These days, more and more news is constantly being published about layoffs in the high-tech world which is leaving talented and good employees out of a job. But before they are completely out of the loop, I want to fill them in on an industry that has lots of opportunities and has been growing dramatically in recent years. So, those of you who are recently unemployed, have no fear because they want you!

We all know that Israel has placed high-tech as its leading engine of growth, and thereby focuses and invests resources to bring more and more brilliant minds into the field. From encouraging students to study 5 units of mathematics to dedicated programs for retraining workers, there are plenty of opportunities that the State is pushing forward to get you into high-tech.

But recently Israel has focused on another target, and others are following suit.

The biotech industry is one of the fastest growing and most attractive fields in the world today and it incorporates a need for knowledge that is technological and computational, making it suitable for programmers and engineers. In the past, the field was focused on finding talent with experience and education in life sciences such as chemistry and biology, but today leading companies are also looking for brilliant minds from new computational and engineering disciplines such as artificial intelligence. And better yet, they are ready to pay good salaries and provide great platforms for growth and development in the field.

The field of biotech receives less prestige than the "normal" high-tech – but not rightly so. Think about it: the cure for the global epidemic and growing mortality was brought to us by research and biology. Today, the ability to perform medical tests at home (including tests that used to be invasive), complicated medical procedures, and raise the global lifespan are all thanks to the biotech industry. Or rather thanks to the people behind it.

Moreover, there is an advantage for people who come with an in-depth technological background, since today a large part of the biotech world and especially the health-tech field is looking for computational solutions to biological problems; the industry is moving into the field of AI-based biotech computational technologies. For example, the pharmaceutical companies have realized in recent years that they can significantly shorten and make the process of discovering and developing treatments using artificial intelligence and they are investing huge resources in order to develop advanced technologies in the field. Some of them are even currently holding a competition in Israel to find solutions to improve the chances of success of clinical trials by using artificial intelligence tools within the drug development process– a classic cracking challenge for brilliant minds with a background in AI or Machine Learning and other computational tools. The companies invest in Israel because they see tremendous potential here for the global ecosystem as a country that leads in the fields of artificial intelligence and should thereby also lead in the field of drug development.

The developments in this field do not only help the world of pharma, but an entire ecosystem that is in significant growth. Israeli companies in the field of biotech and digital health are growing together with organizations such as 8400 in the Smashing DNA program, 8200Bio, SpearHealth which is for Talpiot graduates, and graduates of the NGO 81 who are working to bring people with high-tech skills to biotech. To this, we can even add Venture Capital funds that are entering the field such as Grove, Aleph, Viola, Of course, various Israeli companies that are already starting to make waves in the world and are continuing to grow are ImmunAI, CytoReason, Biologic Design, 1E, NucleAI, Scopio Labs, and TailorMed.

So, as you can see, Israel has already marked the biotech field as a strategic goal and a significant growth engine for the Israeli economy, and together with the interest from leading parties and companies in the international market, this is the perfect time to check if this field appeals to you. Whether working on life-saving technologies, finding cures to diseases, or finding solutions to the climate and agricultural crisis, this fascinating field could be your next perfect place. As Winston Churchill said– in every crisis, there is also an opportunity. It is time to realize it.

Written by Mati Gill, CEO of Aion Labs