TL;DR:
- “Prompt engineers” are in high demand as companies seek to train AI tools to deliver more accurate responses.
- The field of generative AI is rapidly growing, and the demand for skilled prompt engineers is increasing.
- The number of job postings referring to generative AI and GPT has increased dramatically in the past year.
- Companies across a range of industries are advertising salaries of up to $335K for prompt engineering positions.
- Anna Bernstein, a prompt engineer at Copy.ai, doesn’t have a technical background, but her humanities education and experience as a copywriter and historical research assistant have been valuable assets in her role.
- Rob Lennon has created a series of online courses to help individuals learn the skills necessary for a job in prompt engineering.
- Experts caution that the future of the prompt engineering industry is uncertain, and the high salaries currently being offered may not last.
- Those interested in the field should experiment with AI systems like GPT+ and Bard to develop their own approach to creating prompts.
- Companies may face increased competition in hiring for AI jobs, and employers should focus on skills rather than specific degrees or job titles.
- Despite the current trend of layoffs in tech, many entrepreneurs believe prompt engineering has the potential to shape the future of automation.
- The trend of compensating individuals with a humanities background at the same rate as those with a tech background has raised questions.
Main AI News:
In the cutting-edge world of AI, a lucrative new career opportunity has arisen. Dubbed “prompt engineers,” these professionals are in high demand as companies seek experts to train the latest generation of AI systems to provide more precise and context-specific answers to user inquiries. And the pay is impressive, with salaries reaching upwards of six figures, even reaching as high as $335,000 per annum. Remarkably, a degree in computer engineering or extensive coding experience is not a necessity.
As the field of generative AI continues to advance, the demand for skilled prompt engineers only increases. Companies are eager to secure top talent to drive their AI systems to new levels of accuracy and usefulness, resulting in a booming job market and attractive compensation packages. If you’re seeking a career at the forefront of technological innovation and have a talent for training AI systems, consider exploring the exciting world of prompt engineering.
As a prompt engineer, Anna Bernstein is at the forefront of the rapidly growing field of generative AI. Working at Copy.ai in New York, she is tasked with crafting text-based prompts that guide AI systems in generating a range of content, from blog posts to sales emails, with the appropriate tone and information. Unlike traditional software engineers, Anna doesn’t require extensive coding knowledge to do her job. Instead, she uses simple text instructions to train AI models to refine their responses.
Anna’s role as a prompt engineer is a unique one, and she admits that when she first started working at Copy.ai, the term “prompt engineer” didn’t even exist. However, with the recent rise of generative AI and tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the demand for skilled prompt engineers has skyrocketed. And despite her lack of technical background, Anna’s humanities education and experience as a copywriter and historical research assistant have proven to be invaluable assets in her role as a prompt engineer. By imitating human thought, AI systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and prompt engineers like Anna play a crucial role in driving this progress forward.
The demand for AI talent is reaching new heights as companies look to maximize the capabilities of large language models and other AI tools. And among the most sought-after positions is that of the prompt engineer. These experts are tasked with training AI systems to deliver accurate and appropriate responses, and their expertise is in high demand.
According to LinkedIn data, the number of job postings referring to “generative AI” has skyrocketed 36-fold in the past year, with the number of postings containing “GPT” rising 51% between 2021 and 2022. This surge in demand for AI talent is not limited to the tech industry, as companies across a range of industries, from Boston Children’s Hospital to creative studios like Donald Glover’s, are looking to hire prompt engineers.
Startups like Anthropic and established players like Booz Allen Hamilton are offering salaries ranging from $212,000 to $335,000 for prompt engineering positions. These job postings often emphasize a creative, puzzle-solving mindset and a willingness to work with AI tools rather than a background in computer science or tech.
While the term “prompt engineer” may suggest a technical background, Anna Bernstein, a 29-year-old prompt engineer at Copy.ai, notes that she doesn’t fully consider herself an engineer. Regardless of the terminology, however, there is no denying the importance of prompt engineers in driving the progress of AI systems and the growth of the AI job market.
For those interested in breaking into the field of prompt engineering, Rob Lennon has created a series of online courses through Kajabi to help average individuals learn the skills necessary for this hot new tech job. The courses, which have already been taken by around 2,000 students, teach students how to format and structure prompts for different types of tasks and domains. The courses range from $150 to $3,970, depending on the level of customization and certification desired.
However, experts like Ethan Mollick of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School caution that the future of the prompt engineering industry is uncertain. As AI systems become more advanced and capable of generating their own prompts, the need for prompt engineers may decrease. Additionally, it remains to be seen if prompt engineering requires a unique set of skills or simply a significant amount of time spent working with chatbots.
Despite the current high salaries being offered for prompt engineering positions, Rob Lennon warns that this may not last as the pool of qualified candidates expands. The value of prompt engineering knowledge is greater today than it will be in the future, so those considering a career in this field should weigh the potential risks and uncertainties against the current opportunities and rewards.
According to Ethan Mollick, those interested in pursuing a career in prompt engineering should experiment with AI systems like GPT+ and Bard to develop their own approach to creating prompts. This is because AI systems are constantly evolving, and the prompts that work today may not be effective in the future. Mollick cautions against the notion that there is a “magical secret” to creating effective prompts.
Karin Kimbrough, Chief Economist at LinkedIn, notes that with the growing demand for AI talent, companies may face increased competition in hiring skilled workers to fill these emerging roles. To remain competitive, employers should focus on the skills required to do the job rather than a specific degree or job title.
Despite the current trend of massive layoffs in the tech industry, many tech entrepreneurs believe that prompt engineering has the potential to shape the future of automation, with English being dubbed the “hottest new programming language” by former Tesla AI chief Andrej Karpathy. However, not everyone agrees that prompt engineering will take off at the six-figure salary levels with limited educational requirements currently being offered.
The trend has also raised questions about why individuals with a humanities background are compensated at the same rate as those with a tech background, a question that Anna Bernstein, a prompt engineer at Copy.ai, believes is valid. According to Bernstein, if someone is contributing as much to a product, why not compensate them accordingly?
Conlcusion:
Companies across a range of industries are offering salaries ranging from $212,000 to $335,000 for prompt engineering positions, emphasizing a creative, puzzle-solving mindset and willingness to work with AI tools. Despite the current high salaries being offered, the future of the prompt engineering industry is uncertain, and experts caution that the need for prompt engineers may decrease as AI systems become more advanced.
Companies may face increased competition in hiring skilled workers for AI roles, and employers should focus on skills rather than specific degrees or job titles. Some tech entrepreneurs believe prompt engineering has the potential to shape the future of automation, while others question the trend of compensating individuals with a humanities background at the same rate as those with a tech background.
