The world of AI is a crazy place and one that continues to adapt and evolve every day.
While the term artificial intelligence was mentioned as early as 1950 by the great Alan Turing, in his paper called “Computing Machinery and Intelligence”, peeked through a gap in the door; recent advancements have smashed it off its hinges.
Side note: If you haven’t watched the Imitation Game, I would highly recommend you do so!
ChatGPT and open-source AI has changed the game forever, and the genie is very much out of the bottle. Even as we scramble to establish how to use AI effectively and ethically, one thing is for sure.
AI is here to stay, and jobs are sure to adapt accordingly.
This brings us nicely to today’s article – is AI prompt engineering a real job?
Some people will say yes, some people will say no, but what is the truth?
Here, we will talk about prompt engineering in more detail, how to become skilled at using AI tools and generative ai systems, and whether or not this term is a job now, will be in the future, or not at all.
Short on time? Here are the key takeaways from this article:
- While a prompt engineer is not a mainstream role right now, there are signs that it is becoming more commonplace and could become more popular as AI advances.
- AI is advancing at a significant rate, and no one truly knows what it holds for our future, so no one can say with confidence whether prompt engineering will become commonplace across many industries.
- AI is here to stay, and learning how to manipulate a large language model could help you secure your future in your industry.
What Does the Term AI Prompt Engineer Mean?
In principle, an AI Prompt Engineer is a professional responsible for designing and formulating prompts or input instructions for artificial intelligence models.
Their role involves crafting precise and effective prompts that yield desired outputs, often requiring understanding the model’s capabilities and limitations.
They play a crucial role in shaping the interactions and outcomes of AI systems across various applications and industries.
(I say in principle, as we are still to establish whether this is a real professional career.)
The Negative Connotations Surrounding the Term Prompt Engineering
The term AI prompt engineer has been banded around a lot online in recent times, with some experts speculating that it will become a job in the next five to ten years.
And that has had both positive and negative impacts.
From a positive perspective, many people have searched the term “prompt engineering” in Google in an attempt to improve their understanding of generative AI and ensure they are keeping up to date with any changes to how we work and live.
In fact, that’s potentially how some of you found this article (thanks for stopping in, by the way!)
But there have also been some negative impacts of this increased search, and that is the rise in “AI grifts.”
Have you recently been hit with adverts on social media such as “If you’re not earning 10k a month from wherever you want, you need to download my ChatGPT course” or “Here’s how I used ChatGPT to make 500k in less than six months!”
If you’re looking for a get-rich-quick scheme, I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place.
I’ve also got some bad news for you. These so-called millionaires who claim to have made their millions by generating articles and just posting them online are full of bs. They actually make their money from selling you the course in the first place!
While AI can certainly get used effectively to create high-quality marketing content, and becoming more proficient at prompting can help significantly, prompt engineers and “AI experts” still need expert marketing and writing skills.
You can read all about it in our free eBook Becoming an AI Marketing Expert.
Is AI Prompt Engineering a Real Job?
As far as mainstream jobs go, we are not yet at a stage where an AI prompt engineer can be considered a real job prospect, but that’s not to say that won’t change in the future.
After all, AI continues to advance and weaves its way into businesses, and as a result, prompting will very much be a part of roles in the future, if not entire job descriptions.
Here at ACE, prompting plays a key role in how we create the foundations of the content we create for our clients, but it certainly isn’t a full-time role.
For example, if you head to Indeed.com, one of the largest job search websites, there are currently no full-time roles related to the search term “prompt engineer.”
And the results aren’t much better when you search artificial intelligence.
So if you only looked at this information, it would be easy to say that AI developers and engineers are not currently in high demand.
However, things are a little different on the freelance side of things.
As you can see, there are several artificial intelligence jobs on offer currently in Upwork, and both Upwork and Fiverr have gone all in on AI advertisements and communications on social media in recent weeks. Here are two of the most recent examples.
So there is a clear difference between what we see unfold on freelance websites and what is occurring in more traditional full-time roles.
Well, Upwork seems to be sitting on the fence for the time being…
But why is prompt engineering jobs more common on freelance websites?
Well, one reason for that is the flexibility and immediacy that freelancer platforms can provide. It is much easier to hire and fire freelancers, allowing clients to be much more flexible with their requirements.
Rather than having to spend time upskilling or retraining staff or overinflating your workforce by hiring additional AI experts on top of your current staff, which are the only options for companies with contracted staff, those that opt for freelancers can be completely flexible to current trends.
And they have done just that. In fact, Upwork themselves produced a report that showed a whopping 450% increase in job posts related to generative AI year-on-year.
