INTRODUCTION TO TECHNOLOGY (TECH) AND SOME OF ITS FIELDS

What is technology?

Technology is the product of applied science or knowledge which has been put into practical use to solve problems or invent useful tools. Looking back from the stone age to this present age, technology has evolved greatly much to man's awe.

Technology has had a positive impact on the human race in so many ways like in the production of electronic devices, internet services and many other areas which has made life easier for man. Seeing as how tech is well on its way to infiltrating every aspect of our lives in the foreseeable future, it is in one's best interest to get familiar with what it is and what it entails.

Going into tech can be fun but quite intimidating if one does not have the foreknowledge about it. To start with, let us outline the topmost fields in tech and then go deeper into them as we proceed.

Some of the fields in tech include the following: Data Science, Machine Learning, Technical Writing, Web Development, UI/UX design, Engineering Design and Mobile Application Development But in this article we are going to be looking at the first three aforementioned fields along with computer hardware engineering. Without further ado, let us get into them.

Data Science

A simple definition of data science is - it is the study of data and the application of statistics, mathematics, algorithms and machine learning principles with the goal of discovering hidden patterns in raw data.

Data science has its place in the now, and future of tech seeing as how many small and big companies, and websites are using it to grow by collecting raw data and processing the said data into meaningful information to predict future happenings.

More data is being produced at every moment in time, and the demand to process this data into useful information is rising. You are sure to have no regret going into it.

Machine Learning

While data science aims to use a scientific approach for the extraction of actionable insights from raw data, machine learning however refers to a group of techniques used by data scientists that enables computers to learn from data. Machine learning is an application of artificial intelligence that provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed.

Machine learning has become very useful in different industries all over the world, even a person with the littlest knowledge in tech can use machine learning to perform simple tasks like scanning, saving and filing paper documents and even editing the said documents.

An example of an area in which machine learning is applied is face/visual recognition which most of us use daily in our mobile devices.

Technical Writing

To understand better the concept of technical writing, we need to know the definitions of two key phrases which are; 'technical writer' and 'technical writing'.

Who is a technical writer? A technical writer is one who makes written technical materials for various occupational and technical fields.

What is technical writing? Technical writing is the process of planning, writing and editing technical communications used in technical and occupational fields such as computer hardware and software, engineering etc, with the target audience in mind. Also according to the Society for Technical Communication (STC), technical writing is sometimes defined as simplifying the complex. Therefore, technical writing makes advanced technology concepts clearer by putting the concepts in more simpler and accurate terms for the intended audience.

Technical writing houses the largest subfield in technical communication. Anyone in a professional setting has in one way or the other produced a technical document whether they are aware or not.

Technical writing requires many skills such as in depth knowledge in the use of words, researching, techniques of writing, creativity and even a fundamental knowledge of the topic the writer is building content on. Once all these skills are perfectly honed and mastered, one is good to go as a technical writer.

Computer Hardware Engineering

Computer hardware engineering is one of the major fields in tech, and unlike the other fields, it deals majorly with the hardware on which the products of the other fields run on. It is one of the highest paying jobs in tech.

Computer hardware engineering is the process of researching, designing, developing and testing computer systems and components such as processors, circuit boards, memory devices, networks and routers. Many devices are incorporated with processors and other components that connect to the Internet. They are designed with the knowledge of computer hardware engineering. An example of such devices are the mobile phone. The software engineer works on making new, or updated applications and even operating systems, but computer hardware engineers are tasked with designing and coupling the components that make up the phone.

Computer hardware engineering requires sound knowledge in calculus, computer and science, therefore if you have already acquired a bachelor's degree in either computer science, computer engineering or electrical engineering, a journey in computer hardware engineering is going to be a smooth one.

Whatever field in tech you want to go into today, with hard work, you can never go wrong with it.

Written by: Olawumi.