Employers want workers with AI skills, but what exactly does that mean? – ZDNET

With the ever-growing reliance on AI in the workplace, more employers are seeking employees with the necessary experience and skills. Employment data cited by The Wall Street Journal found that almost one in four US tech jobs posted so far this year are looking for people with AI skills. But what precisely does that mean?

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In some cases, companies are looking for developers who can build and design the required AI tools and platforms. In other cases, they want IT professionals who can manage and support their AI systems. And in other cases, organizations need people who can incorporate AI into their regular job duties. Whatever the specific need, it’s been growing.

AI-related tech positions have doubled in a few years

The information sector, for example, includes many major tech players heavily involved in AI development and deployment. Here, 36% of the IT jobs posted in January were related to AI, according to data from UMD-LinkUp AI Maps, a collaborative effort to map the creation of AI jobs. In the areas of finance and professional services, banks, consulting firms, and other companies are seeking employees who know how to build or use AI algorithms and models.

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Among other industries, open IT jobs have become more focused on AI. As an example cited by the WSJ, only a small number of open healthcare positions are considered tech jobs. But the volume of new tech positions seen in January that are AI-related was almost double that of a few years ago.

Before the recent AI boom, jobs that involved work with artificial intelligence and machine learning naturally existed. But the demand started to rise following the debut of ChatGPT at the end of 2022. Created by the people behind UMD-LinkUp AI Maps, a white paper titled “Diffusion of AI Jobs Across Economic Sectors” illustrates the shift in job postings, both in general and in AI.

But job postings have declined since ChatGPT’s launch

In the two years since ChatGPT’s official launch, the number of all job postings fell by 17%, suggesting that companies have been hiring new employees at a slower rate. From the fourth quarter of 2022 to the same quarter in 2024, the number of IT job postings dropped from 354,070 to 258,706, a decline of 27%.

But the picture is quite different for AI-related jobs. Over the same period, the number of postings for such jobs jumped from 29,509 to 49,577, a gain of 68%. Given the two-year range, the authors of the white paper refer to this as “clear evidence of a strong ChatGPT effect.”

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Other findings have also highlighted the surge in AI jobs. A January LinkedIn report on the 25 fastest-growing jobs in the US found three AI positions on the list. In first and second place, respectively, were artificial intelligence engineer and artificial intelligence consultant. Further down at number 12 was artificial intelligence researcher. Many such jobs require experience with LLMs (large language models), deep learning, and Python programming.

Employers aren’t looking just for AI developers and tech gurus. They’re also in search of people who can integrate AI into existing jobs, Thomas Vick, senior regional director at staffing firm Robert Half, told the WSJ. For example, a company may want a cybersecurity engineer who can use AI to better evaluate potential security threats.

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The need for professionals with AI skills and experience is a boon for tech workers. That’s because such jobs bring with them higher salaries and increased job security, Andy Challenger, senior vice president at outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, told the WSJ. “I’m not seeing a lot of people with cutting-edge AI skills come through our programs right now, which means that companies are hanging onto them,” Challenger said.