The recent artificial-intelligence (AI) boom represents a quickly growing, lucrative job market for the relatively small group of AI experts.
Key Details
- Top companies are competing for the best AI talent, and they are willing to pay—sometimes up to six-figure salaries.
- Not only are these companies looking to recruit existing talent, but they are also cultivating students who will soon enter the field.
- The competition is so fierce that even undergraduate students are being recruited, causing postgrad programs to shrink, The Hustle reports.
Why it’s news
For students just starting to enter the workforce, the AI field is ripe with opportunities. Even for part-time work, some students have secured salaries of $350,000, The Hustle reports.
While these students are undoubtedly looking forward to earning a higher salary, the undergraduates leaving the program will negatively affect post-grad opportunities and, as a result, affect industries that require higher education.
Already computer science programs at the master’s level produce far more graduates than Ph.D. programs. In North America, around 15,000 computer-science students earn their master’s degree compared to 1,900 Ph.D. students.
Corporate incentives are just too tempting for students to continue their education. Universities only retain about 25% of their graduate students. The rest head to the private sector, where they are often well compensated, The Hustle reports.
The hunt for AI talent will only continue as more companies increase their investments in the technology. Eventually, the number of available workers may meet demand and lessen the mad scramble for workers, but for now, most AI students will have their pick of job opportunities.
