How Is Artificial Intelligence Impacting The Tech Job Market?

We live in a period of rapid change being driving by quickly-evolving technology, and one of the most impactful technologies moving forward is artificial intelligence.

Found in video games, virtual assistants, smart cars, smartphones and other technology, AI already has an enormous influence on our lives. Through AI technology, a computer can carry out tasks while perceiving context and the intent of the user, which maximizes the odds of success. AI has made our lives easier, allowing for deices to have customized functionality, and is currently approaching human-level intellect: able to reason, find meaning, generalize and learn based on experience.

Although AI has made our lives easier, it will also completely transform the tech job market in the coming years. The technology has many potential labor applications, from automating routine activities to quickly making decisions based on massive amounts of data.

While there is a danger to particular kinds of jobs, thankfully, there are also a great deal of new tech job opportunities that are popping up in areas such as cybersecurity, analytics and machine learning. IT professionals should consider the impact of AI to ensure their career path leads into growth areas and away from areas being made obsolete by this technology. Instead of embracing a doom-and-gloom mentality, tech professionals should embrace the idea that AI can generate more profit, more opportunity and higher wages.

An AI bachelor’s degree?

When people think of those who work with AI, they likely think of highly-educated professionals who make millions of dollars. That notion may be about to change as colleges are taking a hard look at offering undergrad degrees for AI.

In fact, Carnegie Mellon University recently unveiled an undergraduate degree program for AI that is intended to fill the tech industry’s need for tech professionals who can leverage machine-learning algorithms for various uses. In announcing the program, the school said it is the very first instance of a bachelor’s degree program that is focused on AI.

According to the university, those who enroll in the AI program will get instruction in mathematics and computer science, which is similar to the curriculum for traditional computer-science majors. Other coursework in the AI program covers computational modeling, machine learning, statistics and symbolic computation.

While six- and seven-figure salaries are certainly achievable for those who complete this program, landing that type of job would most likely require a level of experience and knowledge that far exceeds that of a bachelor’s degree. If you’re curious about AI as a career, don’t just expect to put in four years and start making big bucks. You ought to be ready for long-term study and work, which will allow you to gain a degree of AI specialization that commands a top salary.

Are you looking for an IT job?

At SMCI, we do have experience in helping tech professionals explore emerging career paths, such as those in AI. If you’re currently looking for advice related to a tech career, please contact us today to arrange for a consultation or explore these open positions.