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What Can You Do With an Artificial Intelligence Degree? Jobs
Key takeaway: An artificial intelligence degree leads to four main occupations: computer and information research scientist, data scientist, software developer, and computer systems analyst. Median annual wages for those roles run from $105,850 to $140,300 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national medians). The two highest-paying titles usually expect a graduate degree; the other two are commonly entered with a bachelor's.
AI is a specialization inside computing, not a separate industry, so the job titles graduates hold are computing job titles. What the degree changes is which problems you are hired to work on: building and evaluating learning systems rather than only writing conventional application code. Employers span software companies, healthcare systems, banks and insurers, logistics operations, defense contractors, and university and corporate research labs.
Jobs you can get with an artificial intelligence degree
| Occupation | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Computer and information research scientist | $140,300 |
| Software developer | $135,980 |
| Data scientist | $120,230 |
| Computer systems analyst | $105,850 |
View the data behind this chart
| Occupation | Avg. annual openings |
|---|---|
| Software Developer | 115,200/yr |
| Computer Systems Analyst | 34,200/yr |
| Data Scientist | 23,400/yr |
| Computer and Information Research Scientist | 3,200/yr |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national medians. Median means half of workers in the occupation earned more and half earned less; pay for any individual role varies by employer, industry, and location.
Computer and information research scientist. This is the research end of the field. Scientists invent new methods rather than apply existing ones: designing model architectures, proving out training techniques, publishing results, and translating findings into products. The work is heavy on mathematics and experimental design, and most positions sit in corporate research labs, federally funded centers, or universities.
Software developer. Developers build the systems that models actually run inside. In an AI context that means data pipelines, training infrastructure, model-serving APIs, monitoring for drift and failure, and the application code around all of it. This is the largest and most accessible destination for AI graduates, because every deployed model needs engineering around it.
Data scientist. Data scientists frame a business question, assemble and clean the data, choose and train a model, and then explain what the results mean to people who will not read the code. Much of the job is judgment about which problems are worth modeling and what a result can honestly support. Strong communication matters as much as modeling skill.
Computer systems analyst. Analysts sit between technical teams and the organization, studying how existing systems work and specifying how new capability should be integrated. For AI graduates this often means evaluating where a model fits into an existing workflow, what data it can legitimately use, and what the operational and governance requirements are.
What the degree level changes
A bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence positions you for the engineering and analyst side of that list. Software developer and computer systems analyst roles are commonly entered with a bachelor’s plus a portfolio of working projects, and the online bachelor’s in artificial intelligence covers the programming, algorithms, linear algebra, probability, and machine learning coursework those jobs assume.
Data scientist postings frequently ask for a master’s degree or several years of applied experience in place of one. The online master’s in artificial intelligence goes deeper into statistical modeling, deep learning, and applied research methods, which is the gap most bachelor’s graduates need to close for that title.
Computer and information research scientist is the one role on this list where credential requirements are genuinely restrictive. These positions typically expect a doctorate, and industry research labs hire almost exclusively at that level for scientist titles. There is no license or certification exam in AI, so nothing here is legally gated the way nursing or engineering practice is, but the research track is gated by degree in practice.
Common questions
What jobs can you get with an artificial intelligence degree?
The occupations most closely tied to AI coursework are software developer, data scientist, computer systems analyst, and computer and information research scientist. Job titles in postings vary widely (machine learning engineer, applied scientist, MLOps engineer), but they map back to these four federal occupation categories.
How much do artificial intelligence majors make?
Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 OEWS national medians for the associated occupations are $140,300 for computer and information research scientists, $135,980 for software developers, $120,230 for data scientists, and $105,850 for computer systems analysts. These are national medians across all workers in each occupation, not starting salaries for new graduates.
Do you need a master’s degree for AI jobs?
Not for most of them. Software developer and computer systems analyst roles are typically entered with a bachelor’s degree. A master’s is commonly expected for data scientist positions, and a doctorate is the practical requirement for research scientist titles.
Is an artificial intelligence degree different from computer science?
An AI degree sits on the same computing foundation as computer science and adds more mathematics and modeling coursework earlier in the sequence. Many students reach the same skill set through a computer science degree with an AI concentration.
Is an artificial intelligence degree worth it?
The answer depends on which of the four occupations you are aiming at and what your program costs, since the two most accessible titles are also reachable through a general computing degree. Compare the artificial intelligence program hub and affordable AI programs before committing.
Keep exploring
- Start at the artificial intelligence program hub, then compare levels: online bachelor’s in AI and online master’s in AI.
- Find programs near you at the AI programs by state index, or check accelerated AI programs if you want to finish faster.
- Compare neighboring fields: computer science, machine learning, and data analytics.
Data verified: August 12, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.