💡 Why it matters: Most organisations will not build AI models from scratch. They need engineers who can connect existing models to real products, test them carefully and make them safe to use.
🌍 Around the world
- United States: Jobs for software developers are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦2.5M – ₦6M
- Mid-career
- ₦7M – ₦18M
- Senior
- ₦18M – ₦40M
≈ ₦583k – ₦1.5M a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Software developers. Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles.. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Closest Job Bank occupation: Artificial intelligence (AI) software engineer. Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Build apps and tools that use existing AI models, such as chatbots and writing or search helpers
- Write the code that connects a model to data, websites and other software
- Test how often the AI gets things wrong and add checks to reduce mistakes
- Keep an eye on cost, speed and safety once real people use the product
- Work with designers, product managers and other engineers to decide what the AI should and should not do
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Programming (often Python)
- Problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Maths and statistics
- Communication
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Self-study and online courses with a portfolio of working AI projects
- Starting as a software developer, then moving into AI work
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Software developer or digital degree apprenticeships (study while you work)
- Starting as a software developer, then moving into AI work
🇺🇸 United States
- Coding bootcamps and online courses with a portfolio of AI projects
- Starting as a software developer, then moving into AI work
🇨🇦 Canada
- Co-op programs that mix study with paid work placements
- Starting as a software developer, then moving into AI work
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Get strong at maths and enjoy solving problems
- 2Learn to code, starting with Python
- 3Study computer science, software engineering or a related subject, or build skills through projects and online courses
- 4Build and share small apps that use AI models, and learn to test them honestly
- 5Join a team as a junior developer and move into AI work as you learn
⏰ A day in the life
Your team's homework helper sometimes gives confident but wrong answers. You collect examples, change the instructions the model receives and add a check that flags uncertain replies. Then you test it on real student questions before the update goes live.