Careers in artificial intelligence in Australia: salaries, skills and pathways

If AI makes you feel excited and anxious in equal measure, you’re paying attention.

Most people assume AI careers belong to programmers and data scientists, but they actually span a much wider range of roles and backgrounds. Prompt engineers, AI product managers, marketing coordinators and HR specialists with AI skills are all part of the picture. You don’t need to write code to build a meaningful career in AI.

In Australia, employers are already moving fast. National Artificial Intelligence Centre (NAIC) research shows that the number of organisations looking for AI talent has more than tripled since 2015, going from 483 to 1,532 in 2024. Finance, healthcare, marketing and logistics are all part of that growth.

For anyone thinking about where to focus their professional development right now, the direction is quite clear. For many people, the biggest challenge is simply knowing where to begin. This article maps out the roles worth targeting and how to develop the skills and qualifications to get there.

Why AI careers are growing around the world

The pace at which AI is transforming the job market is unlike anything most industries have seen in a long time. The WEF report projects a net increase of 78 million jobs globally by 2030, as new roles outpace those displaced by automation. The challenge is that 63% of employers already say the skills shortage is their biggest barrier to getting there.

Fortunately, Australia is largely tracking ahead of that curve. PwC data shows that roles where people work alongside AI grew by 47% in Australia between 2019 and 2024, with job opportunities in AI-exposed industries growing 10% over the same period. AI is creating work here at a rapid pace.

On top of that, Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index found that 83% of business leaders believe AI will allow employees to take on more complex, strategic work earlier in their careers. Seventy-eight percent are already hiring for AI-specific roles. For anyone thinking about where to focus their professional development right now, it’s clear that pursuing a career in artificial intelligence is a smart thing to do.

What does it mean to be AI native?

AI literacy and AI engineering are two completely different skill sets, and most of the roles employers are actively hiring for fall into the first category. You don’t have to build AI systems from scratch to work with them well and understanding that opens the door to a much wider range of AI careers than you’d expect.

For most working professionals, AI nativeness comes down to four practical things:

• AI-assisted workflows: Tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude and Gemini have become standard parts of the workday. The ability to use them well for research and drafting is a core component of AI literacy.

• Automation fluency: A big part of being AI native is knowing which repetitive tasks in your role can be handed off to AI tools and working out how to make that happen.

• Prompt engineering basics: Clear, well-structured instructions get better outputs from AI systems, and learning how to write them is one of the most transferable skills in this space.

• Critical evaluation: Employers place real value on the ability to judge when AI output can be trusted and when it needs a human eye. It matters in every role that uses these tools.

ACS Information Age reports that eight in ten company leaders around the world would rather hire someone comfortable with AI tools than a more experienced candidate without those skills. Fresh perspective and practical ability carry a lot of weight when applying for entry-level AI jobs. The willingness to learn and experiment is much more important than your starting point and most employers in this space know it. 

Skills you need for a career in AI

Many of the skills that make someone effective in an AI career go beyond coding or engineering. Jobs and Skills Australia analysed over 7 million Australian job advertisements and found that AI roles consistently call for communication, leadership and management skills along with their technical requirements. Human capability and AI capability work best together.

These are the skills most careers in AI look for:

• Critical thinking: AI tools produce outputs, but humans decide what to do with them. The ability to question those outputs and evaluate their quality remains one of the most valuable skills in any AI-enabled workplace.

• Data literacy: A working understanding of how data is structured and interpreted helps you work more effectively with AI systems, even without a technical background.

• Prompt engineering: The quality of what you put into an AI system affects the quality of what comes out. Clear, deliberate prompting is a skill that improves with practice and pays off.

• Communication: AI can help with drafting and research, but deciding what’s worth using and how to present it well still takes strong human judgment. That skill doesn’t become less important as AI becomes more capable.

• Ethics and responsible AI: Organisations are under immense pressure to use AI responsibly. Professionals who understand bias, privacy, transparency and the broader implications of using AI are highly sought after.

• Adaptability: AI is evolving faster than any training programme can keep up with. The professionals who thrive in this space stay curious and treat every new tool as an opportunity to learn.

