It is truly astonishing how quickly AI is evolving and, as a result, how it is influencing the tech world.
From 2024 to 2030, the AI market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.46%. This is a startling pace considering that OpenAI launched ChatGPT only two years ago (on November 30, 2022). What does all this mean for tech job seekers?
Job seekers are quickly finding out how much AI skills are in demand. Some of the biggest tech companies (Microsoft, Google, and Amazon) all point to AI as the future of their business growth. Job seekers without AI literacy are now at a disadvantage.
Companies fear being left behind if they are unable to recognize the importance of AI and their related skills. Workers on the other hand, are scrambling to upskill and implement the newly desired AI focus. Recent studies have shown how today’s tech pros want to work in environments that support their skills progression.
This is why job seekers are looking at companies that can help them gain exposure to emerging skills and emerging trends.
Today, finding candidates with a minimum of three years of progressive AI experience is very difficult. This has caused employers to instead seek employees who have the right core skills set so they can be developed.
All of this means there is hope for job seekers out there who are worried about their limited experience.
Impact of Generative AI on Jobs
Generative AI has been the most talked about technology of the past few years. A subclass of Artificial Intelligence, it is able to create music, content, images, and can respond naturally to human conversation.
This type of AI is impacting industries because of its diverse range of applicability. In manufacturing, it improves design efficiency, predicting maintenance requirements, and guaranteeing strong quality control. In the financial sector, it is able to develop investment plans, produce compliance documentation, and improve client-investor interactions.
While Generative AI has the potential to increase efficiency and create new possibilities, there are also some negative ways it may impact job markets. The heavily debated statistic from Goldman Sachs last March was that generative AI has the potential to automate up to 300 million full-time jobs in the U.S. and Europe. While this may or may not prove to be true in the long term, the job loss from automation has historically been offset by the creation of new types of jobs. A McKinsey analysis predicts that by 2030, generative AI will automate 29.5% of the hours performed in the U.S. economy, up from 21.5% now.
[For more information on how AI is impacting jobs and how it will impact jobs in the future, check out This PTP Report.]
Some believe that this spiked interest in AI from job seekers may be hype – such as news headlines touting jobs with high salaries. However, this is also due to the fact that there has been an increase in GenAI-specific jobs compared to broader AI jobs. This increase is the result of an increase in the AI share of job postings across sectors.
Salary Changes
Generative AI remains at the top of the priorities for most companies and their salaries demonstrate that. The average salary potential for generative AI skills is $174,727, according to Indeed. This has put skilled large language model workers in the highest demand. Indeed’s data shows that jobs related to generative AI have grown 30-fold from last year. The number of job ads related to generative AI increased 75 times between April 2022 and April 2024.
Consulting firm PwC found that wages for AI-related roles were on average 25% higher in the United States than for comparable jobs in the same field that did not require those skills.
People often fear being replaced by AI, but the introduction of AI into a job may in fact increase your salary if you learn the required skills.
Implementing AI into jobs can increase productivity because you can then spend more time with clients. Companies will soon figure out how to implement AI without replacing humans. The trick will be to use AI to its strengths instead of overextending it into areas where humans are more useful. We already know that AI will save time spent on trivial things which will free up time elsewhere. We all know that time is money.
What Employees and Employers Can Do
Employees cannot just expect their employers to help bridge the gap in relevant skills. Workers need to be proactive by learning about AI whether from skilled content creators on YouTube, formal coursework from a reputable company, taking an online course, enrolling in a data science bootcamp, or from PTP. Also, AI skills will soon start to be standardized in certifications and some companies may even come up with their own certifications. It will become increasingly important for job seekers to earn these certifications so they are able to stand out.
Tech job seekers also have to remember that they need to be constantly learning and adapting to new technologies. This means that working with and understanding AI will be a lifelong learning process. Being agile will give job seekers an advantage over others since they are able to learn new skills, take on new responsibilities, and pivot to new career paths. Once AI becomes more prevalent and widespread, companies will look for specialists in certain areas of AI which job seekers should be aware of going forward.
Employers on the other hand will hopefully find the right AI strategy for their company that works best. This may mean that workers will have to spend company time learning about AI, but employers must remember this is an investment. The time spent on upskilling should not be a detriment of other critical digital skills. In the future, there will be a notable shift in focus and resource allocation within the tech sector, towards AI.
Conclusion
In the end, it can be a source of anxiety for job seekers at this point in time when there are big changes on the horizon. They need to be able to adapt with the changes otherwise they will get left behind, and this goes for employers as well.
Companies know how difficult it is to find workers who have a minimum of three years of experience so they are going after the people with the right core skill set. This gives tech job seekers a chance to get out there and start learning immediately.
The fact that AI related roles have a 25% higher salary demonstrates how much these roles are in demand. Tech workers are going after these roles because of their high salaries, but they are going to need the right skills to back it up.
AI is almost everywhere already and companies will need to figure out how they can use it effectively. As of right now AI cannot do everything, so job seekers should remember this and prove to companies that they have the right core skills set to be developed.
References
AI Skills Will Be Crucial for Job Seekers, Society for Human resource Management
How Will Artificial Intelligence Affect Jobs 2024-2030, Nexford University
Learning how to use AI could boost your pay by 25%, study finds, CNN
No AI skills on your resume? Expect lower salaries and fewer roles in the future, The Hill
State of IT jobs: Mixed signals, changes ahead, CIO
Tech Job Seekers Without AI Skills Face a New Reality: Lower Salaries and Fewer Roles, Wall Street Journal
The AI Skills Gap and How to Address It, Information Week
Tommie Expert: Generative AI’s Real World Impact on Job Markets, University of St. Thomas News
