uber Faces Reality
One of the biggest heralds of the mobility revolution, Uber is known for making bold statements about the near future and the company’s role in making it possible.
Flying
taxis crossing the city’s skyline, fleets of driverless cars optimising traffic
flow across entire countries. The full picture.
Well,
it’s time to face reality. The reality of public traded companies, that is.
In an
effort to turn a profit next year, the company is abandoning both its
loss-making flying taxi division and the development of its own driverless
car.
Uber is selling the two businesses to two different start-ups, hoping to pursue its futuristic ambitions through partnerships moving forward.
The company is the latest big player to jump on the low-code
bandwagon with its new Cloud Platform Workflow Management tool. The solution
lets employees with little to no knowledge of coding create their own
operational workflows.
The tool also includes predefined workflows for processes like
employee onboarding and can be integrated with Qualtrics data.
SAP also announced its first-ever RPA solution. Named SAP Ruum, the tool complements the company’s new low-code strategy by allowing businesses to integrate easily deployable automation into departmental processes.
If one thing can be said about 2020 is that it caught most of us completely by surprise. Here are a few steps that will help you to get ready for 2021.
If one thing can be said about 2020 is that it caught most of us completely by surprise. Sure, epidemiologists had been warning us for ages of an imminent virus outbreak that would put us all up against the ropes. But, as it’s usually the case with visionary doomsayers, they were ignored. Get ready for 2021.
Well, now we have no excuse. As 2020 draws to an end, all of us should take a deep breath and evaluate where we are in relation to where we’d like to get in the upcoming year. It’s time to do some soul-searching and make some plans. And that involves accounting for both the expected and the unexpected. Especially if you are an IT professional.
The pandemic has made even more evident something that people in the industry had known all along: technology is vital to the success of the modern enterprise. Yet, if something is true about technology, that is that it is constantly changing. Whether you are a front-line support engineer or a CIO whose role is evolving faster than it has over the last 10 years, you will want to make some contingencies to ensure you emerge on top of the wave once the storm is over.
Here are a few steps that will help you get there.
Get ready for 2021 – Step 1: Know your tech
You probably noticed the recent spike in 2021 tech prediction articles cluttering your feeds and inboxes. Yes, it’s that time of the year, and everyone is getting on board.
However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay attention to these proverbial revelations. There’s definitely more truth than hype in—well—most of them. But we get it: you’re busy and don’t necessarily have the time to comb through lists of similar-sounding headlines during your coffee breaks. Well, we did it for you. And here’s our winner.
When it comes to technology, few institutions can be as trusted as the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). The world’s largest tech association, IEEE’s sole goal is to literally dedicate themselves to “advancing technology for the benefit of humanity”. They recently conducted a survey of CIOs and CTOs at major companies around the world and put numbers to what we already suspected:
AI and machine learning lead the way as the technologies set to shape the year ahead, with 5G solutions and IoT in second and third position. The main organisational tech challenge, of course, will be coping with the effects of Covid-19.
Step 2: Conduct an honest self-assessment
Now that you’re all caught up with the news about the future in general, it’s probably a good time to start thinking about your own future. How are your professional and personal lives compared to what you thought they’d be a year ago? Is what you thought a year ago even applicable anymore? A thorough and honest self-assessment is due.
Speculation is key, as sometimes it’s more about the question than the answer. A chat with colleagues and other members of the tech community can also be very beneficial. Helping you broaden your horizons and giving you some food for thought.
Step 3: Skill up
Once you have a clearer picture of your current situation, it’s time to work towards your desired one. Holiday downtime is the perfect excuse to do some upskilling. Yes, Netflix and chill sounds more like the holidays, but no one ever got anywhere without a bit of extra effort. The investment will pay in time.
Don’t forget your soft skills. From working more effectively to strengthening your business skills, it’s these nuances that will give you a competitive edge over other tech professionals. In the fast-moving, ever-changing world of today, knowing your tech is simply not enough.