According to the WEF’s Future of Jobs Report, AI and big data top the list of fastest-growing skill demands globally, with human skills like creative thinking and adaptability rising in importance with them. Technical ability and people skills are both part of what employers want. 

High-growth careers in artificial intelligence in Australia

There are two broad ways to build a career in AI. The first is to specialise in AI itself and apply that expertise in different industries, and the second is to focus on a specific industry or function and bring AI into it. 

For example, a machine learning engineer or AI solutions architect can move between healthcare, finance, governance, business, and technology without needing to change their core skills much. A marketing specialist who uses AI to improve campaign performance is just as much an AI professional, but their expertise is industry-specific. This table covers the first group, which includes roles that are all about AI. 

Because most of these careers are brand new, salary data is patchy. Many job titles don’t yet exist in large enough numbers to generate reliable aggregate figures, so we only included roles where at least two independent sources report data.

The sources used here vary in methodology, which explains some of the wider spreads. PayScale and Glassdoor draw from user-submitted data, reflecting a broad range of experience levels. SEEK numbers come from advertised salaries and skew toward experienced hires. SalaryExpert and the Economic Research Institute use compensation modelling, which tends to produce higher estimates.

All of these AI career salary figures are in Australian dollars and should be treated as indicators rather than guaranteed benchmarks:

*Salary figures are sourced from PayScale, Glassdoor, SEEK, Indeed, SalaryExpert and the Economic Research Institute and should be treated as indicative ranges rather than guaranteed earnings.

AI careers that don’t require coding experience

Jobs and Skills Australia found that generative AI is far more likely to augment how Australians work than replace jobs through automation. For most working professionals, that means AI tools make their existing career more valuable.

Every role in the table below has been around long before AI. These tools simply raise the ceiling on what a skilled person in these roles can accomplish. This also means that you can get an entry-level job in any of these fields and incorporate AI into your workflow to level up faster than your peers. None of them require serious coding skills, and they’re all beginner-friendly.

Here are seven roles where AI skills can make a huge difference:

*Salary figures are sourced from SEEK and PayScale and should be treated as indicative ranges rather than guaranteed earnings.

Highest-paying AI careers in Australia

The further up the AI career ladder you go, the more technical depth and business strategy start to converge. Professionals who can do both can take their careers (and salaries!) very far. These are the highest-paid AI careers in Australia:

*Salary figures are sourced from SEEK, Glassdoor, SalaryExpert and the Economic Research Institute and should be treated as indicative ranges rather than guaranteed earnings.

How to get a job in the field of AI

Getting into an AI career isn’t as hard as it might sound and AI career pathways are more varied than the headlines suggest. Follow these six steps to get into AI, even if you don’t have a programming background:

1. Build foundational AI knowledge: Start with the basics before moving into tools or applications. Free resources like Google’s AI Fundamentals course and Microsoft’s AI learning paths are good starting points. The goal here is to understand what AI is and how it’s being applied.

2. Learn practical AI tools: Get hands-on experience with tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, Claude Code and Zapier. Practical experience with these tools can significantly strengthen your employability at this stage. Pick tools relevant to your target role and spend some time learning them properly.

3. Create portfolio projects: Build a small collection of projects that show you can use AI tools to solve problems. Even simple examples like an automated content workflow or a prompt library you’ve developed carry real weight with employers. Post them somewhere visible, like GitHub or a personal website.

4. Gain hands-on experience: Look for opportunities to use AI in your current role, even informally. Volunteer for projects where AI tools are involved, or pitch a small automation idea to your manager. Real workplace experience with AI is one of the most convincing things you can put on a CV. Side projects outside of work count just as much if your current role doesn’t offer any opportunities. Even a small project built with AI tools gives you something concrete to talk about in interviews.

5. Study AI formally: A formal qualification gives your skills credibility and structure. Monarch’s Diploma of Artificial Intelligence (AI) covers both technical foundations and practical applications, designed to be studied alongside full-time work. For marketing professionals, the AI in Business and Marketing course is a more targeted entry point.

6. Continue learning as AI evolves: AI is moving faster than any curriculum can keep up with. Following industry publications and experimenting with new tools as they’re launched are habits that will keep you competitive long after you’ve had your first role. Even an hour a week spent exploring new tools and reading industry updates is enough to stay well ahead of most. Dedicated AI newsletters and LinkedIn communities are low-effort ways to stay current without feeling like extra work.

