Artificial Intelligence (AI) job recruitment is growing at an accelerated rate. This was the substance of what I shared with host Cisco Cotto during my appearance on CBS Radio affiliate WBBM News Radio 780 on Thursday, September 12, 2019. Please click here to listen to my segment in its entirety.
Below are the questions Cisco asked me as well as my responses in italics. I hope you enjoy this.
(Cisco) Chicago is seeing great growth in tech jobs. Let’s talk about the (job) prospects with Scott Sargis, founder and president of Strategic Search Corporation.
Scott, we were just talking about some of the amazing advancements in artificial intelligence even beyond what anyone would ever imagined. It can be scary at times, but on the positive side that can mean many jobs in the tech sector for Chicago workers.
(Myself) That’s correct Cisco. As your previous guest Paul said AI is getting smarter and smarter. As a result, there are more and more (artificial intelligence job) opportunities as a result of that. In fact, your radio station mentioned earlier in the week that McDonald’s bought three technology companies including an AI company to improve their technology with their drive through, their app and their kiosk.
Also, if you Google AI in Chicago you will uncover 13 growing artificial intelligence companies including Narrative Science, which is one of the most advanced natural language startups out there. Also, iManage, which has a Cloud based platform that assists legal and financial firms with their document and e-mail management. As well as HealthJoy, which built an artificial intelligence powered chatbot to help employees better understand their healthcare coverage. So, the (job) opportunities are growing at an exponential rate.
(Cisco) So what sorts of (job) skills do you need and how do you get them?
I’m thinking if you are younger person and you are in school then you just go in that direction. However, if you are in your 30’s or 40’s and you may want to move over into AI is there a chance for you?
(Myself) The top ten skills for artificial intelligence are machine learning, a (programming) language called Python, a (programming) language called R, Data Science, Hadoop, Big Data, Java (programming language), Data Mining, Spark (programming language) and SAS. If any of your listeners would like this list of (job skills) I would be happy to send them the link.
Also, because the AI field is changing so rapidly, I would not recommend artificial intelligence classes. Instead, online seminars are the best for learning AI. For example, MIT Sloan School has an online AI certificate. Additionally, Google offers a free 15-hour machine learning crash course as part of their artificial intelligence resource center.
Joining blogs on machine learning, algorithms and neural networks (is a great idea). (As is) starting your own AI blog. Furthermore, online seminars are the best way to quickly learn key artificial intelligence skills.
(Cisco) How do you tell a prospective employer that you have that (AI skills)? The old way is you have a certain certification or degree. How does that translate when I am going in for a (AI) job interview?
(Myself) You can point to some of the (AI) comments you have made on blogs. I always recommend for technology to either have your own blog or comment on others’ (technical, engineering or scientific) blogs.
Or show evidence of what you have done (in AI). If you are a programmer, show examples of what you have done in Python, R or Java. It hasn’t changed that you want to show (an employer) evidence of what you have accomplished, but the key is showing a potential employer what you have done, which will help you land an AI job.
(Cisco) Thanks so much. Scott Sargis good information (on AI). Scott is founder and president of Strategic Search Corporation here in Chicago.
Call me today at 312-944-4000 to discuss how we can assist with your R&D, engineering, scientific, technical, IT and manufacturing recruitment efforts in the highly competitive fields of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of Things (IoT) as well as Virtual (and Augmented) Reality. Or click here for my full contact information.
