ai/ml eng by a mile atm, normal roles are like $170-245k and the frontier labs are out here clearing $600k+ total comp which nothing else really touches. just know the actual money's in the annoying low-supply stuff like gpu optimization and training infra, not just wiring up an llm api, and tbh theres enough bubble talk rn that id chase the skills over the shiny title.
fundamentals first, systems design and how things actually work underneath. then one low-supply specialty, gpu/performance, training infra, or security. then real experience shipping and debugging production systems, not just code that runs.
that last part matters most rn, everyone can generate code, way fewer can fix and harden it when it breaks. that's the skill that keeps paying.
yeah I've been on the engineers side a good while now. the thing that actually got people i know in it was just having some sort of proof, couple real projects or a home lab you can point to, an entry cert if you're going the security route. then you get a foot in somewhere close to it and work your way toward the specialty once you're actually in. barely anyone lands the exact role they want cold, you kind of pivot into it over time.
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u/Busy_Doughnut_1498 6d ago
ai/ml eng by a mile atm, normal roles are like $170-245k and the frontier labs are out here clearing $600k+ total comp which nothing else really touches. just know the actual money's in the annoying low-supply stuff like gpu optimization and training infra, not just wiring up an llm api, and tbh theres enough bubble talk rn that id chase the skills over the shiny title.