Software Developer → Applied ML Engineer → AI Systems Architect
Put it into practice:
Build production-grade ML systems: train, deploy, monitor, and retrain models.
Skills to cultivate:
Top resources:
1.
ML Engineer Nanodegree– Udacity
2.
Google Professional ML Engineer
3.
fast.ai Practical Deep Learning
Top tech city
Atlanta is rapidly growing as an AI center and is a top 3 tech city overall according to a Liquid Web study.
Cybersecurity Analyst → Cyber ML Engineer → Adversarial ML Engineer
Put it into practice:
Simulate attacks on AI models and implement defenses to harden cybersecurity systems.
Skills to cultivate:
Top resources:
1.
MIT Adversarial ML
2.
Deeplearning.ai Adversarial Robustness
3.
Coursera Secure and Robust ML
Top tech city
Baltimore is the 2nd-best city for cybersecurity/IT careers and ranks top 7 for AI jobs by LinkedUp data.
Network Engineer → Network Automation Engineer → Edge AI Deployment Engineer
Put it into practice:
Deploy lightweight AI models on network edge devices like routers/sensors.
Skills to cultivate:
Top resources:
1.
edX Embedded AI
2.
TinyML Bootcamp
3.
Coursera TinyML
Top tech city
Seattle ranks #5 in the top cities for tech jobs, and is among the top AI job hubs.
Systems Administrator → Data Engineer → Data Engineer for AI
Put it into practice:
Build and optimize data workflows feeding AI training systems.
Skills to cultivate:
Top resources:
1.
Data Engineering on Google Cloud – Coursera
2.
Databricks Certification – Databricks Academy
3.
Designing Data Pipelines – Udemy
Top tech city
Washington, DC is the #1 U.S. tech hub and an emerging AI hub with strong cybersecurity and IT job density.
Database Administrator → Data Platform Engineer → AI Data Platform Engineer
Put it into practice:
Design scalable backends to store, serve, and monitor ML features and model outputs.
Skills to cultivate:
Top resources:
1.
Feature Stores Specialization – Coursera
2.
Data Warehouse Concepts – Snowflake University
3.
MLOps Fundamentals – Google Cloud Training
Top tech city
Raleigh-Duram, NC is the 7th top city for tech jobs and is among the top 10 for AI job concentration, with a strong university pipeline.
DevOps Engineer → LLM Integration Engineer → Generative AI Service Developer
Put it into practice:
Develop and deploy services that leverage LLM APIs for chatbots, code helpers, and tools.
Skills to cultivate:
Top resources:
1.
OpenAI Learn
2.
Prompt Engineering Guidebooks
3.
FastAPI and Docker tutorials
Top tech city
Pittsburgh is building a major AI hub with a $500B data initiative and “AI Strike Team.”
QA Engineer → Test Automation Engineer → AI/ML QA Engineer
Put it into practice:
Use ML to auto-generate tests, predict failure hotspots, and adapt test plans dynamically.
Skills to cultivate:
Top resources:
1.
AI Testing – Test Automation University
2.
Coursera ML for Software Testing
3.
Udemy AI in QA Automation
Top tech city
X
Help Desk Technician → IT Support Engineer → AIOps Support Engineer
Put it into practice:
Implement AI tools to automate ticket triage, analyze support logs, and power virtual assistants.
Skills to cultivate:
Top resources:
1.
Building Chatbots with Rasa – Rasa Academy
2.
Coursera NLP Specialization – Deeplearning.ai
3.
Microsoft AI-900 Fundamentals – Microsoft Learn
Top tech city
Denver ranks 4th for IT/cybersecurity roles, and Colorado has a high per-capita AI job concentration.
IT Project Manager → AI Project Manager → AI Delivery Manager
Put it into practice:
Lead cross-functional teams to deploy AI/ML projects end-to-end, ensuring business value and compliance.
Skills to cultivate:
Top resources:
1.
AI for Everyone – Deeplearning.ai
2.
PMI-PBA with AI modules – PMI
3.
Google Cloud AI Transformation – Coursera
Top tech city
San Francisco and San Jose are top-paying IT and AI career hubs.
IT Business Analyst → Data Scientist → AI Product Analyst
Put it into practice:
Define metrics for AI products, interpret model performance, and translate findings into product decisions.
Skills to cultivate:
Top resources:
1.
AI Product Management – Coursera
2.
A/B Testing and Experimentation – Udacity
3.
Measuring LLMs – OpenAI Docs
Top tech city
Chicago ranks #7 for total AI jobs, and 52% of listings are entry-level—great for transitions.
Build the skills that power tomorrow’s systems
AI-specialized roles are projected to grow 17-42% over the next decade. And that’s just with our current technology.
AI engineers currently earn 20-40% more than traditional IT roles
Get started:
1. Learn foundational and advanced knowledge through respected AI certification programs
- Google ML Engineer
- Databricks
- AI-900
2. Practice what you’ve learned with hands-on projects and simulations of real-world AI workflows.
- Kaggle
- Hugging Face Space
- Google Colab Notebooks
3. Build your own systems and tools—from automation scripts to ML pipelines—to showcase your capabilities.
- GitHub
- Replit
- Snowflake
The decision is yours. Building and managing the systems of the future starts now.
