New Year, New Career: 5 Leaders Share Tips for Building a Career in AI

Those looking to join the ranks of AI trailblazers or chart a new course in their careers need look no further.

At NVIDIA’s latest GTC conference, industry leaders in a panel called “5 Paths to a Career in AI” shared tips and insights on how to make a mark in this rapidly evolving field.

Representing diverse sectors such as healthcare, automotive, augmented and virtual reality, climate and energy, and manufacturing, these experts offered valuable advice for all seeking to build a career in AI.

Here are five key takeaways from the discussion:

1. Be curious and constantly learn: “I think in order to break into this field, you’ve got to be curious. It’s so important to always be learning [and] always be asking questions,” emphasized Chelsea Sumner, healthcare AI startups lead for North and Latin America at NVIDIA. “If we’re not asking questions, and we’re not learning, we’re not growing.”
2. Tell your story effectively to different audiences: “Your ability to tell your story to a variety of different audiences is essential,” noted Justin Taylor, vice president of AI at Lockheed Martin. “So for them to understand what you’re doing [with AI], how you’re doing it, why you’re doing it is essential.”
3. Embrace challenges and be resilient: “When you have all of these different experiences, you understand that it’s not always going to be perfect,” advised Laura Leal-Taixé, professor at the Technical University of Munich and principal scientist at Argo AI. “And when things aren’t always perfect, you’re able to have competence because [you know that you] did that really hard thing and was able to get through it.”
4. Understand the purpose behind your work: “Understand the baseline, how do you collect the data baseline — understand the physical, the bottom line. What’s the purpose, what do you want to do?” advised Jay Lee, Ohio eminent scholar of the University of Cincinnati and board member of Foxconn.
5. Collaborate and seek support from others: “It’s so important for resiliency to find people across different domains and really tap into that,” said Carrie Gotch, creator and content strategy for 3D/AR at Adobe. “No one does it alone, right? You’re always part of a system, part of a team of people.”

The panelists stressed the importance of staying up to date and curious, gaining practical experience, collaborating with others and taking risks when building a career in AI.

Start your journey to an AI career by signing up for NVIDIA GTC, running in March, where you can network, get trained on the latest tools and hear from thought leaders about the impact of AI in various industries.

It could be the first step toward a rewarding AI career that takes you into 2023 and beyond.