It seems like absolutely everyone is buzzing about AI today–what AI tools are people using at their job? What is going to be the next big release in the AI sphere? And will AI steal our jobs?! We’re not surprised that you’ve heard these questions recently because artificial intelligence really is all the rage. Companies and professionals alike are doing everything they can to adopt AI technologies and find professionals who know how to best use these tools to improve their performance.
With this rush in demand for professionals with AI skills, you may be thinking that it’s a super tough area to master and that if you haven’t yet had experience in the field adding these tools to your repertoire might be a pipe dream. And while it’s certainly not easy, it’s doable and worth the effort.
In this article, we’ll dive into exactly how difficult AI is to learn and look at specific industries in detail; first, however, we’ll review why learning artificial intelligence skills should be on your radar–and how it can benefit your future.
Why Should You Learn About Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence technology is revolutionary in today’s world, allowing computers to produce human-like outputs, helping us automate tedious or time-consuming tasks, and handling quantities of data that are simply impossible for humans to take on. And this is precisely why you should consider learning AI:
With AI, companies can make better decisions: today’s best decisions are backed by data and companies are using AI tools to fuel their decision-making process, making choices that are based on fact and help propel their business forward.
New solutions are solving old problems: some problems seemed simply impossible to fix–until AI came into the picture. And as new ideas and solutions are being thrown about, employers will seek out professionals who can apply the latest innovative AI to solve their issues or blockers.
It’s only AI from here: the introduction of accessible AI to the hands of everyday people led us to a completely new era of technology that affected practically every sector; as AI tools become increasingly widespread, more and more opportunities will arise for those who know how to leverage AI in their field.
A future with artificial intelligence
Most importantly, perhaps, is what artificial intelligence knowledge can do for you and why you should prioritize these skills in the future:
You’ll be well-compensated: you know that tech roles are well-paid but with the rise of AI and even more professionals needed to take on AI responsibilities, those who possess the skills that hiring managers need will be paid even better.
You’ll have more job opportunities: we’re just at the beginning of the AI revolution and employers are already prioritizing those with AI skills–imagine what the job market will look like in a few years! If you take the opportunity to enhance your resume right now, you’ll be ahead of the curve.
You’ll be on the forefront of change: as you dive deeper into artificial intelligence, you’ll find that an increasingly high number of tools are being released and new technologies are being discovered and prioritizing AI right now will permit you to be on the forefront of this incredible change.
Now that you’ve grasped the importance of learning about AI technologies, let’s tackle the big question: is AI hard to learn?
Is AI Hard to Learn?
You asked it and we’re here to answer: AI isn’t particularly challenging to learn and certainly no different than mastering other tech skills, but it will demand a certain dedication on your part, due mainly to the fact that AI is evolving at an incredibly fast pace. And as you can imagine, the answer to this burning question will depend a lot on your background and experience.
Generally speaking, knowing where you stand in these following areas will help you better define how challenging it will be to learn AI.
Your background in math
A lot of tech knowledge, and AI knowledge specifically, is based on calculus and statistics and those with a strong background in these areas will be better suited to learn AI quickly. If you don’t have a ton of experience with them, however, don’t panic: AI is still definitely an option for you, you’ll just need to review some of the basics of these fields before you dive too deep.
Your ideal career path
AI tools aren’t limited to coding or data analysis; in fact, one of the most popular uses of AI technology has been with generative AI, which creates original content or images. To better understand how challenging it will be for you to learn about AI skills, you’ll need to have a clear idea of where you’d like your career to go; if you want to work in very technical fields, you’ll need more knowledge in math. If, however, you’d like to use AI for content creation and not build any systems yourself, your journey will be a lot simpler.
Your experience
Although AI tools work a bit differently than other tech tools, the general idea is still the same and familiarity with programming languages or computer systems will help you in the beginning. And if you’re coming from a non-tech area, prepare to invest a bit more time in gaining experience in tech before diving right into AI.
Learning Artificial Intelligence as a Beginner
Regardless of where you are in your tech journey, anyone interested in AI should follow the steps outlined below to make sure their AI education is comprehensive and helps set themselves up for success.
Plan your goals
Without any guidance, you’ll find that it’s nearly impossible to not only learn the right skills, but also keep yourself honest when the going gets tough. Before you do anything, make sure you clearly understand where you’d like to take your AI skills so that you’re learning the right ones for your industry of choice and not simply choosing randomly.
Once you have this defined, create a plan with goals and deadlines so that you can track your progress and make sure you’re on track for success.
Ask yourself the hard questions
When you’re creating your goals, it’s important to be honest with yourself. After all, if you set unrealistic expectations, you’ll find that you will lose interest or fall behind rather quickly. As you set your goals, ask yourself the following questions:
How much time and money can you invest in your AI education?
Are you good at time management and self-teaching?
Where do you want to take these new skills?
How do you best learn?
With answers to these questions, you’ll be able to define the right next step forward.
Choose your AI course
While self-learning is definitely an option and there are lots of free resources out there to help you on your AI journey, we highly recommend an AI course that allows you to follow a timeline and course set-up, helping you stay on top of your learning. In addition, courses will provide you with the valuable assistance of a professor and the chance to network with like minded students who have the same goals as you–and will probably be in the same industry.
At Ironhack, we’ve recognized the need for artificial intelligence skills in the workforce and that’s why we’ve introduced AI School by Ironhack, the first school dedicated exclusively to teaching the next generation of professionals the AI skills they need for success.
Check out our available course load and future-proof your career today with Ironhack.
