Companies like Microsoft, OpenAI, Meta, and Google are vying for staff with AI expertise. However, the employees receiving huge compensation packages can be the real winners of the competition.
Managing director of consulting firm JLL and specialist on the future of work Ram Srinivasan told Business Insider that the AI talent race is “creating a promising landscape for tech professionals.”Companies are in high demand for AI talent and are willing to pay highly. Offerings over $1 million in total remuneration, including significant ownership, have been made to certain AI specialists. For tech workers, this competitive market is driving up salaries and offering alluring financial incentives,” Srinivasan stated.
PwC conducted an analysis of over 500 million job advertisements across 15 nations for its 2024 Global AI Jobs Barometer. It comes to the conclusion that, even with the probable impact on employment in some industries, those who learn to harness AI are likely to have bright prospects. Employers are prepared to pay more to tempt individuals with AI expertise, suggesting that the talent battle is working in the workers’ advantage. According to the PwC analysis, there is a 25% wage premium linked with job advertising in the US that want AI competence.
According to a May analysis from Levels.fyi, a website that allows IT workers to share information about their pay, the average salary of AI developers has been rising recently.
According to salary trends data gathered by Levels.fyi, beginning pay for AI engineers in the US increased from $231,000 in August 2022 to $300,600 by March.
According to its first-quarter study on wage trends for AI engineers, entry-level AI engineers make 8.6% more money this year than non-AI engineers. Senior AI developers make approximately 11% more money than their non-AI peers.
Due to the high demand for their knowledge, workers may also have greater negotiating power to secure even better pay and benefits.
Individuals possessing expertise in deep learning, machine learning, and engineering are earning substantial compensation. According to Levels.fyi, the median annual salary for a software engineer working in machine learning or artificial intelligence is $140,823.
According to Srinivasan, major IT companies need to maintain their competitiveness in order to successfully hire personnel with AI skills because many AI specialists are drawn to startups. According to him, employees may be more drawn to startups because they offer the opportunity to “have more creative input and potentially reap significant financial rewards if the company succeeds.”
