Machine Learning - Career Earnings Analysis (September 2025)

Colleagues, implementing a well-defined, forward-thinking career development plan can boost your career and income growth over a 30-year life cycle. According to Fortune Business Insights “The global Machine Learning (ML) market size was valued at USD $35.32 billion in 2024. The market is expected to grow from USD $47.99 billion in 2025 to USD $309.68 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 30.5% during the forecast period.” In global comparison, the largest market size will be US $73.98B in 2025.” Making modest investments in your professional training and certification will reward you with greatly enhanced income potential.

Assumptions:

• Duration: 30-year career lifecycle (e.g. age 25-55)

• Salary:  $142,000/year - Glassdoor (compensation will vary by location - we will use a US average for our analysis)

• Education Level: This model is based upon the individual having a BS/BA degree. A MS/MA degree adds an extra 5%-10% to annual income

• Training & Certification: 5%-10% income lift/year

• Salary - Annual Increase per CPI Inflation: 2.5%/year

• Base Case: Junior Level - age 25/1st certification

• Intermediate Case: Senior Individual Contributor - age 30/2nd certification

• Advanced Case: Mid-Upper Management - age 35/3rd certification

• Expert Case: Technical Refresher - age 40-45/4th certification

Junior Level (5 years of experience):

• Title(s): Junior Data Scientist, Machine Learning Intern/Analyst, Junior AI/ML Engineer

• Base income: $164,597/year

• Sample Training & Certs: Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900), Google Cloud Certified: Associate Cloud Engineer, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Intermediate (10 years of experience):

• Title(s): Machine Learning Engineer, Data Scientist, Computer Vision Engineer, NLP Engineer, , AI Product Manager

• Base income: $199,240/year

• Sample Training & Certs: IBM Machine Learning Professional Certificate, Applied Machine Learning Specialization, Machine Learning Fundamentals with Python and SQL Specialization, Generative AI for Everyone, TensorFlow Developer Certificate, AWS Certified Machine Learning - Specialty, Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102)

Advanced (15 years of experience):

• Title(s): Senior Machine Learning Engineer, AI Solutions Architect, AI Researcher/Research Scientist, Lead Data Scientist, RAG Gen AI Manager, Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Lead Data Scientist, MLOps Architect, AI Research Scientist

• Base income: $243,455/year

• Sample Training & Certs: AI TensorFlow Developer Professional Certificate, Contact Center AI: Conversational Design Fundamentals, Data Structures, Algorithms, and Machine Learning Optimization, TensorFlow for Machine Learning, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning, Professional Machine Learning Engineer (Google Cloud), Red Hat Certified Specialist in OpenShift Application Development

Expert (Executive-Refresher) (20 years of experience):

• Title(s): Chief AI Officer (CAIO), Director of AI/Head of AI, Principal Engineer/AI Fellow, AI Ethics Specialist, Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Director of AI/ML Engineering

• Base income: $397,522/year

• Sample Training & Certs: Apply Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), TensorFlow for Machine Learning, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning, Convolutional Neural Networks, NVIDIA Professional Certification, Applied AI Certifications, Independent Research and Publication

Income Comparison:

• Base Case: Junior Level - $164,597/year

• Intermediate Case: Senior Individual Contributor - $199,240/year

• Advanced Case: Mid-Upper Management - $243,455/year

• Expert Case: Technical Refresher - $397,522/year

Note: For a more comprehensive roster of Machine Learning certifications see Google Cloud, Meta, Microsoft along with Coursera, Datacamp, Digital Ocean, edX.

Machine Learning Specializations, Master Classes and Certifications:

• Applied Machine Learning Specialization 

• AWS Certified Machine Learning

• AWS Machine Learning Engineer

• Data Structures, Algorithms, and Machine Learning Optimization

• IBM Machine Learning Professional Certificate

• Linear Algebra for Machine Learning

• Machine Learning / AI Engineer

• Machine Learning: Foundations using R Specialization

• Machine Learning with PyTorch

• Machine Learning Fundamentals with Python and SQL Specialization

• Structuring Machine Learning Projects

• Machine Learning Specialization

• Structuring Machine Learning Projects

• Understanding Machine Learning 

Get started today (teams & execs are welcome).

