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Why AI is very much needed (soon and now)
There are thousands of high-demand AI skills to learn in 2024 as it has begun to rise over the years. The demand for professionals with expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills is surging, making AI one of the most transformative fields of the 21st century. In fact, McKinsey updated that the AI market was valued at $200 billion in 2023, and is projected to surpass $1.8 trillion by 2030. Additionally, AI is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 33% year-over-year, as DigitalOcean stated. Therefore, we have provided some arguments why AI has been rising lately :
1. Rising Job Opportunities
AI is reshaping the global workforce. Therefore, based on Vellum, AI is possibly going to eliminate 85 million jobs but create 97 million new ones, resulting in a net gain of 12 million jobs by 2025. The roles in highest demand include:
- Machine Learning Engineers
- Data Scientists
- AI Ethicists
- Natural Language Processing Specialists
- These roles are becoming essential across industries like healthcare, finance, marketing, and supply chain management.
2. Competitive Advantage for Businesses
AI is not just an option—it’s a necessity for companies aiming to remain competitive. In fact, 81% of executives view AI as a significant advantage for improving operations and customer experiences, while 77% of organizations are actively using or exploring AI adoption in their workflows as National University has provided.
3. Addressing the AI Talent Gap
Despite high demand, the supply of AI experts remains limited. Vellum reported that nearly 73% of employers report difficulties finding qualified AI professionals. This gap is attributed to:
- The rapid pace of AI advancements.
- The specialized skills required in AI, such as deep learning and natural language processing.
Therefore, this AI advancement has led companies to offer competitive salaries.
4. AI’s Broad Applications and Economic Impact
AI is no longer confined to tech companies. It is revolutionizing sectors like:
- Healthcare: AI systems are improving diagnostics and personalized medicine.
- Retail and E-commerce: AI enhances customer personalization and operational efficiency.
- Finance: AI powers fraud detection and algorithmic trading.
National University states that AI potentially contributes $15.7 trillion to the global economy, making it one of the most significant drivers of economic growth by 2030, and therefore, these AI skills are recommended to learn.
top high-demand AI skills to learn
There are many AI skills to learn to fulfill the industries’ expectancy in the next few years.
A. Machine Learning
By 2030, the machine learning market is projected to be worth $209.91 billion, with companies such as Google, Amazon, and Netflix relying on ML to personalize user experiences, making machine learning one of the top AI skills to learn in +2024. These industries also rely on ML to automate processes, make predictions, and analyze data. Additionally, according to LinkedIn, roles requiring ML skills have grown by 344% in the past 5 years.
Basic ML skills are in high demand as they form the foundation of AI technology, and even entry-level professionals can earn competitive salaries. Therefore, entry-level ML roles pay between $1,500 and $3,000 per month.
Estimated Learning Duration
3-4 months to grasp key algorithms and implement basic projects.
Learning Resources
- Coursera – Machine Learning by Andrew Ng = Coursera is one of the best places for learning AI online. It offers world-class courses from top universities like Stanford and Google, making it a goldmine for building AI skills with credibility. Additionally, you will have flexible deadlines, professional certificates, and the chance to receive a certificate (if you paid).
- Fast.ai = fast.ai turns deep learning into something anyone can master, even without a math-heavy background. Additionally, their beginner-friendly courses are packed with real-world applications. It’s practical, beginner-friendly, and also free.
B. Deep Learning
The second of the top AI skills to learn in 2024 is Deep Learning. Deep learning powers cutting-edge AI innovations such as autonomous vehicles, facial recognition, and AI-powered content creation. Tech companies, for example, Tesla and OpenAI heavily invest in deep learning experts. Therefore, by 2025, the deep learning market is expected to grow at a 34% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), making this skill a hot commodity. In fact, deep learning engineers earn an average of $120,000–$160,000 annually!
Estimated Learning Duration
6-12 months, due to heavy reliance on mathematics and programming.
Learning Resources
Udacity – Deep Learning Nanodegree = Udacity’s Nanodegree programs are like boot camps on steroids, combining expert mentorship, real-world projects, and job-focused training. While it has a monthly payment, it’s designed to fit your budget, for effective course learning.
Coursera – Deep Learning Specialization by Andrew Ng = This course takes you on a journey through neural networks, convolutional networks (for image recognition), and sequence models (for NLP and time-series data). It is also a mix of theory and hands-on projects using Python and TensorFlow.
C. Natural Languange Processing (NLP)
The third of the top AI skills to learn is Natural Language Processing or NLP. NLP enables machines to understand and generate human language, you may see them on certain AI Assistants such as Alexa or Siri. Job postings requiring NLP expertise have grown by 230% since 2020. Therefore, with the NLP market projected to reach $91 billion by 2030, demand for NLP professionals is exploding.
Commonly, NLP specialists earn $1,500–$5,000 per month, depending on their expertise. Therefore, you may want to start using chatbots, language translation tools, and sentiment analysis systems for your learning.
Estimated Learning Duration
3-5 months, depending on familiarity with APIs and libraries.
Learning Resources
- DeepLearning.ai – Natural Language Processing Specialization = deeplearning.ai is Andrew Ng’s platform offering cutting-edge AI and ML courses. It also hosts courses on NLP, AI for Medicine, and MLOps. The projects focus on real-world applications, such as building image chatbots.
- Hugging Face – Free tutorials on transformers and language models = Hugging Face makes natural language processing (NLP) approachable with its free and easy-to-follow tutorials and nice transformers library. This website also has hundreds of free resources and practical examples.
