5 Reasons Why Everyone Should Learn RPA Starting Today
In 2013, economist Dr Carl Benedikt Frey and machine learning professor Michael Osborne released a study named “The Future of Employment” that left the world shook. A machine learning algorithm evaluated 702 job positions, at that time representing 97% of the US workforce, to identify automatable vs. non-automatable jobs. The released results were unpromising: 47% of all current jobs in the US are at risk of being fully or greatly automated in the next one or two decades.
Whatever you are studying right now, if you are not getting up to speed on deep learning, neural networks, etc., you lose. We are going through the process where software will automate software, automation will automate automation.
— Mark Cuban
Fast forward 8 years, and we find ourselves in the world where we deal with automation daily: self-service checkouts in the shops, self-driving cars on the streets and Boston Robotics releasing a video of their humanoid robot Atlas doing parkour tricks as if it were nothing.
You might think that your job is secure as it requires an in-depth analysis of data, the manual entrance of information and document verification. Not to disappoint you, but all of it can be done by RPA, and it’s only a matter of time once your company decides to invest in virtual bots.
Robotic Process Automation is a form of business process automation that allows anyone to define a set of instructions for a ‘robot’ to perform. RPA bots are capable of mimicking most human-computer interactions to carry out a ton of error-free tasks, at high volume and speed.
Learning Robotic Process Automation could be your ticket to a career change and a salary boost. If you always wanted to join the world of IT, but typical coding is not quite for you, RPA could become your way in. However, if you are not interested in turning your career 180 degrees, knowing even the basics of this technology would make you an irreplaceable member of your current team.
If you are still not convinced, here are 5 Reasons Why Everyone Should Learn RPA Starting Today:
#1 Become the pioneer
RPA is an emerging field, therefore there is a lack of qualified RPA specialists in the market. The requirements often include “basic understanding RPA, willingness to learn and experience working with any automation software would be an advantage”. So even without having any previous experience, you can get hired after completing self-learning and practising on your own.
#2 Easy to start
RPA programming is easier to learn than most programming languages, so it is easy to start your IT journey. Indeed, RPA does not require knowing complex languages and technologies, so even if you didn’t have previous experience with programming, it is easy to learn and implement.
In most cases, automation is done using dedicated software like UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Workfusion and so on. Pre-built blocks of code are used to perform actions like clicking a button, typing text, launching a website or processing an Excel file. A chain of such blocks can automate complex financial, accounting and HR processes. Coding skills are rather “an advantage” than “a must” in this technology, so don’t underestimate your competence.
With a growing community of RPA enthusiasts, there is more than enough learning materials, training, online courses, forums and Youtube videos to help you start.
#3 Salary boost
Average RPA programmers are paid competitively compared to most professions though relatively low compared to other developers. If you are not satisfied with your current salary, you can count on a better payment when becoming an RPA developer.
According to Zip Recruiter, the average annual pay for an RPA Developer in the US is $115,713 a year (March 2021), which is quite impressive with such minimum requirements. Salary strongly depends on obtained certificates, work experience, technical skills and the company you work for, but learning RPA is a sure way of increasing your paycheck.
#4 Valuable team member
RPA is a useful skill to have even if you don’t want to become a developer. It would be a great addition to your skillset no matter what industry you work in. For example, you can introduce an automation solution in your team and reduce the workload for you and your colleagues. Your initiative will definitely not go unnoticed by your manager. Become an RPA champion, expand your skills and make sure to be innovative and proactive.
Having process automation in your skillset would make you an attractive candidate for recruiters, as they are actively searching for people prepared for the future of work. Be sure to put RPA in your CV, mention it on LinkedIn, and in no time you will have headhunters spamming your inbox with some very attractive job offers.
#5 What’s in it for me
Although RPA is mostly focused on desktop process automation, there are no limits to its use. With new RPA software being released every couple of months, everyone will find one for themselves.
For example, Microsoft Power Automate is a service that helps you create automated workflows between your favourite apps and services to synchronize files, get notifications, collect data, and more. That includes Sharepoint, Microsoft Teams, Twitter, PowerBI, Trello and literally anything you can imagine.
You can create a flow that would post a tweet every time you release a Youtube video, send you phone notifications at the indicated time, or send you via email weather and upcoming events from your google calendar.
With RPA you can create chatbots, process documents, automate data and so much more. No matter if you are a financial analyst, Python developer or fresh graduate: in this technology, there is something for everyone.
by Alisa Kliuchnikava