Get ready for 2021 – Step 4: Set your targets and go get them
Back-End Developer works mainly on the server side (the back-store) while the Front-End Developer operates on the client side (the store).
Use our template to create a compelling and comprehensive Back-End Developer job description to attract top talent.
Let´s start with a little refresher on the difference between front end from the back end, before explore the role of Back-End Developer.
For example, imagine that you are planning to open a store. Its proper functioning is based on two things: the store itself as a sales space, and the back store, whose activity is essential to run the store. Now imagine that this store is your website. Roughly speaking, the front end is the equivalent of the visible part of your store, while the back end would be the invisible part that fuels the store with stock.
Although the rise of the Full Stack Developer (front + back) is shaking up the traditional role segmentation; the Back-End Developer works mainly on the server side (the back-store); while the Front-End Developer operates on the client side (the store).
Interested in exploring more roles within tech? Take a look at the role of the C/C++ Developer
What is the role of the Back-End Developer?
Usually working together with a Technical Project Manager or Tech Lead, the Back-End Developer is in charge of the “invisible” part of an organisation’s web applications. That is everything that enables the communication between database and browser.
Develop and improve technical functionalities
Firstly, the Back-End Developer’s job is to develop and improve the technical functionalities of a web application, working on the architecture of the server, the administration of the database and the communication of the latter with the application.
For example, the Back-End Developer will set up the structure and write the code that will update your information on a site when you submit a registration form. Depending on the context, this work can be done from an already existing framework or CMS/type solution, or from scratch.
Supporting business growth
The Back-End Developer needs to work in conjunction with businesses experts to respond as effectively as possible to business-related issues. But also to ensure the scalability and security of applications so that the business remains operational and can grow.
Required skills to be Back-End Developer
Mastery of programming languages
An
adept coder, the Back-End Developer focuses on programming and scripting
languages. They must have a good knowledge of how both servers and web browsers
work. They must know well the different back-end frameworks (Laravel, Ruby on
Rail, J2E, etc.) and, of course, know how to use common programming languages
such as PHP, Ruby, Python, .Net, Node.JS, C # or SQL.
With
the rise of cloud computing, it is also recommended to know how to set up
services such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure or the Google Cloud Platform.
Passion and a decent level of English
This
job requires you to be passionate about the work you do, and you must keep an
eye out for new technology developments to stay up-to-date with current
language standards and their applications. For that, it is advantageous to have
a decent level of English, as most of the resources and the performance of
tasks are usually in English.
Demonstrate autonomy and rigour
This position demands rigour and autonomy. The Back-End Developer must respect the deadlines and be able to operate independently and with a proactive spirit.
Within the industry
The Back-End Developer is an expert who can be found in digital agencies, medium-sized businesses and large companies. More and more developers are choosing to exercise this function as freelancers for all the advantages offered by this status.
Back-End Developer’s Salary
The average daily rate for a Back-End Developer ranges between €200 and €600.
Training of the Back-End Developer
There are several paths to becoming a Back-End Developer. One option is to start from the bottom with a university degree in computer science or similar. But one can also access the position through a master’s in web development or from an engineering school. Many developers are also self-taught.
Weekly News: Presenting Our New Podcast Mission Control Center
Say hello to our new podcast Mission Control Center
Because we know how busy you are, we are launching a podcast version of the newsletter from Mission Control Center, so that you can listen to it while you work.
Every week, our editor Miquel Morales will walk you through the
most relevant tech news and share all sorts of career development advice.
We’ll soon be having interviews with experts in all areas of IT, so make sure to follow us every week!
After having proven
its worth with programs capable of beating humans at various games, the
artificial intelligence group DeepMind has reached a major scientific
milestone.
The group’s latest program, AlphaFold, has finally solved a
problem that had kept researchers baffled for 50 years: predicting how proteins
fold into 3D shapes.
Protein folding patterns, which are unique to each protein and
extremely complex, could until now only be unravelled through years-long lab
work. It took AlphaFold just a few weeks to learn how to predict folding with
greater accuracy than humans.
