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Artificial intelligence. Machine learning. You have likely heard of large-language models, but government experts believe the potential for the application of artificial intelligence could touch virtually every industry in the coming decades. And advances in the field are now arriving at an exponential rate.

Those interested in exploring the fast-moving and lucrative field of artificial intelligence may be wondering: What should I study, and how should I study it?

Whether a person is already in an occupation and wants to familiarize themselves with how to effectively apply the technology to the field they’re in, or they want to craft and alter the future of the technology itself, a master’s degree in artificial intelligence is a great cornerstone upon which to launch a career that may branch in many different directions.

The Jobs... Speaking of Exponential Growth

The field of artificial intelligence is so nascent that the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t yet have a category for machine learning engineers. There are some comparisons, but they do yet reflect the specialized skill set (as well as the inherent earning potential) of this burgeoning field.

Regardless, the following are some occupations recently put out by the bureau that are related to (and would be supported by) a degree in artificial intelligence, including the job’s median 2023 salary. One should also note the rate at which such job offerings are expected to grow over the next decade—a rate that far, far exceeds the average growth rate of 3 percent across all occupations in the United States.

• Data Scientist— $108,000; 36% expected growth¹
• Computer and Information Research Scientist—$145,000; 26% expected growth. Typically requires a master’s degree.²

Additionally, there have been numerous private industry estimates that are more specific to jobs in artificial intelligence. To offer just one example, Veritone, a private artificial intelligence software and services firm, released a Q2 2024 report³ based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data that noted:

In Q2, there were 29,871 vacancies in artificial intelligence jobs, a 5.6% increase from Q1 2024 and a 31.5% increase from the same period in 2023. The median salary for AI jobs for Q2 2024 was $157,196, or $75.57 hourly, a 7.2% increase from $146,609 during the same period last year.

Reaching into Other Industries

But what if one is already working in a specific industry and wants to learn about—and possibly benefit from—how artificial intelligence may affect their field in particular? In this way, a degree in artificial intelligence could teach someone how to apply artificial intelligence in ways that puts them and their company ahead of others that have not.

In February 2025 the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report⁴ on how artificial intelligence affects its own statistical models that try to predict future employment trends and salaries across all fields. The report noted that:

“In the last few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced rapidly, finding growing applications across industries and occupations.... Because of the sheer potential of these tools, many people have been asking how they might affect our future, including that of workers and employment.

For occupations in computing in particular, the applications seem more obvious, with the report noting “programming is one of many work activities in which new LLMs and GenAI are well suited to augment worker efforts and increase productivity.” The report projected that from 2023–33, the impact of artificial intelligence will boost the demand for those in computer occupations by a full 12 percent.

Other industries that were singled out in the Bureau of Labor Statistics report for notable impact included the highly skilled professions of law, business and finance, and architecture and engineering. Artificial intelligence was expected to boost occupational demand in each of those sectors by 4 percent, the report stated.

The Skill Set

Unsurprisingly, those exploring artificial intelligence will typically need a solid basis in mathematics, computer science, and data analytics. Thus, degrees in the artificial intelligence field are typically offered at computing schools, and the requisite skill set is similar to other computer science degrees. Those wishing to go into the field of artificial intelligence will likely need some aptitude in:

• Analytical skills: Being organized in one’s thinking is needed to evaluate the results of their research. This is particularly important in a field where results can be interpreted in numerous ways
• Being detail oriented: Engineers must pay close attention to their work when testing the systems they design; small errors could affect an entire project
• Logical thinking: Using sound reasoning when working on algorithms
• Math skills: Those working in in the construction and guidance of artificial intelligence models need a solid grasp of advanced math and other technical subjects critical to computing
• Problem-solving skills: Computer and information research scientists must think creatively to find innovative solutions when dealing with unexpected results

Where to Start?

The College of Computing at Illinois Tech—�鶹APP's leading tech-focused university—offers a master’s degree in artificial intelligence, which is designed to allow both recent graduates and career professionals to extend their knowledge of artificial intelligence and/or build their competitive edge in business, industry, or government.

The program offers a practical education in artificial Intelligence and its subfields of machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing, probabilistic reasoning, and data analytics.

If you would like to explore a degree in artificial intelligence from Illinois Tech, you can request information from its admission offices.

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