Businesses everywhere are figuring out how to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into their workflows, and that means they need to secure the talent that can build and iterate on AI platforms. For tech professionals who’ve mastered the intricacies of AI, this is good news, because it means their skills are in demand—and they know it.
According to data from Dice’s new Sentiment Report, a comprehensive look at tech professionals’ opinions on everything from remote work to office culture, 58 percent of tech pros with AI specialization (i.e., “AI professionals”) are confident in their ability to find a favorable new role in their field this year; that’s considerably higher than the 38 percent of tech professionals in general.
(For the data folks: The Q2 2024 Technology Professionals Sentiment Survey was conducted online via email June 5 – 27, 2024. The survey generated 520 qualified responses from fully employed technology professionals residing in the U.S.)
In fact, AI professionals feel so confident in their skills and position that they’re more amenable to jumping jobs. Some 73 percent of AI professionals told Dice that they’re anticipating changing employers next year, somewhat higher than 65 percent of general tech pros. Increasing demand for AI roles has likely led many AI professionals to consider right now the best time to make a positive shift in their career.
But where do those AI professionals actually want to go? Almost a third (29 percent) would prefer a role at a Big Tech company (i.e., Meta, Google, Microsoft), versus 18 percent of general tech professionals who’d like to work for one of those giants. What’s behind that drive? It could easily be the money, as these massive companies have the budgets to pay AI specialists enormous salaries and perks; it could also be the resources and opportunities to work on some of the largest AI projects today, with the potential to impact the lives of millions (and perhaps even billions) of people.
Not only are businesses accelerating the adoption of AI features in their products wherever possible, but many leaders inside and outside tech are looking to AI to help improve the efficiency of their workforce. Naturally, this acceleration has a huge impact on the job market, and those who are responsible for designing, developing or implementing AI solutions for their company are experiencing a different tech job market than the broader set of tech professionals. Keep that in mind as you seek to learn new skills.
