Are there any IT skills requiring high intelligence?
I'm looking into acquiring some new skills in IT. For the past 20 years I've been a SQL developer/DBA, but it occurs to me that I might not be using my intellect, what's left of it, to best effect.
Most of our skills as IT contractors have required effort to learn and get experience with, but I don't think they are particularly intellectually taxing, by which I think most people could choose to get skilled up in them if they put in the work.
What I want to know about is are there any IT skills that are too hard for most people to learn. i.e. that no matter how much study they put into them, that the average contractor is not going to be able to get up to speed with them because it requires a higher level of intelligence to understand than they are capable of.
I went to Cambridge University, so in theory should have this high intellect. But I have run at a much lower level in my career since then (25 years ago), for which I accept full responsibility (cause is fear, lack of confidence, bad work experiences, and yes lack of motivation).
Now this is not to say that it would be a good idea for me to try to move into such an area right now, for several reasons. For example I too might yet not be intelligent enough to learn the skill.
I might not be able to get a contract in the area once I have learned the skill (because I won't have real-world work experience in it).
I certainly have under 18 year maximum working life in me before I am 70 (unless I stay on like Rupert Murdoch and others like him), and market supply vs demand might cause the rates in the skill to be low. While there are few people who can do it, there might be correspondingly fewer roles available, and those who do it might be very committed to that cause, leading to a lot harder competition compared to more "pedestrian" roles that others can do (research science is a example of this).
If this thread gets moved into General then I'll give up on getting any serious answers lol
Most of our skills as IT contractors have required effort to learn and get experience with, but I don't think they are particularly intellectually taxing, by which I think most people could choose to get skilled up in them if they put in the work.
What I want to know about is are there any IT skills that are too hard for most people to learn. i.e. that no matter how much study they put into them, that the average contractor is not going to be able to get up to speed with them because it requires a higher level of intelligence to understand than they are capable of.
I went to Cambridge University, so in theory should have this high intellect. But I have run at a much lower level in my career since then (25 years ago), for which I accept full responsibility (cause is fear, lack of confidence, bad work experiences, and yes lack of motivation).
Now this is not to say that it would be a good idea for me to try to move into such an area right now, for several reasons. For example I too might yet not be intelligent enough to learn the skill.
I might not be able to get a contract in the area once I have learned the skill (because I won't have real-world work experience in it).
I certainly have under 18 year maximum working life in me before I am 70 (unless I stay on like Rupert Murdoch and others like him), and market supply vs demand might cause the rates in the skill to be low. While there are few people who can do it, there might be correspondingly fewer roles available, and those who do it might be very committed to that cause, leading to a lot harder competition compared to more "pedestrian" roles that others can do (research science is a example of this).
If this thread gets moved into General then I'll give up on getting any serious answers lol
Comment