Foundation Skills
Data modeling. SQL. Integration fundamentals. These remain; they got more important, not less.
AI-Era Skills
Prompt design. Agent evaluation. RAG patterns. Trust Layer configuration. AI observability. Cost monitoring. Governance frameworks. The skill frontier is here now.
Architecture Skills
API-first thinking. Headless and composable patterns. Event-driven design. Multi-vendor orchestration. Not just ‘configure this CRM’ — ‘design this stack’.
Career Positioning
Generalists who speak business, data, AI, and architecture win in 2026. Deep-one-specialty practitioners see narrowing opportunities. Invest in breadth on top of your specialization.