Data Movers Podcast - Provident’s Jack Backes Joins Fellow Experts to Talk Future Careers in the Digital Infrastructure Industry

When looking at career paths, the digital infrastructure industry will offer immense and varied career opportunities over the next 10 years, according to three experts who shared their insights on a recent episode of the Data Movers podcast. 

First up, podcast hosts Candace Sipos, Executive VP at Jaymie Scotto & Associates (JSA), and Maxie Reynolds, CEO and Founder of Subsea Cloud, asked panelists:

What is one word you would use to describe careers in the digital infrastructure industry in the next 10 years? 

Panelist Jack Backes, Principal Strategist for Provident Data Centers, responded with “depth” and noted the diverse array of opportunities offered by the digital infrastructure industry. “If we’re talking about data centers, they offer the ability to engage in a broad range of subjects.”

The digital infrastructure industry’s vast and varied spectrum of career options was echoed by all three panelists throughout the podcast, a production of Jaymie Scotto & Associates (JSA) which examines important issues in global data center, telecom, cloud and tech innovation. 

Among the many career paths cited were engineering, technology, warehouse operations, construction and energy expertise. Panelists noted that opportunities will be plentiful and many of them lucrative.

 “It’s really great for your polymath kind of person who's into lots of different subjects and wants to get into a lot of depth across many disciplines,” said Jack, referencing engineering as an example. “Data centers are this place where electrical engineering, software engineering, networking, structural engineering, civil engineering, even mechanical and environmental engineering all sort of come together into one space.” 

Vanessa Kennedy, VP of Development at STACK Infrastructure, said she would layer on “adaptability” to Jack’s choice of “depth” when thinking about words describing the industry’s future career paths. 

“It’s really taking what you've learned and understanding that it's going to change almost on a daily basis,” she said, noting the importance of being able to pivot to new ideas or information. “That's really what we've all had to do in our careers. I think if you talk to anyone in the data center industry, there are very few that really started day one in that industry. They all came out of another industry to serve a need in the market,” said Vanessa, who began her career in the Northern Virginia market long before Data Center Alley existed. 

As the industry continues to evolve in the next 10 years, she said that the ability to positively react and adapt to change will continue to be key. 

Dr. David Snelling, the third panelist, who recently retired as the director of Advanced Compute for Fujitsu, concurred about adaptability and depth being important attributes. He added “dynamic” as his contribution to describing data center careers. “The amount and variety of different kinds of physical hardware to solve particular types of applications is becoming much more evident,” he said. “Even in large homogeneous data centers, there's going to be a great amount of heterogeneous structure. And that's before we bring in quantum computing in a few year’s time.”

The panelists said data centers can also provide a good pipeline into the technology sector as well as warehouse operations. Jobs such as inventory tracking, physical storage, moving racks, etc. will be greatly needed.  David agreed, “the physical things that you have to do in order to make things work is hugely valuable.” 

The panelists also praised the many opportunities arising from the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, such as artificial intelligence (AI) training and inference.  

“So if I'm 18 right now, and I'm looking at an industry to get into, I think about anything around data centers or the whole American industry onshoring movement. That's where my head would be,” said Jack. 

What is your attitude towards AI?  Will it make many careers obsolete? 

When asked about their attitudes toward AI, Jack said he’s an AI optimist. “It’s really about how AI integrates into the human experience. I like what Sam Altman says about the need to shift from this idea that you're replacing a person to the idea that you are augmenting the capabilities of a person. I think we're going to see that a lot throughout digital infrastructure.”

Vanessa took a slightly different approach when discussing AI, reminding future workers that innovation and technological advances require collaboration and communication to succeed.  “I think we're going to see a return to soft skills,” she said. “Our workforce is actually going to need to step back and rekindle those human connections to drive this innovation forward.”

How young people could start preparing now for a future in digital infrastructure? 

In wrapping up the discussion, the panelists were asked how young people could start preparing now for a future in digital infrastructure. Getting a college degree focused on systems engineering or other areas related to data centers is a good path. They also noted that organizations like iMasons and the International Data Center Authority have certification programs that offer great ways to learn about or study digital infrastructure skills. Jack is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Datacenter Systems Engineering at Southern Methodist University (SMU) which is the only graduate program of its kind in the U.S.

Jack said many paths can lead to data centers. He recalled recently talking to an uber driver who is really interested in data centers and wondered how to get into the field. “He was telling me that he has warehouse experience,” Jack said, noting this gives the driver a leg up in moving into the industry. “The data center industry offers this hybrid environment where somebody who is coming in with related skills can find their way into the tech industry.”

Vanessa reminded young people to stay curious. “I have found that the people who have been most successful in data center careers have been curious,” she said. “They know they're vulnerable, they know what they don't know, and they're willing to ask and educate themselves. This has led them to really excel in this space.”

For those interested in pursuing a digital infrastructure career, please reach out to Provident LinkedIn Jobs page for more information.