The Old World: Knowledge as the Key
Until recently, the tech industry was clearly divided into two camps: technical and non-technical roles. Those who wanted to work in a technical position needed extensive expertise and years of education. A computer science degree, preferably with a master's, was almost mandatory, and the ability to write code and scale systems was the key to climbing the career ladder.
Knowledge was difficult to acquire. You had to study extensive technical literature, learn to code, and deeply engage with the subject matter. This technical knowledge was not only hard to obtain, but it was also the main factor for compensation and career advancement in technical roles. This often led to leadership positions where you coached others on how to develop their own skills in engineering and system building.
On the other hand, non-technical roles like sales, marketing, and product management focused on applied knowledge within a specific business context or market segment. In sales, for instance, it was important to have experience with certain types of customers and to possess the relevant sales techniques and contacts. Marketing involved understanding and executing go-to-market strategies for technical products, which were often sold to CTOs and other technical decision-makers.
Early Signs of Change
In the mid-2010s, this clear division began to shift. In the product management field, roles such as "Technical Product Manager" and "Business Product Manager" emerged. This was an early signal that technical knowledge was starting to seep into non-technical roles.
A notable example of this is Amazon. To enable personalized shopping experiences and recommendations on a large scale, they needed technical product managers who could understand the intricacies of recommendation algorithms, machine learning, and scaling across a vast cloud network. Without advanced AI tools, it was essential for product managers to have a high level of technical understanding to be effective.
This trend showed that the previously isolated technical knowledge from engineering departments was beginning to flow into other areas. This knowledge was necessary to build larger and more complex systems.
The Break: Knowledge Becomes a Commodity
Then came the turning point: with the introduction of AI tools like ChatGPT in 2022, we crossed the "knowledge barrier." Knowledge became a commodity, a good that is available everywhere. What was once valuable and required a university degree to obtain is now available on demand.
This doesn't just affect technical knowledge. Knowledge in other areas such as marketing, sales, and product management is also now easily accessible. Of course, the best professionals still have a wealth of experience that you can't simply pull from a language model. The last 5-10% of valuable, experience-based knowledge remains specific and hard to replace. But the basic knowledge that was once required to enter entry-level positions is now available to anyone who types it into a chatbox.
The New Reality: A Market for Problem Solvers
In this new world, the crucial question is no longer "What do you know?" but "Have you successfully solved problems?" We now live in a "Business Judgment Economy," where the ability to make informed decisions and solve complex problems takes center stage.
Companies are now looking for candidates who have successfully tackled specific challenges in the past and can prove it. These "key positions" require people with the exact experience needed for the role so that they can be productive from day one.
The role of knowledge has fundamentally changed. It makes little sense to ask a product manager if they can code in Python or SQL – with the help of AI assistants, many can quickly acquire these skills. The skills that are now in demand lie in applying this knowledge to solve concrete problems.
What Does This Mean for Your Career?
For both newcomers and experienced professionals, this means that the focus must be on demonstrating how you've successfully solved problems. It's about showing a track record of success: starting with task-level achievements, then moving to team-level, product-level, and finally business-level accomplishments.
In job interviews and resumes, the emphasis should therefore be on providing concrete examples of successfully solved problems. Show how your decisions have added value. Highlight the outcomes of your work and how they positively impacted the company.
This also explains why the job market is currently so volatile. Many applicants assume that the knowledge economy still functions as before. But reality has changed. Hiring managers know that knowledge is freely available – they themselves use tools like ChatGPT. So, they are looking for candidates who have the ability to apply their knowledge practically and deliver real results.
The Challenge of Adaptation
Our application processes and resumes have not yet fully adapted to this new reality. Many systems are still designed to evaluate knowledge rather than problem-solving skills. It’s up to us to anticipate this shift and adjust our strategies accordingly.
It's crucial to recognize that we live in an era where knowledge is freely available, and the real value lies in the ability to effectively apply that knowledge. Those who can adapt to this will succeed in the new economy.
Conclusion
The tech job market has shifted from a knowledge economy to a problem-solving economy. While accumulating knowledge used to be the key to success, today it's business acumen and problem-solving skills that matter. To thrive in the tech industry today, you must do more than just acquire knowledge – you must demonstrate that you can overcome challenges and deliver valuable results.
It’s time to acknowledge these changes and adjust to them. Feel free to share your thoughts on this shift in the comments. It’s long overdue that we start talking about these developments.
