5 Career Tips for the AI Age

Credit: Adobe stock.

Credit: Adobe stock.

How to thrive in the AI revolution

by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

Considering a career in artificial intelligence—or wondering how to AI-proof your current job? We’ve got you. We asked these Dickinson alumni for their best career advice:

Here’s what they said.

5. Cultivate a culture of learning.

“Spend some time playing around with AI tools and keep an eye on AI news. As you learn about new developments, and as your needs evolve—as an organization, as a client, as a person—you’ll see what you want and need to learn next.” —Edwin Padilla

“Explore AI’s diverse applications and understand its impact on your area of expertise. This will not only demystify AI but reveal its potential to augment your skills and innovate. —Mike Capone

“Individuals should learn new skills. And at the societal level, it’s important to consider ways to provide reskilling and upskilling opportunities for workers.” —Stephanie Teeuwen, data and AI specialist, World Economic Forum 

4. Find your niche.

Love math? Consider AI development or research.

“If you want to go into AI development, begin with a solid background in math, particularly linear algebra and statistics.” —Chris Steel

“Pursue a solid background in linear algebra, optimization, statistics and programming before leaning too heavily on Python libraries so you are able to understand their underlying documentation.” —Julia Filiberti Allen

Look for intersections between your interests and AI.

“Not everyone in the AI field is a scientist or developer. Find the gap that you can fill and fill it.” —Edwin Padilla

“If you want to work in language generation and translation—because we need people who understand language as we build augmented models—concentrate on the language and learn some programming, such as Python.” —Chris Steel

“We need more people who understand the technology and also are looking carefully at how and where to apply it, because there’s a cultural shift here as well as a technological one.” —Chris Steel

3. Brush up your prompting skills.

“We all need to learn how to coax the model into giving us factual data—and the right amount of data.” —Chris Steel

“Be iterative and establish a dialogue to incrementally achieve results.” —Andrew Hyde

“Better results are achieved by spending more time prompting with higher-quality content. The better and more specific the prompts, the better the outputs." —Dara Pappas

2. Learn to embrace change.

"AI will change our lives in unimaginable ways and create new ways of doing things. The best thing is to be agile and prepared to adapt and evolve along with it.” —Andrew Hyde

“To prepare for the changing job market with AI, individuals should adapt to this new world and embrace AI as the norm. Learning how to use AI to automate tasks provides more time for complex and creative challenges.” —Dara Pappas

“The technology is going to develop whether people have concerns about it or not, so the best thing you can do is stay ahead of the game. I'm sure there were huge concerns about the internet, TV and radio when they were first developed.“ —Edwin Padilla

“Remember, AI is more than a technological trend; it's a paradigm shift in how we interact with data, solve problems and drive innovation. … Your willingness to engage with it now will define your professional journey in the years to come.” —Mike Capone

“If you’re passive and wait around, there’s a higher probability it could affect your job negatively. On the other hand, people who ask, ‘What can I do better or differently with AI?’ are the people who will more likely succeed in their jobs.” —Andrew Hyde

Still nervous? Look closer.

“Think of the upside [of AI] as well as the downside. And be proactive, because we tend to fear the unknown. So the more you the more you can get your hands on [AI tools] and understand them, the less you are likely to have a kind of generalized fear.” —Chris Steel

“You can begin by considering the ways AI already influences our work lives through tools like spellcheck and autocomplete. Then think about the strengths humans bring to the game.” —Andrew Hyde

1. Get excited!

“By immersing yourself in AI, you're not just preparing for the job market of today; you're equipping yourself to be an active participant in shaping the future.” —Mike Capone

Learn more about Dickinson alumni working with AI.

TAKE THE NEXT STEPS

 

Published July 18, 2024

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