VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) are changing the way we see technology as well as view the future and the entire world. With this progress comes the necessity to recruit the required talent to fill job openings.
It might surprise you to learn that the concepts of VR and AR have been around since 1838 when Charles Wheatstone introduced his stereoscope. The stereoscope was a device that allowed a user to look through different holes for each eye. The effect produced two images that collectively appeared larger and three-dimensional.
Similarly, Thomas Edison and William Dickson invented the kinetoscope in the 19th century. This device used a small piece of film and a light bulb to allow users to look through a peephole and watch motion pictures at 46 frames per second.
Click here for more details on the history of AR and VR, which details not only the technology’s past, but also its present and future.
VR Advances Add To Engineering Staffing Shortages
Engineering job recruiting has already been accelerating rapidly. Recruitment of engineers, scientists and other technical talent will only increase exponentially with the proliferation of virtual reality and augmented reality applications!
This is particularly true because as I shared in my last article unforeseen and previously impractical technologies are certain to foster new industries. New applications of VR and AR will correspondingly accelerate the discovery, development, cost-reduction and ultimate widespread adoption of those technologies.
Marriages of virtual reality and augmented reality with other hot technology such as Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) will present a possible inflection point for all of engineering. As a result, engineering, scientific and technical recruiting will ramp up exponentially as new product development proliferates.
Recruiting Managers Need New Recruitment Tools To Succeed
Because future scientists, engineers and technical talent are destined to embrace human-centric design principles, hiring managers will need to adopt more robust staffing practices to successfully attract key technology talent.
Engineering students must continue to be taught the value of finding and validating this information quickly, applying that knowledge to other disciplines while considering human-centric design principles. This necessitates better STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education.
The challenge will be to uncover skilled virtual reality and augmented reality talent encompassing all these engineer, scientific and technology disciplines. To assist with this herculean recruiting challenge, I devised the 12 Commandments of Recruiting for successfully staffing AR and VR engineering talent.
2 Responses
Scott,
This is a great article and good read for sure. A Big Thank you!. With your permission, I offer the following detailed analysis to explain why digital technologies such as AR & VR are important and how organizations should approach the adoption of these technologies.
With my experience in working across the aerospace engineering value chain and broad knowledge of other manufacturing industries, I am more than convinced that Augmented Reality(AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies will take center stage in the product development lifecycle for the decades to come.
In labor-intensive industries like aerospace, mechanical, and other manufacturing industries that are typically characterized by long product lifecycles and increasing price pressures, reducing operational costs and increasing bottom-line will be the key for long-term sustainability and profitability – for both OEMs and product owners/end customers. Adopting digital technologies such as AR & VR would help in reducing costs in the long-run and increasing productivity. Specifically, these technologies help OEMs and customers to work with real-time data, use resources efficiently, and comply with regulations, reducing errors, effort, and cost, boosting productivity and increasing efficiency. The success factors to make this happen are also worth a special mention.
The first success factor is that embracing the digital journey must start with the top leadership and should flow down, setting up a clear vision and providing the required support. Yes, it costs more upfront but the long-term benefits could be substantially high, and as a matter of fact, it could be the differentiator in the market too!.
The second success factor is the availability of skilled and well-trained workforce. As of this day, resources with these skills are scarce and is a real challenge for these industries. In my opinion, Talent providers and Business leaders should partner together to develop the required capabilities. Talent providers can help with identifying talent with the right attitude (with a willingness to learn and challenge themselves). Business leaders should provide the required cross-training to develop the skillset and develop a mechanism to engage and retain the talent.
It’s worth watching how traditional industries like aerospace and other manufacturing industries embrace the digital journey in the years to come and take advantage of the technological advancements in increasing their bottom-line.
I am interested in hearing your perspective as well.
Ramasarma,
I greatly appreciate your comments on my recent article on virtual reality (or VR) and the future of engineering job recruiting. I encourage you to sign up for my future jobs recruitment blog articles (free) and for making future comments on my talent staffing articles.
Thanks again,
-Scott
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