The internet of things, according to IDC, will continue to grow, with a market value of $1.5 trillion projected in 2020.
According to industry executives and analysts, the disruption caused by Covid-19 would result in a boom in the market for Internet of Things, or linked technologies. Companies like Infosys, Tata Communications, ThoughtWorks, Citius Tech, and Hero Electronix are betting on these opportunities, according to these experts.
To make sense of these facts, we simply know that blockchain, artificial intelligence, and smart technology are booming. Among them, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a major player. The world will need new solutions to solve the biggest problems in human history and all these technologies are going to help.
Therefore, without a doubt, a career as an IoT architect is one of the highest-paid under tech industries. And if you want to become a part of these future technologies. We have assembled a nice and crisp guide on how to become an IoT architect.
Excited? Here we begin.
1. What is an IoT Architect
Before going into – how to become an IoT architect, it’s important to discuss basic concepts. Like what is an IoT Architect and what do they do.
The Internet of Things (IoT), is a technology that allows any user to connect to the Internet and other connected devices. Phones, smart sensors, appliances, cameras, wearable technology, and automobiles are examples of this. An IoT architect sorts through all of the data sent between networks from the different devices and gadgets that millions of people use daily. Through designing IoT solutions, IoT architects assist companies in resolving business issues. They’re also in charge of developing and communicating the Internet of Things idea, post, and design.
2. What Does an IoT Architect Do?
Every device connected to the Internet sends data using different networks into cloud storage. Now, this data is absolutely enormous and important that someone needs to make sense of this data. This is where an IoT Architect helps businesses.
The IoT Architect takes the lead from the start to the implementation vision, strategy, architecture, and development of IoT solutions.
Now that we are clear with the basics. Let’s deal with the real question on – How to become an IoT architect. That is, what are the required education and skills needed to launch your career in the Internet of things.
3. Education required to become an IoT Architect
Like most of the jobs in our highest-paying tech jobs list, this one also requires you to have a background in technical education. Hence a bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or information technology is required at the very least to start your journey.
Because the field is still in its early stages, there aren’t many graduate programs that only offer bachelor’s degrees in IoT at the moment, except Florida International University in the United States. Aside from a bachelor’s degree, numerous certifications and training programs are IoT-specific and will help you advance your career.
Microsoft and Cisco offer some of the top-notch training. Technical organizations such as DAMA International and the Internet of Things Consortium (IoTC) provide networking opportunities as well as certification and admission to educational conferences.
As we said, this career is fairly new so even if you have these training, you are going to stand out to potential companies. Let’s move on to the next segment of the guide: how to become an IoT architect.
4. Skills required to become an IoT architect
There are many skills required to start your career. However, all these skills can be categorized into three sets:
- Developing communication and leadership skills
- Learning Internet of Things Data Management practices
- Becoming expert in different technologies
Developing communication and leadership skills
IoT architects need to collaborate with different business leads and different teams to solve a particular problem. For that reason, you need to be able to communicate your ideas. An IoT Architect must have a strong understanding of data and programming skills, but communication skills are just as important.
Learning Internet of Things Data Management practices
An IoT Architect must be constantly learning about IoT businesses and Data Governance. This training is required not only to gain new clients but also to avoid unintended consequences. The requirements for understanding data about the Internet of Things are becoming much more complex, and the market is responding to that. This entails being familiar with Data Quality, Metadata standards, and Data Governance.
Becoming expert in different technologies
As we have mentioned above, having a degree in engineering or computer science is the minimum required. Depending on what IoT product the company supports or sells, many IoT Architects will have a degree in mechanical or electrical engineering, as well as experience with Web API programming. There are many professionals who are experts in technologies other than these. They may be programmers, use open-source data management solutions like Hadoop, or be fluent in a variety of programming languages such as Python, Java, Ruby on Rails, CSS, SQL, or HTML5.
As a result, you will not only need to become an expert in various software and hardware, but you will also need to know what technologies to use to solve an IoT business issue, as well as their strengths and limitations and how to implement them.
Therefore, In order to improve safety and performance in the advanced technology world, IoT architects must keep their IoT businesses and data management and good data practices current. They must be able to master a variety of skills and communicate effectively to do so.
Conclusion
It’s no surprise that to handle big responsibilities, you need to learn multiple skills. In our journey: how to become an IoT architect, you must have realized that you need to be multilingual.
However, you should not be overburdened by the notion that you require all of the skills listed above. In fact, you can start working with just one layer as an IoT architecture to start a rewarding career as an IoT architect.
For example, master C and C++ to learn to develop embedded software for end-point IoT devices. Likewise, to gain expertise in data management solution design, implementation, and maintenance. On Java, you’ll need a lot of common sense.