Recommended Reading: See the “Transformative Innovation” book series

 

1 - AI Software Engineer: ChatGPT, Bard & Beyond (Audible) (Kindle) 

2 - ChatGPT, Gemini and Llama - The Journey from AI to AGI, ASI and Singularity (Audible) (Kindle)

3 - ChatGPT - The Era of Generative Conversational AI Has Begun (Audible) (Kindle) 

4 - The Race for Quantum Computing (Audible) (Kindle) 

5 - The Upskill Gambit - Discover the 5 Keys to Your Career and Income Security in the Digital Age  (Audible) (Kindle)

Much success in your Machine Learning career journey, Lawrence E. Wilson - AI Academy (share with colleagues & friends) 

 

AI Software Engineer: ChatGPT, Bard and Beyond (Amazon - Audible & Kindle)

Colleagues, the purpose of the “AI Software Engineer: ChatGPT, Bard and Beyond” (Interview Prodigy series) help software engineers and developers capture their ideal job offer and manage their medium-to-long-term career growth in the global artificial intelligence arena. We will focus on artificial intelligence software engineers and developers in this series. Artificial intelligence has proven to be a revolutionary part of the digital era. As a result, top tech giants like Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and International Business Machines Corporation have been investing significantly in the research and development of artificial intelligence. As a result, these companies are contributing well to making A.I. more accessible for businesses. In addition, different companies have adopted A.I. technology for improved customer experience. For example, in March 2020, McDonald's invested $300 million to acquire an A.I. startup in Tel Aviv to provide a personalized experience for its customers using artificial intelligence. This was its most significant tech investment.

AI Engineers have many opportunities, which will only grow with time. After reading this book, I hope you can identify your ideal job offer and manage your short- and long-term career growth plan, especially in artificial intelligence. The world of artificial intelligence is vast. As I stated earlier in this book, it has a current market size of $136.55 billion based on a 2022 report by CAGR, and it will likely reach a growth rate of 37.3% from 2023 to 2030. You can study artificial intelligence from three aspects. First, the narrow artificial intelligence: this is where you learn about strong AI, artificial general intelligence, and narrow artificial intelligence, also known as weak AI. As I mentioned earlier in this book, the tech we use daily is known as narrow artificial intelligence mainly because it focuses on one narrow task. An example is a chess computer, Siri, or Alexa. Artificial narrow intelligence generally operates within a limited predetermined range. Then there is machine learning, an application that allows systems and computers to learn and improve without being programmed. This idea aims to enable systems to learn and adapt automatically without human involvement or support. Deep learning enables inventors to enhance technology such as self-driving vehicles, speech recognition, and facial identification.

Order today: 

(Audible) https://tinyurl.com/mae9ku3b

 (Kindle) https://tinyurl.com/27jux34w 

 “Interview Prodigy” audio & ebook series on Amazon for your reading-listening pleasure (https://tinyurl.com/57ehhjb2). 

1 - AI Software Engineer: ChatGPT, Bard & Beyond (Audible) (Kindle) 

2 - JavaScript Full Stack Developer: Capture the Job Offer and Advance Your Career  (Audible) (Kindle)

3 -  The Upskill Gambit - Discover the 5 Keys to Your Career and Income Security in the Digital Age  (Audible) (Kindle)

Regards, Genesys Digital (Amazon Author Page) https://tinyurl.com/hh7bf4m9 

Artificial Intelligence - Career Earnings Analysis (September 2025)

Colleagues, implementing a well-defined, forward-thinking career development plan can boost your career and income growth over a 30-year life cycle. Statista reports that “The market size in the Artificial Intelligence market is projected to reach US$244.22bn in 2025. The market size is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2025-2031) of 26.60%, resulting in a market volume of US$1.01T by 2031. In global comparison, the largest market size will be US$73.98B in 2025.” Making modest investments in your professional training and certification will reward you with greatly enhanced income potential.