D. Data Science & Data Analysis
One of the hardest AI skills to learn may be data science or data Analysis. However, it is worth its complexity. As DS is and going to be the backbone of AI, therefore its global data is expected to grow at a 16.4% CAGR from 2023 to 2028.
As businesses across finance, healthcare, and e-commerce rely on data-driven decisions, a recent IBM study revealed that 59% of AI jobs require strong data science skills.
Additionally, companies need professionals who can extract insights from data and prepare it for AI models, making this skill essential for any AI role. Therefore, Freelancers and analysts can make $1,500–$2,500 per month.
Estimated Learning Duration
5 months, with hands-on data wrangling, exploratory Data Analysis, handling datasets for training AI models.
Learning Resources
- Coursera – Data Science Specialization = It has a 10-course specialization that covers everything you need to start your journey in data science. Additionally, it teaches R programming, data cleaning, exploratory analysis, and machine learning. It is also well-structured, and the project lets you solve a real-world problem using the AI skills you’ve learned.
- DataCamp = This site is a hands-on data science training. It turns learning into a game with its interactive coding exercises.
E. AI with Phyton
Thanks to its simplicity and rich library ecosystem, Python is the most widely used language for AI development. Due to that, it is the go-to language for AI frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Scikit-learn, making this software useful for comprehending this skill as one of the best AI skills to learn.
A 2024 Stack Overflow survey found that Python remains the #1 programming language for AI and data science jobs. For your information, Python AI developers earn $2,000–$6,000 per month.
Estimated Learning Duration
6 months with consistent practice on syntax and basic programming and libraries (math operations, data analysis, visualization).
Learning Resources
- Udemy – Python for Data Science and Machine Learning = This is a comprehensive and beginner-friendly course on Udemy that teaches Python programming alongside data science and ML concepts. However, you will have to learn to use Python libraries like Pandas, NumPy, Seaborn, and Scikit-learn while working on projects like housing price prediction.
- Real Python = It is a website offering tutorials, courses, and articles covering Python programming in depth. It is also practical, well-explained, and often includes code snippets you can apply immediately. Whether you’re learning basic syntax or advanced machine learning workflows, Real Python has you covered.
F. AI-Powered Chatbot Development
The global chatbot market is projected to grow at a 23.9% CAGR between 2023 and 2030. Additionally, chatbots save businesses $11 billion annually in customer service costs. Therefore, companies are actively hiring professionals who can design intelligent chatbots for customer service, e-commerce, and more. For your information, Chatbot developers make $1,500–$4,000 per month.
Estimated Learning Duration
1-2 months, mostly focusing on tool usage for workflow automation, triggers-actions comprehension, and integrating simple machine learning models with automation.
Learning Resources
Udemy – The Complete Guide to Chatbots = This course is a practical guide to building conversational AI systems. You will learn to create chatbots using Python, Dialogflow, and Rasa. It also covers both rule-based and AI-driven bots, making it a comprehensive resource for beginners and intermediate learners.
Coursera: Course is a chatbot development course that focuses on creating AI-powered chatbots using frameworks like Dialogflow. It helps you study natural language understanding (NLU) and real-world deployment. It also has a balance between theory (understanding how chatbots work) and practical application (building and integrating them into platforms).
G. Computer Vision
The seventh of the top AI skills to learn would be computer vision. Not as similar to data science, it is used in applications like facial recognition, self-driving cars, and medical imaging, the computer vision market is expected to surpass $51 billion by 2030, driven by industries like healthcare, retail, and autonomous vehicles.
Therefore, entry-level professionals may earn $1,500–$3,500 per month. Companies like Tesla and Meta are actively hiring computer vision specialists. Computer vision skills are essential for jobs involving image and video analysis.
Estimated Learning Duration
12+ months, considering its mathematical depth, technical nuances, and other concepts such as Image preprocessing, object detection, and convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for image classification.
Learning Resources
- Udacity – Computer Vision Nanodegree = Udacity’s Computer Vision Nanodegree teaches cutting-edge image and video analysis techniques. You’ll work with tools like OpenCV and PyTorch while building projects like object detectors and facial recognition systems. What makes it stand out is the mentorship and real-world projects that prepare you for high-demand computer jobs.
- Kaggle – Free computer vision challenges = Kaggle is the playground for aspiring AI professionals. It’s fun, competitive, and free, producing experience through datasets and challenges. You could collaborate with data scientists, and even win cash prizes to +$250k while learning!
H. AI Ethics and Governance
The last of the top AI skills to learn would be AI ethics, as AI grows, so do concerns about bias, fairness, and privacy. By 2026, roles in AI ethics are expected to grow by 80%, as businesses prioritize responsible AI development. Professionals with expertise in AI governance are sought for leadership roles. Therefore, they may receive $1,500–$4,000 per month.
Estimated Learning Duration
4 months. Make sure to comprehend the concepts needed.
Learning Resources
- Coursera – “AI for Everyone” by Andrew Ng = If you’re new to AI and want a non-technical introduction, this course is perfect. Andrew Ng explains what AI is, how it works, and how it can transform industries. Therefore, it is an excellent way for managers, business professionals, or curious learners to grasp AI concepts without diving into coding.
- edX = edX has AI Ethics courses used by top universities such as MIT and Harvard. You can also earn certificates that impress recruiters and employers—making this site one of the top AI courses for beginners.
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