AI skills that pay the bills: Tech-savvy knowledge workers looking at significant wage boosts (2024)

PwC’s 2024 AI Jobs Barometer report, based on an analysis of over half a billion job ads from 15 countries, tracks the growth of vocations that demand specialist AI skills, such as machine learning. And sectors dominated by knowledge workers—professional services, information and communication, financial services—are experiencing surging demand for jobs requiring AI expertise.

In the U.S., these jobs carry an average wage premium of up to 25%, PwC noted. In just one example, a look at job ads for sales and marketing managers in the U.S. who need AI expertise shows wages that, on average, are 43% higher than similar jobs without AI skills. In another example, financial analysts could receive a premium of about 33%.

Financial services jobs are increasingly requiring AI skills. But it’s also one of the most heavily regulated industries, so banks are taking precautions.

I recently had a conversation with executives from Citi and Morgan Stanley about theAI Readinessfor Financial Services Industry Special Interest Group, or SIG, launching through the Fintech Open Source Foundation, orFINOS, a hub for open innovation in finance. The agenda included best practices in deploying generative AI.

“We’re going to look at common challenges we all face—whether it’s developing threat models, risk frameworks, mitigation of those risks—all the things that we need to address with financial services firms to onboard this technology,” Trevor Brosnan, global head of technology strategy, architecture, and modernization at Morgan Stanley, told me.

PwC’s research found that growth in jobs that demand AI expertise has outpaced growth in all jobs since 2016. Meanwhile, AI-exposed occupations such as customer service and IT are still growing, but about 27% slower on average. “The data suggests that AI does not herald an era of job losses but rather more gradual jobs growth,” according to the report.

And with the wages for so many of these jobs increasing alongside the adoption of AI, so too will workers’ desire to upskill.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Antonella B. Franzen, CFO of DuPont's Water and Protection segment, was promoted to DuPont's (NYSE: DD) chief financial officer, effective June 1. Frazen will succeed Lori D. Koch, who was selected to succeed Edward D. Breen as CEO. Breen will transition to full-time executive chair of the board of directors. Koch has served as DuPont's CFO since February 2020. Before that, she served as the company's VP of investor relations and corporate financial planning and analysis. Franzen joined Dupont in 2022. She was previously VP, chief of investor relations and communications officer at Johnson Controls International.

Steve Kopjo was named CFO at Galaxy Gaming, Inc. (OTC: GLXZ), an independent developer of casino table games and technology, effective May 28. Kopjo was most recently VP of finance at Everi Holdings. He has over 15 years of finance experience in the gaming industry, holding a series of roles with both operators and suppliers, including SHLF entertainment, Wynn Resorts, and Play AGS.

Big Deal

The U.S. People Risk 2024 Report released by Mercer and Marsh finds ineffective leadership is viewed as the biggest people risk facing organizations. Just 30% of risk and HR professionals feel they currently have an effective workforce strategy where talent can be acquired, grown, and deployed based on skills. Another finding is that 35% of respondents are concerned ineffective leadership will lead to a negative organizational culture or work environment, tense team dynamics, and mistrust. Risk managers also identified a lack of cybersecurity knowledge and mismanagement of AI as key people threats in 2024.

The findings are based on a survey of over 4,500 risk and HR professionals from 26 countries.

Going deeper

Wharton's business journal provides an excerpt from Decision-Driven Analytics: Leveraging Human Intelligence to Unlock the Power of Data, a new book by Wharton’s Stefano Puntoni and coauthor Bart De Langhe. They argue that the power of data can only be realized by leveraging human intelligence.

The authors write: “Managers are like astronomers, looking to solve problems and find solutions in a complex world, where data is abundant but often hard to make sense of. The message is clear: Data and algorithms are crucial to making good decisions. But human judgment and intelligence are crucial, too.”

Overheard

“Luxury implies exclusivity, and developers constantly seek to outdo each other by offering the latest and most unique amenities. Yesterday’s pool is today’s pet spa—and tomorrow’s pool is the Botox [and] rehydration lounge.”

—John Walkup, cofounder of real estate analytics firm UrbanDigs, told Fortune in an interview. “Property managers are venturing into amenities like health care and aesthetics to meet the evolving demands of luxury renters and stay competitive in an amenities arms race,” Walkup said.