Assumptions

• Duration: 30-year career lifecycle (e.g. age 25-55)

• Salary: $125,645/year - Salary.com (compensation will vary by location - we will use a US average for our analysis)

• Education Level: This model is based upon the individual having a BS/BA degree. A MS/MA degree adds an extra 5%-10% to annual income

• Training & Certification: 5%-10% income lift/year

• Salary - Annual Increase per CPI Inflation: 2.5%/year

• Base Case: Junior Level - age 25/1st certification

• Intermediate Case: Senior Individual Contributor - age 30/2nd certification

• Advanced Case: Mid-Upper Management - age 35/3rd certification

• Expert Case: Technical Refresher - age 40-45/4th certification

Junior Level (5 years of experience)

• Title(s): Junior Data Scientist, Junior Machine Learning Engineer, Prompt Engineer

• Base income: $145,623/year

• Sample Training & Certs: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Understanding Artificial Intelligence, AI for Everyone, AI in Practice

Intermediate (10 years of experience)

• Title(s): Machine Learning Engineer, Computer Vision Engineer, Natural Language Processing (NLP) Engineer, AI Product Manager, Gen AI Engineer

• Base income: $176,292/year

• Sample Training & Certs: IBM Artificial Intelligence Professional Certificate, Applied Artificial Intelligence Specialization, Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals with Python and SQL Specialization, Generative AI for Everyone

Advanced (15 years of experience)

• Title(s): Senior Machine Learning Engineer, AI Solutions Architect, AI Researcher/Research Scientist, Lead Data Scientist, RAG Gen AI Manager

• Base income: $215,415/year

• Sample Training & Certs: AI TensorFlow Developer Professional Certificate, Contact Center AI: Conversational Design Fundamentals, Data Structures, Algorithms, and Machine Learning Optimization, TensorFlow for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning, 

Expert (Executive-Refresher) (20 years of experience)

• Title(s): Chief AI Officer (CAIO), Director of AI/Head of AI, Principal Engineer/AI Fellow, AI Ethics Specialist

• Base income: $351,763/year

• Sample Training & Certs: Apply Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), TensorFlow for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning, Convolutional Neural Networks

Income Comparison

• Base Case: Junior Level - $145,623/year

• Intermediate Case: Senior Individual Contributor - $176,292/year

• Advanced Case: Mid-Upper Management - $215,415/year

• Expert Case: Technical Refresher - $351,763/year

Note: For a more comprehensive roster of AI certifications see Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, nVidia, Coursera, edX, MIT Opencourseware, and Udacity.

AI Specializations, Master Classes and Certifications

• AI for Everyone

• AI TensorFlow Developer Professional Certificate

• Apply Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs)

• Applied Artificial Intelligence Specialization 

• Artificial Intelligence: Foundations using R Specialization

• Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals with Python and SQL Specialization

• Artificial Intelligence Specialization

• Contact Center AI: Conversational Design Fundamentals

• Convolutional Neural Networks 

• Data Structures, Algorithms, and Machine Learning Optimization 

• Deep Learning with TensorFlow & PyTorch 

• Generative AI for Everyone

• IBM Artificial Intelligence Professional Certificate

• Machine Learning / AI Engineer

• TensorFlow for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning

• Understanding Artificial Intelligence

Get started today (teams & execs are welcome).

Recommended Reading: See the “Transformative Innovation” book series

 

1 - AI Software Engineer: ChatGPT, Bard & Beyond (Audible) (Kindle) 

2 - ChatGPT, Gemini and Llama - The Journey from AI to AGI, ASI and Singularity (Audible) (Kindle)

3 - ChatGPT - The Era of Generative Conversational AI Has Begun (Audible) (Kindle) 

4 - The Race for Quantum Computing (Audible) (Kindle) 

5 - The Upskill Gambit - Discover the 5 Keys to Your Career and Income Security in the Digital Age  (Audible) (Kindle)

Much success in your AI career journey, Lawrence E. Wilson - AI Academy (share with colleagues & friends)