Are you interested in a career in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI)? Curious about the many opportunities out there? Our new breakdown shows that AI remains a highly specialized field with relatively few job openings. But that will almost certainly change in the coming years.
CompTIA’s monthly Tech Jobs Report reveals that states with the largest technology hubs lead the way when it comes to AI jobs, including California, Texas, Washington, and Massachusetts. When reviewing the graph below, pay attention to the actual numbers.
Certainly, companies don’t need as many machine learning experts as software developers or data scientists. Smaller organizations may not even have the budget to set up an AI department. However, CompTIA’s job numbers continue to increase each month, indicating a sustained demand for AI talent, especially among large companies with the funds to actually hire researchers and experts.
How big will that number get? According to Emsi Burning Glass, which collects and analyzes millions of job postings from across the country, the number of job postings seeking AI skills will increase by 297% over the next two years. In the past 12 months, approximately 142,346 job postings required some type of artificial intelligence skill.
Last year, O’Reilly estimated the average salary for data and AI professionals to be $146,000 per year (based on responses from 2,778 respondents in the US and 284 in the UK). Salaries increased by an average of 2.25% per year. At tech giants like Google and Apple, compensation can be even higher, and that’s before you factor in perks and benefits like ultra-flexible schedules.
This is well outside the budget of all but the largest companies. But AI and machine learning tools have also become increasingly popular and easy to use, allowing employees without an AI or machine learning background to build models, chatbots, and more. This will help meet at least some of the demand for AI and machine learning services, while also expanding career opportunities for those who have at least some understanding of how AI and machine learning work in practice. Over the next decade, we expect to see more and more jobs for engineers that require at least some knowledge of AI and machine learning.
