United States Leads the Globe in Vacant Positions in AI According to Recent Study

Professional positions in the artificial intelligence industry have grown by roughly 75% over the past four years, according to one report. AI experts are engineers, analysts, and data scientists responsible for creating complex algorithms that replicate processes traditionally performed by humans. The emerging roles can fall in fields ranging from healthcare to finance and everything in between.

And while tech jobs are all the rage thanks to impressive perks and trendy office spaces, there’s more incentive to pursue a career in AI than just being a progressive professional. The average salary for an individual working in artificial intelligence can range from $100,000 to $150,000, with plenty of room for growth.

You may assume that there aren’t many widespread opportunities for these types of roles, but that may not necessarily be the case. A recent report analyzed LinkedIn for available job positions in the artificial intelligence field within 25 countries with the top economies.

The United States is #1 in the globe in open positions on the job board, with over 53,000 open positions at the time of their report. The US leads by a landslide with China, the next country with the most jobs available, having less than half of the U.S. (23,000). The third spot belongs to India with just over 14,000 AI listings.

The analysis also evaluated on a more local level, investigating the states where the most and least open positions are based. “Home to the world’s biggest tech hub, Silicon Valley, it’s no surprise that California has the most LinkedIn AI job postings, with over 14,000 across the state,” Versa Networks states. “Texas (6,966) and New York (6,249) followed behind.”

While there does appear to be a correlation between population and the number of available jobs, it's interesting to see states like Washington and North Carolina claim the #4 and #7 spots, respectively. It’s also notable that there are opportunities for Americans across the nation. While many of the top 10 U.S. states for AI careers are positioned on the east coast, and there are fewer opportunities throughout central America, there is still plenty of representation across the map.

The report also looked at the experience level of the positions available. The largest portion of job postings (44%) are listed as entry-level. About one in every three (36%) are a step up as an associate level. Another 20% are described as mid-senior level.

“Mid-to-senior level positions are most common in the industry’s top leading countries, such as the U.S. (13,362), China (7,650), the United Kingdom (3,898), India (1,951), and Germany (1,015),” describes the report. “In these countries, hiring managers like to see a robust resume in addition to a solid educational framework.”

"A recent college graduate or young professional, on the other hand, would benefit from going for entry level and associate positions in countries like China, India, Japan, and Brazil."

Even still, many of the countries analyzed have several artificial intelligence internship opportunities available, including 985 in the United States, 425 in China, and 328 in Germany. These positions would be a great fit for college students studying STEM and looking to explore the direction of their future careers.

While there is a stigma around artificial intelligence taking over and eliminating jobs, it’s important to keep in mind that the advanced technology can actually make our lives much easier, improve quality of life, and even create new job roles that did not previously exist.

For example, artificial intelligence is often used in modern home security systems, entertainment platforms such as Netflix and Spotify, fraud prevention, ride-share apps, and so much more. Artificial intelligence is seamlessly impacting our every day lives in ways many of us don’t even notice.