Salaries
Demand for AI-ML-DL professionals far outpaces most other software and IT disciplines. Professional titles in this vast and rapidly changing field vary greatly among and between employers. Nevertheless, here are some tried and true core titles.
Primary titles:
Lead AI Engineer
Machine Learning Engineer
Principal Machine Learning Engineer
Principal AI Engineer
Software Development Engineer
These are in addition to the more generic software professional titles, including:
DevOps Engineer
Quality Assurance Analyst
Software Architect
Software Developer/Programmer
The “12 AI Careers and Job Outlook for 2022” article published by the University of San Diego offers valuable insights into career paths, titles and salaries for artificial intelligence professionals. A few highlights:
Coursera’s “How Much Do AI Engineers Make? 2023 Salary Guide” (May 2023).
Artificial intelligence engineers use their technical expertise to program machines to think like the human brain. Here’s how much they’re earning—by experience, industry, and location.
Falling under the category of Computer and Information Research Scientist, AI engineers can earn an annual median salary of $131,490, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics [2]. According to Glassdoor, the median base salary for an AI engineer is $105,013 in the United States [3].
Highest demand software skills:
Python
C/C++
MATLAB
Calculus and linear algebra
ZipRecruiter and Intellipaat identify additional technical and business skills:
Communication skills
Knowledge and experience with Python specifically
Digital marketing goals and strategies
Collaborating effectively with others
Analytical skills
Solid knowledge of applied mathematics and algorithms
Problem-solving skills
Industry knowledge
Management and leadership skills
Currently there are approximately 35,240 Machine and Deep Learning positions listed on LinkedIn. Glassdoor estimates the average salary for a Machine Learning Engineer at $133,314 USD. Indeed lists 59,321 openings with an average nationwide salary of $131,276 USD. The San Francisco Bay Area is the high-end of the salary range at $193,485 with Eden Prairie, Minnesota at $106,780. ZipRecruiter calculates the average US Machine Learning Engineer salary at $130,530. Moreover, SimplyHired now has 868,669 Computer Vision career listings.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $266,500 and as low as $79,500, the majority of Artificial Intelligence Engineer salaries currently range between $135,500 (25th percentile) to $165,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $201,500 annually across the United States.
Source: ZipRecruiter (2023)
ZipRecruiter’s summary of “Top Earners, 75th Percentile, Average and 25th Percentile” shows significant variation in salaries based on location, skill level, certification and yes, job performance.
Forbes: “The Hot New Job That Pays Six Figures: AI Prompt Engineering”(May 2023)
“A good prompt engineer can be thought of as a “project manager” for an AI workforce, overseeing the completion of individual tasks that make up the job and ensuring all the workers (AI agents) have the tools (data) they need to get it done.”
China and India are expected to see dramatic growth in AI development and engineering over the 2023-2030 time horizon.
India: See the “Software Engineer / Developer Salary in India in 2023” article from upGrad.
China: China.org.cn - “Surging demand in the AI industry creates job opportunities for Chinese graduates” According to a recent report by Chinese job-seeking website Liepin, new job offers related to AI foundation models have surged for 2023 fresh graduates, showing year-on-year growth of 172.53 percent. (June 2023)
The standard assumption is that professionals holding current and relevant certifications from prominent industry associations or vendors typically outpace their peers by 3%-5%. When projected over the course of a 20-30 year career lifespan this can result in tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in income. The outlook for certified AI-ML-DL experts is very promising over the coming two decades.
(Note: Access the complete Global Knowledge 2022 IT Skills and Salary Report here).
Recommended Reading: “AI Software Engineer” - The Interview Prodigy book series (Audible) (Kindle)
Download your free AI-ML-DL - Career Transformation Guide (2023 v1). [https://lnkd.in/gZNSGaEM]
New audio & ebook: “ChatGPT - The Era of Generative Conversational AI Has Begun” (Audible) (Kindle)
Much career success, Lawrence E. Wilson - Artificial Intelligence Academy (share with your team)
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