5 Tips for someone who wants to work in AI

Adam Grant, Senior Manager in our Finance Analytics department spoke to Silicon Republic, read his piece below:

Soft skills as well as tech skills

As well as building up your portfolio and honing your tech skills, Mullane says soft skills need attention.

“Develop soft skills and collaborate as much as possible. Soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork are critical to success in AI and analytics.

“Focus on building these skills to work effectively with others and communicate ideas, to become a well-rounded professional and stand out in the field,” he advises.

He says that those who think their soft skills need work can start improving them by joining AI and analytics communities, attending conferences and connecting with others in the field.

Adam Grant also has a tip for improving soft skills: public speaking.

“I would recommend getting good at PowerPoint and public speaking, this will aid you in both the recruitment process and the ability to work on interesting projects once employed.”

Public speaking is not a part of communication that many people relish, but it is important in the context of explaining to people without AI and analytics knowledge how the tech can help them.

“Analytics is all about deriving meaning and context from the data, in order to do this, subject matter experts are critical to delivering a successful project. Get used to working in teams and incorporating feedback into your work. What makes sense to you may not make sense to the end users of the solution. Always remember – you are building for them, not yourself,” says Grant.

_{Quality not quantity}

If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed about all the things you need to stay on top of to build a good career in the AI sector, don’t worry.

Grant advises that it’s all about quality rather than quantity when it comes to learning in AI and analytics.

“There is a lot to learn, and you can find yourself doing course after course. My main piece of advice here is to not move forward unless you build a portfolio project with a specific technology. The portfolio process is key to internalising the skills learned.

“When interviewing, I am far more impressed with an individual who has built and can talk about projects using a limited numbers of tools than someone who has completed dozens of courses.”

This reiterates the point above about soft skills like communication and, of course, adaptability.

“AI and analytics evolves fast, learning how to adapt fast is the most critical skill,” says Grant.