How to Become an AI Engineer 2024 Career Guide

They turn to skilled AI engineers to design, build and optimize the machine learning models powering innovative new products, services and decision automation. These systems promise to transform healthcare, transportation, manufacturing and countless other industries. With high compensation, abundant career growth and the opportunity to push leading-edge innovations, AI engineering has become one of tech’s most compelling professions. This guide outlined essential skills, education paths, specializations and more for breaking into this high-demand field.

Or when we’re able to have productive conversations with a chatbot or AI voice assistant. AI engineers develop a lot of company-facing products as well, helping them increase their efficiency and profits, cut costs and make more informed business decisions. Increasingly, people are using professional certificate programs to learn the skills they need and prepare for interviews.

Advance your career with in-demand skills

Eager AI engineers will locate no scarcity of openings and alternatives. Check out Learn the Basics of Machine Learning, Build a Machine Learning Model with Python, or Build Deep Learning Models with TensorFlow. If you’re interested in learning a new programming language, take a look at Learn Python, Learn R, Learn Java, and Learn C++, plus many more in our course catalog. When interviewing for AI Engineer roles, you can expect to be asked both technical and behavioral interview questions. The interview process often kicks off with a phone screening where you’ll be asked general questions about your interest in the position, as well as any clarifying questions related to the information on your resume. You should also be given time to ask any general questions you have for the recruiter.

The workplace of an artificial intelligence engineer can vary significantly based on their specific industry, company size, and role within the organization. One common work environment for AI engineers is tech companies and startups that specialize in AI development. Here, the atmosphere is often fast-paced and innovative, offering opportunities to work on cutting-edge projects and collaborate with other AI experts. These workplaces are driven by a passion for pushing the boundaries of AI technology and creating groundbreaking solutions that can impact various industries. AI engineers work on a wide range of applications, from virtual assistants and chatbots to autonomous vehicles, recommendation systems, and fraud detection algorithms.

Gain Knowledge in Disruptive Technology at MIT Professional Education

Many industry professionals believe that strong versions of AI will have the capabilities to think, feel, and move like humans, whereas weak AI—or most of the AI we use today—only has the capacity to think minimally. Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries across the spectrum. AI automates methods, optimizes operations, and permits leap-forward innovations from healthcare to finance, retail, manufacturing, and more.

Consequently, the IT industry will need artificial intelligence engineers to design, create, and maintain AI systems. Not every business function or problem requires artificial intelligence. Shandar says she’s been asked “many times” over the course of her career to implement machine learning solutions for things that don’t necessarily need machine learning. Instead, she suggests starting with a “solid statistical foundation” — something simple, and rules-based — and then going from there. This provides more of an understanding of the data, which is crucial if you eventually want to build a machine learning model that actually serves its purpose.

Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?

What hiring managers are looking for is some formal education in a related field. And then you can highlight any additional courses related to AI that you took in college or online that supported your learning. Some of the most popular programming languages in AI are Python, Java, R, and C++, so mastering one or more of these languages will support your career in AI. Python is particularly popular because its libraries are designed to optimize the AI development process, and because it’s a top choice for NLP.

Read on to learn more about what an AI engineer does, how much they earn, and how to get started. Afterward, if you’re interested in pursuing a career as an AI engineer, consider enrolling in IBM’s AI Engineering Professional Certificate to learn job-relevant skills in as little as two months. Other top programming languages for AI include R, Haskell and Julia, according to Towards Data Science. ¹Each university determines the number of pre-approved prior learning credits that may count towards the degree requirements according to institutional policies.

A Complete Guide to Artificial Intelligence Engineering

Furthermore, essential technological skills in big data and cloud services are also helpful. While you’re learning new programming languages and mathematical skills to grow in your professional role, you’ll also want to focus on developing your soft skills. These skills are harder to quantify, but they’ll be crucial to your success in any technical role.

• Python, R, Java and C++ are among the most used languages in this space.
• There may be several rounds of interviews, even for an entry-level position or internship.
• Tariq Haque works as an AI engineer at CVS Health, where he helps the company make more informed decisions about their customers and interact with them more efficiently.
• Autonomous cars continue progressing toward full self-driving capability.

Haque said most of his time working as an AI engineer at CVS Health involves just good, old-fashioned programming. It’s a lot of building software, testing, deploying, testing it again and going back to refine it. In the end, he and his team come out with products that have proven to be massively beneficial to the company. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that involves programming machines to think like human brains. While simulating human actions might sound like the stuff of science fiction novels, it is actually a tool that enables us to rethink how we use, analyze, and integrate information to improve business decisions.

Skills Required to become an AI Engineer

As you can see, artificial intelligence engineers have a challenging, complex job in the field of AI. So naturally, prompt engineer trainings need the right skills and background, and that’s what we’re exploring next. And because artificial intelligence requires quite a bit of expertise and know-how, there can sometimes be a disconnect between AI engineers and the people in charge. Generally, engineers rely on guidelines for the work they’re doing so that they have a concrete goal or mission for the otherwise very technical work that they do. For instance, if a system must be able to sort through 50 million data points in a certain amount of seconds with a certain amount of accuracy. We encounter the work of AI engineers every time we use Netflix, Spotify or YouTube, when machine learning customizes suggestions based on past behavior.

Taking courses in digital transformation, disruptive technology, leadership and innovation, high-impact solutions, and cultural awareness can help you further your career as an AI engineer. AI engineers have a key role in industries since they have valuable data that can guide companies to success. The finance industry uses AI to detect fraud and the healthcare industry uses AI for drug discovery. The manufacturing industry uses AI to reshape the supply chain and enterprises use it to reduce environmental impacts and make better predictions. When you’re researching jobs in AI, you’ll most likely see a minimum education requirement of a Bachelor’s Degree.

For those excited to actively shape how AI changes the world, honing skills in 2024 opens up endless possibilities. Both new entrants and experienced engineers will find welcoming opportunities supporting inexorable AI innovation for decades to come. On the business side, founding an AI startup allows taking promising research concepts to market. Autonomous vehicle companies like Cruise and Waymo spin out from major corporate R&D labs with founding teams that include top AI researchers. Recently, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton co-founded an AI ethics startup called DarwinAI. Partnering with domain experts as a technical AI co-founder opens up entrepreneurial possibilities.