In that future just about every physical device has a sensor spewing out massive amounts of data to be harnessed and managed.
By P.K. Agarwal, Dean, UCSC Silicon Valley
While social networks such as Facebook and Twitter connect people with people, Internet of Thing (IoT) is all about connecting device to device—doorbells, lightbulbs, automobiles, mobile devices, wearables, and yes, even toothbrushes. Adding to the momentum, is the fast-growing adoption of IoT technology in manufacturing, oil and gas, smart cities, and healthcare.
Just about every sector of consumer products and industry will be influenced by the IoT revolution.
The Future of IoT
In that future just about every physical device has a sensor spewing out massive amounts of data to be harnessed and managed. In some sectors, this has already begun. The new data has changed the way we heat our homes, take our medicine, and maintain warehouses. A lot of creative work still needs to be done.
IoT is a conglomeration of most of the hottest disciplines—networking, data science, data management, cloud technologies, programming, and computer hardware—all wrapped up into one. This makes it particularly exciting for students, who, once they get the overall picture, can pick an area they want to work in.
IoT Market Growth
Last year, the IoT market was estimated to be more than $190 billion. The mega companies such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Cisco, FedEx, and Microsoft have all invested in IoT. Conservative forecasts predict a 10–12 percent annual jump, pushing the market to $1 trillion by 2025. This is leading to a lot of new, exciting jobs for software developers, solution architects, data analysts, products designers, testers, and technicians.
Today, the average salary for an IoT engineer working in the U.S. is $85,277 per year, according to Glassdoor.com. In San Jose, the average salary jumps to $107,798. The jobsite currently lists more than 300 IoT engineer jobs in the San Jose area. As a new field, there is room for entry level professionals as well as for people who are upskilling from a current job.
IoT Industry Expertise
At UCSC Silicon Valley, we are meeting that need with numerous learning opportunities for people at different levels of their career. Be sure to explore our courses on smart cities, IoT applications, wearables, and Big Data. Our instructors have already had a tremendous impact on our students.
- The Internet of Things: Sensors, Platforms, Communications, and Applications
- Data Analysis, Introduction
- Big Data: Overview, Tools and Use Cases
- Technology Impacts in the Supply Chain
- The Internet of Things: Big Data Processing and Analytics
- Designing User Experience for Smart Things, Virtual Reality and Wearable Technology