Artificial intelligence is the future. If you are considering your career prospects, one of the best decisions you can make is to pursue a career in artificial intelligence. No other field in tech is growing quite as rapidly as artificial intelligence.
Every day, we see the continued progression of new AI technologies, applications, and more investments in machine learning and anything else associated with cognitive technologies. AI is everywhere these days.
You see it every day whenever you get product recommendations when shopping online, whenever you need to ask Siri an important question or tell Amazon’s Alexa to add an item to your shopping list.
This means that taking the step to educate yourself as much as you can enhance your career prospects and increase your chances of success. Because AI is already making waves in nearly every industry, the demand for people with knowledge and skills in machine learning is far greater than the supply.
Lucky for you, there has never been a better time to get qualifications in AI and machine intelligence. There are so many resources out there at your disposal that it’s even possible to skip college altogether and self-teach.
Over the years, experts have been releasing and polishing high-quality open software libraries and tools so that curious learners just like you can get their feet wet with ease. Additionally, new online courses are made available almost on a daily basis.
Plus machine learning and AI have led to billions of dollars in profits and revenue across various industries, which has created numerous job openings and opportunities for those with the right skills. So if you do get your qualifications, you don’t have to worry about a challenging job search.
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Where can you study artificial intelligence?
Source: Medium
So far, there aren’t many undergraduate degree programs in AI. However, if you are keen on pursuing AI in college, one of the best places to do it would be Carnegie Mellon University. Not only is Carnegie one of the best engineering schools in the country, but it was also the 1st university to offer an undergraduate degree course as well as the first to create an AI computer program back in the mid-50s. Fitting right?
There are lots of other great colleges and universities where you can study AI. However, you may not find AI as a full-blown course but as part of a computer science degree. Most schools do have degrees at the masters or doctoral levels however, which means that you can choose to specialize later on after attaining your first degree or qualification.
Fortunately, there are distance learning programs like the affordable online masters in engineering with a focus on robotics that are highly specialized and convenient to take despite having a busy schedule.
Some of the courses or units that you can hope to study include:
- Principles and techniques in AI
- Robotics and Control
- Natural Language Processing
- AI methods
- Machine learning
- Robotics and cybernetics
What requirements does one need to study AI?
Source: Futurithmic
For you to earn a degree in Artificial Intelligence, you must at least have core computer science knowledge. Some of the computer science concepts that you ought to know to include functional programming, computer systems, imperative computation, sequential data and algorithms, and more.
You will also need some mathematical knowledge in areas such as linear transformations, probability theory, differential and integral calculus, modern regression, and more. Some of the AI-specific area of learning that you will cover include:
- Decision making and robotics
- Machine learning
- Ethics and AI
- Perception & Language
- Human-AI Interaction
A Bachelor’s degree in AI is typically a post-high school qualification that takes about 3 to 5 years to complete depending on where you take your course and the requirements that the school has in place.
The awarded qualification may go by many names, but it would probably be a Bachelor of Arts or Science depending on the number of credits you have accumulated and the specific course you’ve studied.
Which areas or subjects should I focus on in high school?
Source: ThoughtCo
If you are in high school and would like to improve your chances of studying AI, some of the subjects that you can focus on include chemistry, biology, geometry, trigonometry, physics, calculus, and statistics-preferably honors or AP classes.
Mathematics is the building block of modern-day computer science. As such, you will also need to do your best to be proficient in as many mathematic topics as possible. Some of the areas that you can concentrate on include probability, graph theory, number theory, combinatorics, among others.
As well as concentrating on the right subjects, you should also familiarize yourself with as many AI concepts as you can, which will give you a good idea of what you can expect once you join college. You can do this by consuming the best books in AI (good selection here) as well as going through as many AI resources as you can find.
What career possibilities can you hope to attain?
Source: AIE
Having qualifications in AI can help to open doors to new and exciting career opportunities and paths. Possible jobs that you can hope to pursue once you attain your certification include becoming a machine learning specialist, video game programmer, computer engineer, or data scientist.
If you enjoy teaching, you could also train other learners to develop and utilize artificial intelligence systems and applications. As mentioned in previous paragraphs, AI is growing at a considerable rate, which implies that in the next few years, there will be a lot more opportunities to explore that aren’t available yet today so brace yourself!
Final Thoughts
AI has grown by leaps and bounds to become one of the most important technologies of these modern times. Gaining qualifications in the field is a great way to ensure that your future is bright.
Most people opt to study AI in college but not everyone has extra time or change to spend years studying for a formal qualification. Lucky for you, there is a wealth of information out there and most of it is free for you to peruse and explore.
There are so many online courses, tutorials, guides, and books that can help you get started on your AI journey. But all the books in the world will not help unless you are fully committed to learning and improving- because that’s the very essence of AI Afterall.
