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Is AI and Robotics a Good Career Choice? (Updated for 2022)

Steve Waddell • February 9, 2020

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics is a high-demand career pathway

Careers in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics are exploding, and the industry is fast becoming one of the most popular career tracks . With competitive salaries, a range of specializations, and the opportunities the industry presents to work on cutting-edge projects that we utilize in our daily lives, a career in AI and robotics is worth exploring. AI and robotics are all around us and we depend on the industry for many things we don’t even realize.

Companies are hungry for individuals who are passionate about coding AI and robotics. The industry is growing rapidly, and this means huge opportunities for people who take the time to learn, as early as they can, if this is a career option and they are passionate about it. 

One of the unique aspects of AI and robotics is that the skills and knowledge required to thrive in the field don’t require college or advanced degrees. In fact, Tesla founder and visionary Elon Musk recently announced that he is seeking to add to his AI team at Tesla, and applicants don’t even need a high school diploma to be considered for the team .

AI is part of your everyday life

Don’t expect to break into AI or Robotics career pathway without getting your education. These are high demand high paying jobs. However, in high growth industries companies may be more flexible if you show that you have the understanding of and passion for the technology. 

With self-driving cars, autonomous delivery drones, and virtual assistant AIs like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri , AI and robotics aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. There will be a high demand for those with AI and robotics knowledge and skills for many years to come. 

With self-driving cars, autonomous delivery drones, and virtual assistant AIs like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri , AI and robotics aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. There will be a high demand for those with AI and robotics knowledge and skills for many years to come. 

Careers and Career Pathways in AI and Robotics

AI provides the foundation for smart systems to make choices, while robotics is what actually makes the work happen. Bringing AI and robotics together will allow us to build intelligent systems that will make our lives better and safer.

AI and Robotics offers career pathways for all levels of education

The growth of automation in coming years and decades will provide immense job opportunities globally. The World Economic Forum predicts AI will create 58 million more jobs than it will displace by 2022, and robotics is projected to continue to grow at a rate of 25% over the next five years . Automation robot integrators such as TW Automation are one of many examples bringing factories into the new technological age with robotics.

Here is a list of p ossible careers you can consider pursuing in AI and robotics:

  • Data Scientist – collects, analyzes, and interprets complex datasets by leveraging both machine learning and predictive analytics
  • Ma chine Learning Engineer – works at the heart of AI projects to program and deploy models
  • Research Scientist – leads research to advance the science and technology of intelligent machines
  • Robotics Engineer – creates and designs robots and robotic systems
  • Robotics Technician – assists engineers in phases of robotic design, development, production, testing, and operations
  • AI Sales and Marketing – drive marketing and sales of AI into special vertical markets including Agriculture, Healthcare, Food Service, Transportation, Retail and Manufacturing
  • AI Legal and Ethics – assist companies in navigating federal approvals, determining company policies and establishing ethics policies.

There are a wide variety of careers in AI and robotics, and that is going to continue in the future.

Before we discuss the pros and cons of a career in AI and robotics, let’s look at the history of these fields. 

A Brief History of AI and Robotics

Alan Turing one of the founding fathers of AI

The famous British polymath, Alan Turing, was one of the first to openly discuss the idea of AI in his 1950 paper “Computing Machinery and Intelligence.” The term “artificial intelligence” was first coined several years later in 1956 at a conference at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Over the following decades, the study of AI fluctuated, due in large part to the availability of government funding. Agencies like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) were instrumental in providing funding to AI researchers to institutions around the country. 

By the 1990’s and 2000’s, AI had exploded and drawn more public attention than ever before. One key moment was the 1997 chess match in which reigning world champion and grandmaster Gary Kasparov was defeated by IBM’s Deep Blue , a chess-playing computer program.

Tesla Self Driving Car

Today, AI and robotics are present in virtually every industry we rely on every day, including banking, retail, home entertainment, healthcare, agriculture, transportation and more . Future goals for AI include developing a machine that surpasses human cognitive abilities in all tasks.

Let’s examine some of the pros and cons of a career in AI and robotics.

 

The Pros of A Career in AI and Robotics

  • The job market is exploding, as the industry is not going away any time soon 
  • It offers high-paying and stable jobs 
  • It provides opportunities for creativity and inventiveness 
  • It pushes you to challenge the limits of what we currently know 
  • You are at the forefront of futuristic technologies that have long been theorized 

 

The Cons of Pursuing AI and Robotics

  • Companies often demand long working hours 
  • You must have an extraordinary eye for detail
  • You must constantly be considering the ethics of what you do  

Engineers in robotics and AI earn an average of $171,000 per year, according to Paysa.

The Technical Skills Needed In AI and Robotics

AI Robotics Digital Badges and Industry Completion Certificates Available

If you think you would enjoy working with AI and robotics,  it’s important to understand what skills are required to flourish in the field. 

Teaching and Learning 

We offer a course on Artificial Intelligence and Mobile Robotics that is a great place for creative students—both young and old—to begin their journey into the exciting fields of AI and robotics.

The course teaches and equips learners with the following:

  • The basics of inputs, outputs and process
  • How to look at a real-world issue, analyze it and create a smart system to solve the problem with the engineering and design process
  • How to create algorithms and code robot solutions
  • The fundamental relationship between coding, intelligence and behaviors
  • Trends in robotics and autonomous vehicles
  • The different types of AI and levels of autonomy

 

Is This Career Path Right For You?

Many of those in the AI and robotics fields have extremely demanding jobs and work long hours, but the benefits include working on cutting-edge technologies that can quite literally shape the world as we know it, making our lives easier and more enjoyable. This field has ample opportunities available for smart, driven and passionate young professionals like you.

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