3 answers
3 answers
Updated
Caitlyn’s Answer
It depends entirely on what you want to do in AI! A lot of people hear "working in AI" and think that means becoming an AI researcher, but the industry needs people with many different skills. There are engineers, researchers, product managers, designers, marketers, salespeople, partnership managers, artists, founders, and more, all working in AI.
For some highly technical roles, such as developing new AI models or conducting advanced research, a bachelor's degree is typically expected and a master's or PhD can be very valuable. However, many AI-related careers don't require a PhD, and some don't even require a traditional four-year degree if you can demonstrate the necessary skills and experience.
I would start by asking yourself: What do I actually want to do in AI?
If you want to build AI models or work as a machine learning engineer, you'll likely need a strong foundation in computer science, mathematics, and programming.
If you want to be an AI founder, you'll need to understand technology, but you'll also need business, product, and leadership skills.
If you're interested in creative work, there are opportunities to use AI tools for design, video, writing, and content creation that may require training and practice more than a specific degree.
AI is still a rapidly evolving field, which means there isn't one single path to success. Focus first on the role you want, then identify the skills required to get there. Whether you learn those skills through college, certifications, online courses, projects, internships, or a combination of all of them will depend on your goals.
The good news is that the field is still young, so there are many different ways to build a career in AI. The most important thing is to stay curious, keep learning, and start building experience in the area that interests you most.
For some highly technical roles, such as developing new AI models or conducting advanced research, a bachelor's degree is typically expected and a master's or PhD can be very valuable. However, many AI-related careers don't require a PhD, and some don't even require a traditional four-year degree if you can demonstrate the necessary skills and experience.
I would start by asking yourself: What do I actually want to do in AI?
If you want to build AI models or work as a machine learning engineer, you'll likely need a strong foundation in computer science, mathematics, and programming.
If you want to be an AI founder, you'll need to understand technology, but you'll also need business, product, and leadership skills.
If you're interested in creative work, there are opportunities to use AI tools for design, video, writing, and content creation that may require training and practice more than a specific degree.
AI is still a rapidly evolving field, which means there isn't one single path to success. Focus first on the role you want, then identify the skills required to get there. Whether you learn those skills through college, certifications, online courses, projects, internships, or a combination of all of them will depend on your goals.
The good news is that the field is still young, so there are many different ways to build a career in AI. The most important thing is to stay curious, keep learning, and start building experience in the area that interests you most.
Updated
Sandeep’s Answer
Hello Jaden,
You don’t always need a college degree to work in AI, especially for applied roles like AI development or data analysis. Many people learn through online courses, projects, and hands-on experience.
However, advanced research roles such as developing new AI algorithms often require graduate studies or a PhD. For most industry jobs, strong programming skills, practical projects, and experience with tools like Python are often more important than the degree itself.
You don’t always need a college degree to work in AI, especially for applied roles like AI development or data analysis. Many people learn through online courses, projects, and hands-on experience.
However, advanced research roles such as developing new AI algorithms often require graduate studies or a PhD. For most industry jobs, strong programming skills, practical projects, and experience with tools like Python are often more important than the degree itself.
Updated
Rufino’s Answer
As with what others have said, it depends on where you want to work within the AI realm. The shifts in AI roles happen quite quickly. We used to hear about "prompt engineers" with many of whom I've known had journalism degrees. It's moved away from that and more into "context engineering". You can learn a lot from folks on YouTube that keep a pulse on everything new with AI. I don't think you'd necessarily need to work on creating an LLM as there are hundreds of great open source models already available and constantly being improved upon. Same goes with the major LLMs.
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