Assessing the Needs of the Quantum Industry

Abstract

Quantum information science and technology (QIST) has progressed significantly in the last decade, such that it is no longer solely in the domain of research labs, but is now beginning to be developed for, and applied in, industrial applications and products. With the emergence of this new quantum industry, a new workforce trained in QIST skills and knowledge is needed. To help support education and training of this workforce, universities and colleges require knowledge of the type of jobs available for their students and what skills and degrees are most relevant for those new jobs. Additionally, students need to know how to tailor their degrees to best align with the current needs of the quantum industry. We report on the results from a survey of 57 companies in the quantum industry, with the goal of elucidating the jobs, skills, and degrees that are relevant for this new workforce. We find a range of job opportunities from highly specific jobs, such as quantum algorithm developer and error correction scientist, to broader jobs categories within the business, software, and hardware sectors. These broader jobs require a range of skills, most of which are not quantum related. Further, except for the highly specific jobs, companies that responded to the survey are looking for a range of degree levels to fill these new positions, from bachelors to masters to PhDs. With this knowledge, students, instructors, and university administrators can make informed decisions about how to address the challenge of increasing the future quantum workforce.

Development of an Undergraduate Quantum Engineering Degree

“…At the time of the survey, no undergraduate degree in Quantum Engineering was offered anywhere in the world other than UNSW, and all job titles referred to traditional fields in Engineering and Science, such as Test and Measurement Engineer, Control Systems Engineer and Experimental Physicist. An analysis of the responses on the survey [11] may be used to deduce what skills are most sought after by Industry in the hiring of a Quantum Engineer.…”

“…Understanding these dynamics, national governments all over the world are now investing heavily in developing the new workforce that will underpin the emerging quantum economy [6]- [9]. Commercial organizations are also moving quickly in the same direction [10], [11]. Until now, the majority of R&D in quantum technologies has been conducted by PhD graduates, mostly in physics or related disciplines.…”

Ethics education in the quantum information science classroom: Exploring attitudes, barriers, and opportunities

“…• Equity and inclusion in quantum workforce development -Multiple studies in the quantum community has focused on the need for workforce education and development to drive the coming "quantum revolution" [7], [8], [50]. Without careful attention to equity and inclusion, however, QIS runs the risk of replicating the patterns of its progenitor fields, which have made among the least progress among STEM fields in tackling longstanding diversity problems [51], [52].…”

Development of an Undergraduate Quantum Engineering Degree

“…At the time of the survey, no undergraduate degree in Quantum Engineering was offered anywhere in the world other than UNSW, and all job titles referred to traditional fields in Engineering and Science, such as Test and Measurement Engineer, Control Systems Engineer and Experimental Physicist. An analysis of the responses on the survey [27] may be used to deduce what skills are most sought after by Industry in the hiring of a Quantum Engineer.…”

“…Understanding these dynamics, national governments all over the world are now investing heavily in developing the new workforce that will underpin the emerging quantum economy [22], [23], [24], [25]. Commercial organizations are also moving quickly in the same direction [26], [27]. It is the golden era for newly trained engineers -expert across both traditional engineering offerings and quantum technology.…”