Artificial intelligence engineers are in great demand and typically earn six-figure salaries. An individual who is technically inclined and has a background in software programming may want to learn how to become an artificial intelligence engineer and launch a lucrative career in AI engineering.
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How to Become an Artificial Intelligence Engineer. |
What is artificial intelligence?
AI is instrumental in creating smart machines that simulate human intelligence, learn from experience and adjust to new inputs. It has the potential to simplify and enhance business tasks commonly done by humans, including business process management, speech recognition and image processing.
The majority of AI applications today - ranging from self-driving cars to computers that play chess -- depend heavily on natural language processing and deep learning. These technologies can train computers to do certain tasks by processing massive amounts of data and identifying patterns in the data. In addition to analyzing information faster, AI can spur more creative thinking about how to use data by providing answers that humans may not have considered.
Why Become an AI Engineer?
Becoming an AI engineer can be an incredibly rewarding career choice. AI engineers have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way we live and work. They also have the ability to solve complex problems and make a real impact on society.
What are AI engineers and what do they do?
AI engineers develop, program and train the complex networks of algorithms that encompass AI so those algorithms can work like a human brain. AI engineers must be experts in software development, data science, data engineering and programming. They uncover and pull data from a variety of sources; create, develop and test machine learning models; and build and implement AI applications using embedded code or application program interface (API) calls.
Education and Skills Required to Become an AI Engineer
Becoming an AI engineer typically requires a combination of education, skills, and experience. Here are some of the key requirements to consider:
Education:
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, or a related field.
- Master's degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, or a related field (optional).
Skills:
- Strong programming skills in languages such as Python, Java, or C++.
- Knowledge of machine learning algorithms and techniques.
- Familiarity with deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch.
- Understanding of natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics.
What are the responsibilities of AI engineers?
- Build AI models from the ground up and help stakeholders in the organization, including business users and product managers, understand what outcomes the models will yield.
- Perform statistical analysis and interpret the results to help the company make better business decisions.
- Create and manage AI product development and infrastructure.
- Create data transformation and data ingestion infrastructures.
- Automate the infrastructure used by the data science team.
- Develop machine learning applications as per requirements.
- Run AI and machine learning experiments and tests.
- Train and retrain systems when needed.
- Transform machine learning models into APIs so other applications can interact with them.
- Coordinate tasks with other members of the AI team.
- Collaborate with the electronics and robotics departments.
What are the required skills and education for AI engineers?
- Programming Skills: AI engineers need to have a solid grasp of programming languages such as Python, Java, C++, and R.
- Machine Learning: Knowledge of machine learning algorithms such as decision trees, neural networks, and clustering is essential.
- Data Mining: AI engineers should have expertise in data mining techniques such as association rule mining, clustering, and outlier detection.
- Natural Language Processing: A deep understanding of natural language processing techniques such as sentiment analysis, part-of-speech tagging, and named entity recognition is also required.
- Critical thinking: AI engineers must possess excellent analytical and problem-solving skills to identify and solve complex problems.
- Communication: Effective communication skills are essential to explain complex AI concepts to stakeholders and team members.
- Creativity: AI engineers need to be creative thinkers to develop innovative solutions that meet business requirements.
- Teamwork: Collaboration with other team members, such as data scientists, project managers, and business analysts, is critical to success in AI engineering.
- Enrollment in additional AI-related courses and certification programs.
What is the salary of an AI engineer?
The average annual salary for an AI engineer in the U.S. was $164,769 as of July 2021, according to ZipRecruiter. Annual AI engineer salaries in the U.S. can be as low as $90,000 and as high as $304,500, while most AI engineer salaries currently range from $142,500 to $173,000, with top earners in the U.S. earning $216,500 annually.
What careers are available to AI engineers?
IT professionals who pursue careers as artificial intelligence engineers can provide organizations with valuable insights into future issues and critical business decisions. Many industries use AI technology in a variety of applications, including the following:
Financial services companies determine the habits of users to better identify fraudulent and suspicious activity.
Manufacturers reevaluate supply chains and schedule predictive maintenance to ensure that products are made safely, efficiently, and less expensively.
Healthcare organizations automate processes to improve patient engagement and reduce the time and costs associated with pharmaceutical development.
Businesses uncover key insights about customer behavior, sentiment, and buying patterns to improve customer engagement.
What courses and certifications are available to AI engineers?
Artificial Intelligence Graduate Program by Stanford University School of Engineering
AI for Everyone by Andrew Ng (Coursera)
IBM Applied AI Professional Certificate (Coursera)
Introduction to TensorFlow for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning (Coursera)
Artificial Intelligence A-Z: Learn How to Build an AI (Udemy)
Artificial Intelligence Course: Reinforcement Learning in Python (Udemy)
Master the Fundamentals of AI and Machine Learning (LinkedIn Learning)
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