Wanted: Quantum Workforce. Needed: Quantum Workforce.
Quantum Computers Might Save the World — If Companies Can Find Workers to Build Them
Excerpts and salient points ~
+ Speaking at Fortune’s annual Brainstorm Tech conference Monday in Aspen, Colo., Microsoft general manager of quantum software Krysta Svore explained why people should care about the experimental technology. Essentially, workable quantum computing could, in theory, help solve some of humanity’s most pressing problems like capturing “carbon from the atmosphere to save the planet” and improving clean and energy and food production, Svore said.
Svore said that currently “there are not enough people educated in [the] space” to meet the employment demand, and companies like Microsoft need people who are trained in fields like materials science, cryogenics (quantum machines need to run in extremely cold temperatures), as well as quantum theory and development. Fursman said that it’s taken five years for his quantum software startup to employ 100 people, which he said is “not a sustainable thing to build this industry.”
+ Both Svore and speaker Andrew Fursman, the co-founder and CEO of the startup 1QBit, had the challenging task of explaining how quantum computing works to the audience of business executives and financiers. Fursman joked that it’s likely many of the business-savvy audience members don’t understand how conventional computers work, but they know what they want those computers to achieve and help their businesses.
+ With quantum computing still being developed, companies are racing to hire skilled talent, which is currently limited because the field is so nascent.
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