Artificial intelligence (AI) and data jobs are hot right now. But how much do these roles actually pay? According to a new report, you can earn handsomely in exchange for specializing in cutting-edge technology.
Specifically, O’Reilly puts the average salary for data and AI professionals at $146,000 per year (responses from 2,778 respondents in the US and 284 respondents in the UK). Salaries increased by an average of 2.25% per year. Average compensation was highest in California ($176,000), which is home to many large companies that rely on AI and data expertise, including Google and Silicon Valley giants.
Additionally, respondents seemed satisfied with their roles. The report added: “We see no evidence of a ‘grand resignation’.” “[Twenty-two percent] of respondents said they were planning to change jobs, which was almost as expected. Respondents appear to be concerned about job security, perhaps because of the pandemic’s impact on the economy. ”
If you want to get a job in AI or data, training is key. Approximately 64% of respondents had attended some type of training or certification course, and 31% said they had spent 100 hours training in the past year. While 22% say they need training on the job, an astonishing 91% say they want to learn new skills and 84% say they are driven by a desire to improve their existing skill set.
“We looked at the most popular programming languages for data and AI professionals and found no surprises,” the report continues. “Python dominated (61%), followed by SQL (54%), JavaScript (32%), HTML (29%), Bash (29%), Java (24%), and R (20%). C++, C#, and C were further down the list (12%, 12%, and 11%, respectively).”
As AI and machine learning jobs become more mainstream in the coming years, more technologists may have the opportunity to earn high salaries by specializing in this field. According to Burning Glass, jobs that heavily involve machine learning are expected to grow by 76.3% over the next 10 years. Over 220,000 job postings meaningfully mentioned “machine learning” in the past 12 months, a significant number for a “niche” technology. But to actually get a job in AI or data, you need to know yourself, and that means a lot of training.
