$170,000 Per Year: The Post-COVID Hiring Crunch Is Hitting The World Of AI Data Scientists

We already know that minimum wage payers are having trouble recalling workers for their post-Covid plans. And why wouldn’t they? Laid off workers have been making more on unemployment and PPP loans over the last year than they likely ever made working rank-and-file jobs in years past.

But now the hiring drought is starting to hit higher end jobs, like AI talent, the Wall Street Journal notes. 

To drum up interest, companies are now sponsoring award programs and scouting software development contests in the hunt for data scientists and other AI professionals. 

Peter Krensky, director, analyst on Gartner Inc.’s business analytics and data science team, told the Journal: “You’ve got to be creative about finding people that care about more than just money.”

And while base salary for these workers is generally $120,000, companies are now offering up to $170,000 or more to entice talent. Companies have turned to recruiters and internship programs to find talent, but Krensky says that’s “not enough” given today’s competition. 

“There were 37,000 AI job postings in the first quarter of this year, up more than 45% from the fourth quarter of 2020,” the Journal reported.

Among those seeking talent are companies like J.P. Morgan, who is looking for “hundreds” of AI researchers and scientists (totally normal for a bank). The bank says it has recruited through deep relationships with computer science programs at universities. In 2018, the bank hired Carnegie Mellon University’s head of machine learning as its head of AI research. 

She now runs an award program that recognizes university faculty and Ph.D. students. The awards come with financial support and can also recognize “highly talented” post-graduate work. The banks says it has hired “several” award recipients. 

Carol Juel, executive vice president and chief information officer at Synchrony Financial, told the Journal that her bank has also increased AI hiring over the last 3 years. The bank has hosted “datathons” at the University of Illinois, partnering with the school’s statistics department and providing software training and tools to help students “think like data scientists”. 

“You have to go to where the talent is,” Juel said. 

We’re certain that’s why businesses are also watching other AI contests, like those run by Google’s Kaggle, to see who can solve complex problems for cash prizes. It likely makes the transition to doing such work for a living – for both the candidate and the business – much easier.