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Quantum computing, boasting a $96,897 average salary, is poised to become a reported $65 billion industry by 2030.
It’s also an emerging industry with unique skill sets, which can make it tough to know exactly who’s qualified enough to work in the field. “Throughout the developing quantum industry in general, there are no standard skills that people look at and use as metrics for hiring,” said Dr. Abe Asfaw, IBM’s Global Lead of Quantum Education and Open Science.
To help standardize this new and exciting field, IBM formed the first Quantum Computing Certification to define and test universal foundational skills. Having the IBM certification on your LinkedIn and resume can quickly show employers that you’ve mastered the essential quantum computing skills.
And, to increase accessibility, all of the study materials for the exam are open-source — aka, completely free.
Keep reading below to learn more about how long it takes to prep for the exam, how much it costs, and more.
You’ll use Qiskit to program real quantum computing hardware, so you’ll need to know Python and have a basic knowledge of linear algebra before you begin.
The test itself is 60 questions and 90 minutes long, covering everything from how to implement BasicAer to Qiskit tools and constructing visualizations. You can find a sample test here.
Asfaw says that because quantum computing is so new, the fundamental concepts may be especially unusual for newcomers.
To get started, he recommends using the educational materials on Qiskit.org, IBM’s free, open-source quantum software development kit, (which includes a free textbook and some videos) in order to go from beginner to certification-ready in a couple of months. You can also find tutorials on the Qiskit YouTube channel.
If you’re a do-it-yourself kind of person, great. If not, the study materials have been tweaked using developers’ feedback to make them more engaging with interactive, hands-on learning, such as having you practice writing code from the Qiskit textbook.
The benefit to using Qiskit — specifically, the course Quantum Computing and Quantum Hardware — is learning the concepts as well as gaining exposure to hands-on programming with quantum computers. According to Asfaw, students can learn how to operate on few quantum bits (known as qubits) using the IBM Quantum Composer. Once you begin writing more complex quantum programs, you can start using IBM Quantum Lab to systematically apply those operations on qubits using code.
An introductory course to quantum computing that explores key quantum algorithms as well as the quantum hardware that runs those algorithms.
The quantum exam cost is determined by location (within the United States, the most you’ll pay is $200 to take the exam). IBM is also reportedly aiming to offer scholarships to improve accessibility.
You can register for the exam here by hitting “register for an exam.“
It greatly depends on the learner, how much they have to learn, and how much time they can allot to learning. Theoretically, Asfaw says a quantum computing newcomer could go from their starting point to exam-ready in two months.
Yes, you’ll find an engaged community around Qiskit and on Twitter. “[Quantum computing] is so young that if you go on Twitter right now and ask, ‘how do density matrices work?’ the kinds of people who answer are the ones who have written the textbooks in the field,” Asfaw said. “I’ve never seen this level of access to people of that stature in a field.”
Asfaw’s advice is to think of how your skills can benefit quantum computing, and ask the computing community on Twitter or Stack Overflow about how to bring that idea to life. “Qiskit’s Slack is a really great place to interact with a community of quantum computing learners,” he added.
Asfaw and IBM spent four months polling diverse developers about their experience in order to build an IBM Quantum Computing Certification that avoided common mistakes and anticipated blind spots.
According to Asfaw, one of the main challenges was connecting different interdisciplinary concepts that developers may have based on their prior experience — be it an engineering-heavy curriculum or a computer science-heavy curriculum — so that a new developer from any background has the context they need to succeed.
If you’re considering quantum computing and aren’t sure about how you fit in, Asfaw says there’s room for everyone. “It’s a highly interdisciplinary field,” Asfaw explained. “It draws from concepts in computer science, materials science, physics, chemistry, and mathematics. This means there’s room for everyone.”
If you’re still unsure, you can always browse the IBM exam’s free study materials to gauge if this is a field you could see yourself being engaged in.
In the future, IBM plans to create quantum computing certifications for different pathways, such as quantum computing for drug discovery (using it to simulate molecules) and finance (optimizing a portfolio). But, for now, employees and employers can gain a baseline education in the field.
“It’s so exciting,” Asfaw said. “The ecosystem is getting built from the ground up. We have an opportunity here to build that ecosystem in a diverse and inclusive way. It’s something we’re simultaneously responsible for, as well as thrilling to see emerging on a daily basis.”
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