AI researchers are making money like crazy, over $1 million in some cases

Looking for a high paying technology job? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the field to look for. According to a new report from the New York Times, AI researchers are making a fortune, with salaries hitting millions of dollars in some cases.

The report cites a tax filing by a nonprofit research lab called OpenAI, who paid its top researcher over a whopping $1.9 million in 2016. Another one was paid $800,000. Both the researchers were hired from Google.

It’s hard to believe, but these salaries – however high they may seem – are still at the lower end. Reason being, OpenAI is a non-profit organization, meaning it can’t provide stock options. Just to give you a rough idea, a candidate with AI research skills but with little to no industry experience can earn $300,000 and $500,000 a year in salary and stock.

The root of such hefty salary packages in the field lie in the basic demand-supply theory. The demand for artificial intelligence is very high at the moment – from government organizations, to corporates, to schools and universities, the demand for AI researchers is everywhere.

The supply, however, is limited. According to an estimate, only 22,000 people around the world currently have the skills needed to perform AI research.

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