10 key skills that will help kick start a career in Artificial Intelligence

Sumit Saurabh

Over the past few years, AI has become one of the buzzwords of not just the IT industry, but every sector imaginable. Given its huge potential, it’s not surprising that it is amongst the most sought-after skills by employers and employees alike.

Artificial Intelligence exists as a broader concept, and an amalgamation of human intelligence with machines. The main aim behind deploying AI-based solutions is to enable machines or systems to act by themselves without repeated programmer coding.

As one of the most in-demand skills of the decade, there are certain requirements in order to enjoy a successful career in AI and ML.

For starters, one needs to have in-depth knowledge of data science and statistics, and basic knowledge of data processing and software engineering. Additionally, a strong combination of both technical as well as non-technical skills can greatly help in exploring a career in AI.  Here are 10 tech and non-tech skills to kickstart a career in AI.

Tech skills to build a career in artificial intelligence (AI)

 1. Computer programming: One of the fundamental skills to have is the ability to program. Computer architecture, optimization algorithms, data structures, trees, and graphs are just some of the subjects that one would need to be well-versed with.

 2. Statistics and probability: At the root of data science is statistics. This is a core part of AI and ML, and having a working knowledge of probability concepts including conditional probability, Markov models, Bayesian principles, etc. is very important.

 3. Data modeling: A strong skill that can help in AI is data modelling. It is used extensively in AI to handle pattern recognition and datasets classification.

 4. Strong understanding of Unix tools: AI professionals are required to have a strong understanding of Unix tools, their functions, and how to best utilize them since most AI processing will take place on Linux-based environments.

 5. Efficiency in distributed computing: Majority of the AI jobs require programmers to deal with large volume of data, which cannot be processed effectively using a single machine.

Hence, programmers need to have skills in distributed computing as this data will be equally distributed across systems.

 6. Design and software: Although on record this may seem like the most irrelevant skill for the AI aspirants to have, still they need to develop this skillset as the ultimate product will be developed in the form of a software only.

 Non-tech skills to build a career in artificial intelligence (AI)

1. Communication skills: Just like any other job, AI jobs require professionals to be good communicators. In addition to having technical know-how, AI aspirants need to communicate innovative ideas effectively to their teams.

 2. Collaboration: For an AI professional, it is necessary to effectively collect data and convey the information in a comprehensible manner to the team. This requires teamwork. Hence, collaboration becomes an essential part of the job.

3. Marketing skills: No matter how good your idea or project is, it will not sell itself. Being able to market your ideas is crucial to succeed in the AI space.

 4. Systematic and analytical thinking: Systematic and Analytical thinking is very important when building a career in AI. One needs to have a curious mindset, and a thirst for problem solving.

 AI aspirants need the ability to understand problems faced by users and then devise solutions accordingly. Furthermore, they need to crave knowledge that will keep them abreast with the latest technological developments in order to remain relevant.

The writer is Director, Design Circle

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