Qualifications and certifications for AI careers

The good news for anyone looking to formalise their AI skills is that employers are more open to help fund it than ever before. Microsoft’s Work Trend Index found that 47% of business leaders worldwide say upskilling their workforce is a top priority over the next year, so you might be able to get your employer to pay for your course. 

The right pathway for you depends on where you’re starting from and what you want to do. Short courses and vendor certifications help you build practical skills quickly, while diplomas and formal qualifications carry more weight for roles that require deeper technical knowledge or a clear path to senior positions.

Here’s a breakdown of the main AI study pathways in Australia:

How to progress from entry level to high-paying AI roles

Breaking into your first AI role can feel challenging. After that, you can progress by following a recognisable pattern that rewards consistent effort and deliberate skill-building. A strong portfolio opens the doors at first, but industry experience and formal study at the right moments take you further. Here’s what to focus on at each stage:

1. Entry-level (0–2 years): Build a portfolio of projects that show you have some practical AI skills. Take on any opportunity to use AI tools at work, even if it’s outside your formal role description. Every tangible example you can point to helps.

2. Mid-level (2–5 years): Deepen your expertise in a specific technical or strategic area and move into a lead role on AI projects. Collaboration with cross-functional teams builds the kind of experience that makes senior roles accessible to those without decades of experience.

3. Senior level (5–10 years): Take ownership of AI initiatives and develop your ability to explain complex AI concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Formal study at diploma or postgraduate level can strengthen your credentials considerably at this stage.

4. Principal and specialist: Lead AI strategy and shape how your organisation thinks about AI at a structural level. Reputation and professional network matter as much as technical skills once you reach this point.

FAQs about careers in artificial intelligence

Is artificial intelligence a good career in Australia?

Absolutely, and the opportunities only keep growing. LinkedIn’s 2026 Jobs on the Rise rankings list AI engineer as the fastest-growing job in Australia and salaries are competitive at every level. Professionals who start now and focus on upskilling have a tremendous head start.

Do AI jobs require coding?

Many AI jobs don’t require any coding at all. Technical positions like machine learning engineer and NLP engineer require strong coding skills, but AI roles in marketing, operations, HR and content creation need AI literacy rather than coding ability.

What qualifications do you need for AI careers?

Short courses like Monarch’s AI for Business and Marketing course are a strong starting point for non-technical roles. Technical positions usually call for a diploma or degree, and Monarch’s Diploma of Artificial Intelligence (AI) covers both foundations and practical applications. A strong portfolio matters as much as formal credentials in most cases.

Can beginners start a career in AI?

Yes, and plenty do. Roles like prompt engineer and AI marketing assistant are accessible without a technical background. All you need to get started is a short course and some portfolio projects.

How long does it take to learn AI skills?

You can develop basic AI literacy and tool proficiency in a matter of weeks. Getting a full diploma in AI takes 12 to 18 months if studying part-time. The depth you need depends entirely on your industry and the role you’re going for.

Which is the better career path: AI, data science or cyber security?

All three are strong choices with high demand and competitive salaries in Australia. AI and data science overlap quite a bit, so skills transfer well between them. Cyber security takes a different focus entirely, but AI tools are now central to how the industry operates. The best choice comes down to where your strengths and interests lie.

What are the best entry-level AI jobs in Australia?

Prompt engineer and AI marketing assistant are two of the most accessible entry-level AI jobs in Australia. Both require AI literacy rather than programming ability, so you don’t need to spend years learning how to code.

Your AI career is closer than you think

AI is one of the fastest-growing career fields in Australia right now, and the professionals who move early are setting themselves up for success. The roles are well-paid and the barriers to entry are lower today than they likely will be in the future as the positions mature and AI continues to develop.

Monarch’s Diploma of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI in for Business and Marketing course are both designed for working professionals who want to build relevant AI skills without putting their careers on hold. In just a few months, you could develop practical, recognised AI skills that support your career goals. Everyone who’s now working in AI started exactly where you are. Taking the next step now can put you in a strong position for the future.

Speak to a Monarch course consultant today to explore your options.