While this figure is exciting for those who are interested in becoming AI prompt engineers, it does come with some caveats. As with any new disruptor, some of the first reactors are those who are keen to take advantage of the fear and confusion to make a quick profit (any “cryptobros” or NFT hoarders reading this article?).
Therefore, some of the jobs posted currently are incredibly low pay, with unrealistic expectations of what you can achieve. Many who lack an understanding of how the Google rankings work are rushing to generate as much content as possible on a subject, not stopping to consider SEO elements such as topical authority, user experience, and providing value.
Here’s an example of one of these types of job postings to avoid:
All that work per hour for $3? No thanks.
While this might seem deflating, it is a step in the right direction and a sign that work is moving toward at least some prompting. Combining strong AI prompting, high-quality SEO expertise, human writing skills, and creativity can produce excellent results.
We should know; we’ve made a business out of it!
What is the Potential Career Progression of a Prompt Engineer?
So, what does the career progression look like if AI roles do begin to seep into the mainstream?
As the role of an AI prompt is still in its infancy, we can only speculate on the potential career progression for prompt engineer jobs.
However, what is life if you don’t do a little speculating from time to time? If AI continues to progress at its current rate (or even faster as it seems it will), this is a potential career progression tree for prompt engineers.
Potential Career Progression of a Prompt Engineer:
- Junior Prompt Engineer: Someone who crafts simple prompts with the guidance of more senior coworkers.
- Prompt Engineer: Able to design more complex and nuanced prompts.
- Lead Prompt Engineer: The AI lead for prompt design and larger AI-based projects.
- AI Strategy and Innovation Lead: A broader AI strategy role, overseeing prompt generation, ethical considerations, and other elements of AI within the business.
- Chief AI Officer or Chief Technology Officer: A job we’ve already seen started to materialise with the appointment of Mo Gawdatt at Flight Story.
The Skills Needed to Become Good at Prompting
So let’s say you want to improve your prompting, either in anticipation of future job opportunities or simply to become more productive at work. What skills do you need to get started?
Language proficiency
First and foremost, it’s important to gain a strong grasp on human language before you try and tackle the robot talk! Good grammar, understanding of syntax, and a wide-ranging vocabulary are all important for creating great prompts.
We’re not saying you need a degree in English from King’s College London, but having the ability to add specific details in a format that is well-structured and clear will greatly improve the responses your AI tool provides.
Few people consider grammar when typing in prompts, but sentence structure can have a major impact on the tone, format, and style of the content generated.
Domain knowledge
On top of a great grasp of the English language, it’s also important to have a good understanding of the topic you are trying to cover for several reasons.
Firstly, it ensures that you are able to input the correct terminology and follow-up questions to get the right content output, make amends and check details accordingly.
But on top of that, topical authority is still one of the most important elements of search engine optimisation that Google uses to rank content. Therefore, it is crucial that the content you produce and publish is of the highest quality. Otherwise, it will get lost alongside the many other mediocre articles on that subject.
At ACE, we use AI tools to help us create the foundations and outlines of the content we create for our clients and then use our human writing expertise to create high-quality content that outperforms competitors.
It’s what helped one client double their traffic in just three months from 30k to 60k!
Creative thinking
Alongside knowledge and expertise, AI prompting still requires an element of creative thinking to allow you to come up with varied and imaginative prompt formulations to test different aspects of AI models. AI has made it easier than ever to generate content at the click of a button, and as a result, the internet is getting swarmed with mediocre content.
To stand out from the crowd, you need to combine the ability to think and prompt creatively, along with the ability to write with a real human style and tone of voice.
Strategic insight
It’s one thing to think creatively, but it’s another to execute your thoughts in a manner that gets the most out of your chosen AI tools.
Skill in designing prompts that guide the AI model towards desired outcomes can be developed by testing and learning as you go, making notes on what worked well and what was less successful.
Or, you could save a bunch of time and follow us on social media for weekly AI prompt examples.
Have You Got a Minute?
I hope you enjoyed this article! If you liked it, and can afford to buy me a coffee, that would go along way to allowing me to continue creating more high-value articles like this!
Catch you in the next one! G
Frequently Asked Questions AI About Prompt Engineers
What is an AI prompt engineer?
An AI prompt engineer is a professional responsible for designing and refining prompts or input instructions to elicit desired outputs from generative AI models, optimising their performance and ensuring relevant and accurate responses.
Is AI prompt engineer a job?
AI prompt engineer might not be a widely recognized or standardized job title, but roles related to optimizing AI model inputs and outputs do exist under various titles in the field of artificial intelligence and natural language processing.
What skills do you need to be an AI prompt engineer?
Luckily, you don’t need a computer science degree to become skilled at AI prompting. An AI prompt engineer would need skills in natural language processing, machine learning, creative and strategic thinking, and the ability to effectively analyse and refine inputs to guide large language models.
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