How Can Big Tech Layoffs be a Boon for the Quantum Computing Cloud?

Quantum companies are in dire need of techies and big tech layoffs might be a boon for the industry

Regarding employing new staff, the CEO of a big quantum firm made a statement that initially startled me quite a bit. He claimed that for his company, getting qualified conventional engineers was more difficult than finding qualified quantum specialists! An astounding quantity of hardware with a traditional foundation is used by a quantum computer, claims a quantum computing report.

Establishing graphical user interfaces, database engineering, coupling a quantum computer with a conventional processor for hybrid computing, creating conventional control circuits for the qubits, job queuing algorithms, data analysis, and a ton more are some of the tasks that fall under this category.

The findings of the QED-survey Cs of its members last year, which focused on the education, training, and skill requirements of the quantum industry, were made public. It was demonstrated that a significant portion of positions wouldn't or only marginally require any familiarity with quantum theory.

Higher degrees in quantum physics are necessary for several jobs, including experimental physicist and error correction scientist. To launch their product, a rising quantum firm would do well to hire a mix of individuals with expertise outside of quantum to work alongside the quantum experts.

According to the layoff tracking website Layoffs, over 200,000 individuals have been fired from over 1,000 different companies in the tech sector thus far in 2022 and 2023.

Like any new employee at a firm, some training will likely be required. The good news is that a proficient classical engineer may learn the skills they need to work effectively with quantum physicists from a variety of sources, including online and short courses.

Therefore, for those quantum firms who are in dire need of individuals to help them achieve their goals, consider the idea of hiring someone with experience in conventional computing. You could find that hiring these individuals is easier than you anticipated, and they might be able to leverage their past experience working for traditional computer firms to their advantage and provide novel solutions to any technical problems that may occur in your organization.

The cloud might, however, contain a bright spot. At industry conferences, the problem of finding the right employees for quantum firms has repeatedly come up. Some of that was prompted by the intense competition from traditional computer companies in recent years, who stepped up their development efforts during the Covid years and also implemented work-from-home policies to make it easier for someone to join an organization with its headquarters in a different city.

Even though not every person affected by these IT layoffs may be qualified for a job with quantum, we believe that some of them are. Mid-career professionals interested in the quantum industry can find it helpful to take a few introductory classes so they can become comfortable with the buzzwords and communicate with the Ph.D. theorists at a quantum company. Programs to consider include the MIT xPro series and several edX courses. Additional resources, including numerous self-paced video courses, are noted on the Quantum Computing Report's Education page.

We thus urge everyone in the classical computer industry thinking about making the leap to quantum to research these resources. And Quantum Company hiring managers, think about hiring some of these folks. Even while they might need some on-the-job training to become completely productive, they will provide skills like goal setting, communications, collaboration, project management, organisation, etc. that may be lacking from someone who is coming straight out of a university.