A Lack of Outside Awareness: Is the Industry Letting Itself Down?

I was recently made aware of a disturbing but inevitable fact, key areas of the industry are all but invisible to many of those who could potentially come to perform admirably in related careers. I took some time out at Droidcon UK to interview two students who had been sent to the event as part of work experience, which in the UK happens to the majority of students in year 10 (9th grade). Unlike many students, Imogen and Jessica had no choice in their placement, while they enjoyed their time at the event and showed a great interest in learning a about the industry they also revealed some startling truths.

The students announced that prior to the event they had been completely unaware of the variety of careers available within the mobile industry and had not seen a presence from anyone in the industry or heard about available roles at school career days. It is here where the industry lets itself down, while many teens have an understanding of the industry and its products they are not necessarily aware of the potential careers available for them or the qualifications or experience needed in order to pursue them. Many of the apparently minor roles taken by people entering the industry do have a profound effect on people’s lives. An article by Michael Mace former Director of Worldwide Customer & Competitive Analysis recall’s how he was approached by a man at a trade show who stated:

“I like your fonts” … “Especially that one.” He pointed to a font that imitated calligraphy, lots of curves and soft angles. “When my niece died, we used it to make the engraving for the tombstone.”

In another significant article our own Editor in chief Mario, discusses how for better of for worse the content the media produces has a significant impact on future generations of phones, devices which themselves play a monumental role in many of our lives. I myself am proud to say I believe I have made an impact on people’s view of the world, not a massive change, but enough to know that out there somewhere are people who will always remember the day they opened one of my articles. I was recently able due to my choice of career in mobile journalism to send two of our readers to China for an all expenses paid trip, an experience they may never have had otherwise.

Without a larger presence at the stage in people’s lives where they are making the decisions that may well determine their future, we are letting some of the most valuable people slip past unnoticed. Engineering, journalism, marketing, media, photographers, R&D, legal, finances and graphic designers are just a few of the departments that are greatly aided by having a prior knowledge of the particular industry involved. By aiding people down the path to relavent education at a younger age we can in turn help bring some of the next generation of staff better prepared and determined. Of course many of the best experts currently working in the industry are self-taught due to the rapid changes made within the industry in the last few decades, however that does not have to be the case for future generations. It is a difficult area to target, of course, after all how many of the older developers here at XDA decided they wanted to go into mobile software development while still in school in a time when qualifications in mobile development were non-existent or few and far between. However it is something OEM’s, security companies and media companies should consider, refocusing outreach programmes in order to help these students.

Of course the point stands that those who are truly interested will do their own research and discover relevant careers as a result but in taking that attitude we are likely to miss exceptional talent somewhere down the line.

What do you think? Would you have benefitted from mobile companies visiting during your education? Leave a comment below!

 

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