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It makes me wonder if I should switch from my current position as a Java dev to something related to AI and machine learning. It seems that is going to be the f

It makes me wonder if I should switch from my current position as a Java dev to something related to AI and machine learning. It seems that is going to be the future now, and there seems to be a big need for people with that knowledge right now.

michpoch 3y ago
Yes, if you're willing to invest X years into becoming relevant on the AI/ML market, and you believe than in X years there will be still too few AI/ML specialists - then it's a great idea.
- khazhoux 3y ago
  There's a huge amount of help needed in AI/ML in non-researcher roles (infrastructure, pipelines, testing, etc). I'd say that the bulk of AI/ML orgs are actually just that, in my experience. (I'd further argue that the number of actual "AI researchers" that actually contribute enough to justify their mega-million comp packages is small indeed... but that's a separate topic)
  - robotnikman 3y ago
    Infrastructure was another area I was thinking of possibly moving into as well, since AI of course still has to rely on that as well.
- turnsout 3y ago
  To the parent: “AI” in 2024 is just using REST APIs. Don’t bother inventing new models, just get up to speed on what the various vendors are good at and the basic techniques (particularly Agents/ReAct and RAG) and you’ve learned enough. The demand for AI is almost unlimited right now, and it’s definitely not too late. It’s like 2009 in the iPhone dev era; plenty of time to quickly learn ObjC.
AznHisoka 3y ago
yep I did an analysis on this and that’s definitely where the software jobs are right now: https://bloomberry.com/how-ai-is-disrupting-the-tech-job-market-data-from-20m-job-postings/ https://bloomberry.com/how-ai-is-disrupting-the-tech-job-mar...
- robotnikman 3y ago
  Interesting Article. Looks like it would be worthwhile to dedicate some of my free time into specializing in AI more
- digging 3y ago
  Good article, thanks for posting.
zer00eyz 3y ago
Dotcoms, then add tech (the money of Web 2.0), crypto/blockchain, AI/ML... If you are hearing about it, and you aren't already in, it might be too late. That having been said, it's a prime time to have project that you can bootstrap into a startup. You dont need to be google, you need to be google, small teams can clear a few mill a year with the right product and not get much larger.
- cm2187 3y ago
  AI has this difference to the other booms that the resources required to train a large model are out of reach of a student in a college dorm.
khazhoux 3y ago
I'd say this is a "yes", and remember that there's a ton of work that doesn't involve actually training models. Every company right now has a big need for help in infrastructure, data pipelines, ops, monitoring + dashboards, internal tools, CI/CD, release management, etc.
UncleOxidant 3y ago
Probably too late now. At least for this cycle.
weare138 3y ago
The way job hunting is in the industry now with recruiters and employers relying on automated systems to filter resumes it couldn't hurt. Even if it's just something to slap on your resume to get noticed. Most of the people responsible for hiring in our industry now don't know or understand what they're hiring for anymore. AI isn't changing job roles so much as it's changing job titles.

michpoch 3y ago

Yes, if you're willing to invest X years into becoming relevant on the AI/ML market, and you believe than in X years there will be still too few AI/ML specialists - then it's a great idea.

khazhoux 3y ago
There's a huge amount of help needed in AI/ML in non-researcher roles (infrastructure, pipelines, testing, etc). I'd say that the bulk of AI/ML orgs are actually just that, in my experience. (I'd further argue that the number of actual "AI researchers" that actually contribute enough to justify their mega-million comp packages is small indeed... but that's a separate topic)
- robotnikman 3y ago
  Infrastructure was another area I was thinking of possibly moving into as well, since AI of course still has to rely on that as well.
turnsout 3y ago
To the parent: “AI” in 2024 is just using REST APIs. Don’t bother inventing new models, just get up to speed on what the various vendors are good at and the basic techniques (particularly Agents/ReAct and RAG) and you’ve learned enough. The demand for AI is almost unlimited right now, and it’s definitely not too late. It’s like 2009 in the iPhone dev era; plenty of time to quickly learn ObjC.

AznHisoka 3y ago

yep I did an analysis on this and that’s definitely where the software jobs are right now: https://bloomberry.com/how-ai-is-disrupting-the-tech-job-market-data-from-20m-job-postings/ https://bloomberry.com/how-ai-is-disrupting-the-tech-job-mar...

robotnikman 3y ago
Interesting Article. Looks like it would be worthwhile to dedicate some of my free time into specializing in AI more
digging 3y ago
Good article, thanks for posting.

zer00eyz 3y ago

Dotcoms, then add tech (the money of Web 2.0), crypto/blockchain, AI/ML... If you are hearing about it, and you aren't already in, it might be too late. That having been said, it's a prime time to have project that you can bootstrap into a startup. You dont need to be google, you need to be google, small teams can clear a few mill a year with the right product and not get much larger.

cm2187 3y ago
AI has this difference to the other booms that the resources required to train a large model are out of reach of a student in a college dorm.

khazhoux 3y ago

I'd say this is a "yes", and remember that there's a ton of work that doesn't involve actually training models. Every company right now has a big need for help in infrastructure, data pipelines, ops, monitoring + dashboards, internal tools, CI/CD, release management, etc.

UncleOxidant 3y ago

Probably too late now. At least for this cycle.

weare138 3y ago

The way job hunting is in the industry now with recruiters and employers relying on automated systems to filter resumes it couldn't hurt. Even if it's just something to slap on your resume to get noticed. Most of the people responsible for hiring in our industry now don't know or understand what they're hiring for anymore. AI isn't changing job roles so much as it's changing job titles.