The breakthrough paves the way for the design of more powerful drugs and vaccines to fight diseases, as well as for the production of more nutritious crops.
A new global IEEE
survey of CTOs and CIOs reveals the top technologies and challenges for
organisations in the upcoming year.
While overcoming the effects of the pandemic remains the biggest
concern amongst technology leaders, AI and machine learning are cited as the
game-changing tech trends for 202. Next-gen 5G solutions and IoT follow close
behind.
Manufacturing, healthcare, financial services and education are
expected to be the industries in which technology will play a more pivotal
role.
One positive finding is that an overwhelming majority of IT leaders (92%) believe their company is now more prepared to respond to a catastrophic and sudden event like a natural disaster or a data breach.
Amazon Web Services
kickstarted its yearly re:Invent conference with a big revelation: the company
is bringing macOS to the AWS cloud.
AWS will be making available Mac mini instances for developers
to create apps directly on its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).
It is a significant announcement for devs, who now can run Xcode
and Swift tools in the cloud without having to maintain and patch custom-built
Mac machines.
However, the Mac minis being currently deployed in AWS data centres are still sporting previous-generation Intel chips. The company will be rolling out the new Apple-silicon machines early next year.
Companies are more than ever in need of proficient CTOs who provide the company with a competitive edge. Discover our tips with our CTO career guide.
Discover our CTO career guide.
With digital transformation at full throttle thanks to Covid-19, one particular trend is accelerating: every company out there is gradually becoming a technology company. In a short time span, technology has gone from a product or nice add-on to becoming a strategic asset integral to an organisation’s business model.
Consequently, companies are more
than ever in need of proficient CTOs who can lead the push towards new
technological solutions that provide the company with a competitive edge. The potential
reward for those who decide to go down the CTO path is huge, and if you manage
to cultivate the hybrid set of skills this position requires, you will be set
for professional success as an IT leader.
But how exactly can you become a Chief Technology Officer?
Use our template to create a compelling and comprehensive HTML Integrator job description to attract top talent.
The HTML Integrator specialises in programming and development, their mission being to translate a graphic language into computer language. The integrator assembles the different elements of a website, making sure they are aligned with the desired aesthetics and maintain a practical design.
HTML (Hypertext Mark-Up Language) is a computer language based on the use of formatting tags which is used in the creation of web pages.
Firstly, the HTML integrator works closely with the Web Project Manager and the Art Director. For example, together, they determine how the pages should be structured in terms of content, design (style and animations) and functionality.
Translate design into computer language
The
HTML integrator then translates the graphic design into computer language, both
for web and mobile browsers. They must build each website page by placing all
the necessary textual and graphic elements, such as images or videos.
Ensure compatibility and compliance with standards
The integrator must also ensure the compatibility between the various browsers (Safari, Firefox, etc.) while considering the standards in place (RWD, W3C, accessibility).
Required skills of the HTML Integrator
Deep technical expertise
The expert must obviously master the HTML language, as well as other web design technologies such as CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, SQL …
Creativity and sense of aesthetics
Further, the HTML integrator should be creative and have a strong sense of aesthetics. For instance, they must master graphic consistency, highlighting the website’s content in a marketing-savvy manner.
Ability to listen and adapt
In addition to being as responsive as the websites they create, the integrator must know how to adapt to the client and other professionals. They are most often working within very varied teams: Web designer, Digital Project Manager, E-Commerce Manager, etc.
Within the industry
A web integrator can work for all kinds of businesses, being often brought in to work with multiple departments at once (marketing, IT, etc.).
Salary of the HTML Integrator
The average daily rate ranges between €450 and €900.
Training of the HTML Integrator
In conclusion, a college degree in IT can be an excellent steppingstone to this technical position. However, it is advisable to complement that degree with dedicated licenses and certifications. After a few years of experience, an integrator will have the opportunity to move towards positions related to development, design, or even consulting.
