While the Indeed study didn’t quantify the gap between job openings and job seekers, its data suggests that the gap is growing, and the shortage is worsening. That’s good news for engineers with AI expertise, and bad news for companies that need to hire them. The number of AI-related job searches by candidates on Indeed dropped in the May 2018 to May 2019 window, down 15 percent from the previous year. By contrast, the 2017 to 2018 period saw searches up 32 percent from the previous year.

Indeed’s review also attempted to sketch a picture of what skills these AI jobs require by looking at keywords in job listings. In the 2017 to 2018 period, the phrase “machine learning engineer” dominated the keyword rankings, and was listed in 94 percent of AI job openings. That number dropped to 75 percent in the most recent time period. Meanwhile, “deep learning engineer,” defined as engineers that develop programming systems that mimic brain functions, was listed in 62 percent of AI job postings, putting it into the top 10 for the first time. And several jobs related to data science also moved into the top 10 [see table, below]. Were these merged into one category, data scientist might have ranked higher than machine learning engineer.

While this Indeed report didn’t provide an exhaustive look at salaries, it did consider the highest paid positions. By that ranking, machine learning engineer, at an average salary of US $142,859 annually, topped data scientist, at $126,927.

Top 10 jobs involving AI skills, according to Indeed: