Industry Insights

Approximately 154 billion dollars was spent on AI in 2023 alone. Although no specific number is given, a significant part of this went into the process of hiring AI professionals.

Recruiting AI experts is a major challenge with Reuters stating that the hiring gap for AI positions will be around 50% this year. The demand for skilled Data Science and AI professionals continues to outstrip supply, as many people have not yet developed the skills to excel in new AI roles. This is leading to intense competition among companies to attract and retain top talent. This means that competition for the available experts will be stiffer than ever, making it more expensive to hire or retain talent.

If recruiting one or more AI professionals is on your mind this year, we’ll tell you how much you’re likely to spend per hire. We’ll also highlight the key factors contributing to current hiring costs and some approaches you can take to manage them.

How Much Exactly Does It Cost to Hire an AI Professional?

The scarcity of AI professionals makes it difficult to hire one without an external recruiter to ensure the skills and experience match the desired business outcomes of the job. 

AI professionals include data engineers, data scientists, and AI engineers. Data engineers may earn as little as $117,000 while the top AI engineers command an average of $238,000. For some roles, an AI engineer may even take home over $300,000. 

Calculating productivity losses, interview and HR costs, and other expenses incurred during hiring is less straightforward, but the amounts can be significant. Productivity losses alone could cost your company $2,500 every week until the position is filled.  It is crucial to partner with a recruiting agency capable of efficiently identifying top talent in the least amount of time.

What Factors Impact the Cost of Hiring an AI Professional?

The cost of hiring AI professionals is affected by many variables. Some notable factors contributing to these costs are discussed below.

External Recruiter Fees

The competitive nature of recruitment in tech means companies must look far beyond traditional job markets to get the best AI professionals on their teams. Many turn to niche recruitment agencies such as Burtch Works who have access to larger talent pools and hiring resources beyond what is available to internal recruitment teams.

HR Costs

HR costs will be high when an internal recruitment team does the hiring. Working with external recruiters reduces these costs, especially when the external recruitment agency acts as the employer of record. If you hire internally, your HR department may spend money on activities such as:

• Creating a job description to attract ideal candidates
• Identifying and posting on relevant job boards
• Conducting interviews
• Onboarding the new hire, etc.
• Payroll, benefits, 401k

Location

The median salary of an AI engineer in the West Coast is $191,000. In the Southeast, this number drops down to $158,825. Opting to hire a remote worker from a less densely populated region can serve as a strategic approach to reducing your overall expenses.

Interviews and Assessments

Hiring the wrong AI professional will be an expensive mistake. You can avoid this by taking candidates through a rigorous interview process where their skills and personalities are properly assessed. AI professionals typically undergo a series of interviews that include:

• Online technical assessments to vet technical acumen
• Technical interviews with hiring managers
• Behavioral interviews

However, conducting multiple interviews costs more and it gets more expensive if candidates must be flown in and accommodated in a new location to facilitate in-person interviews.

How to Effectively Manage the Costs of Hiring AI Professionals

The need for AI-centered solutions has spread across many industries but many companies will be priced out of the hiring process. To get value for your money, it may be necessary to use a different approach when hiring.

Understand Your AI Needs

It’s no secret that some companies are recruiting AI professionals despite not having clear AI goals. The world of artificial intelligence is diverse. The expertise and experience of some AI professionals won’t be relevant to your company.

By taking the time to understand and quantify the problems you need AI to solve, you are more likely to hire the right professional. You may also realize your needs don’t need a full-time hire.

Use a Different Employment Model

Hiring full-time employees comes with many running expenses including salaries, human resources, and benefits. Working with contractors who are paid when project milestones are achieved might be better for your company.

Platforms such as Burtch Works make it possible to hire contractors while acting as the employer of record. Outsourcing makes it possible to have AI professionals working for you minus the headaches of sourcing, hiring, and onboarding yourself. Instead of hiring a new team member, you can sign a contract with an agency that then assigns AI professionals that meet your needs to your team.

The agency is the employer of record. It’s also responsible for ensuring the staff members it assigns you have the right qualifications, are properly compensated, and have the resources they need to do their jobs.  It is a great option if you just need people to augment your existing team.

Conclusion

The demand for skilled Data Science and AI professionals continues to outstrip supply, this is leading to intense competition among companies to attract and retain top talent.  You may incur significant productivity losses if you cannot hire the AI individual, fast. 

Using an in-house recruitment team can limit access to the best talent. You can still get the services of AI professionals at a reasonable cost but it requires different approaches such as working with an agency.

At Burch Works, our goal is to connect companies with AI professionals who can offer the solutions they need without the hassle of getting a full-time hire. Our community of AI professionals are vetted by industry experts and are trained and equipped to help you meet your AI goals. Find out what AI skills other companies are searching for in our job seeker section or visit our blog to check out similar topics.

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