Prompt Engineering Jobs: Your 2024 Career Guide

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is expanding, creating a demand for prompt engineers who can help AI systems respond effectively to human instructions.

As a prompt engineer, you create these instructions, known as prompts, that tell an AI system how to generate outputs for use in real-world situations. For example, a good prompt engineer can leverage AI to speed up time-consuming tasks, automate repetitive ones, create content to specification, summarize large amounts of information, and optimize customer experiences.  

Prompt engineering offers many possibilities that can lead to a rewarding career. As with any new technology and corresponding career fields, the employment landscape for prompt engineers may change. As you consider a future in prompt engineering, it’s a good idea to research your options and reflect on your career goals. Get started with this career guide to discover salaries you can earn, job titles that may interest you, and best practices for applying.  

If you want to refresh your skills for your job search, consider enrolling in the Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT course from Vanderbilt University.

Prompt engineer salary 

Exploring your earning potential in prompt engineering is a critical aspect of your job search. Salaries can vary widely in this field, depending on the employer, industry, and location, as well as your experience and skill set. 

As of April 2024, ZipRecruiter reports a national average salary in the US of $62,977, with low salaries around $32,500 and high salaries around $95,500, based on jobs employers have posted on ZipRecruiter [1]. Conduct thorough research into compensation so that you can measure your salary goals against the current trends.

Read more: How to Negotiate Your Salary: 10 Tips to Earn More  

Prompt engineering job outlook

The prompt engineering market is projected to grow significantly over the next several years. According to Grand View Research, the global market for prompt engineering is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.8% between 2024 and 2030 [2]. Growing automation along with the expanding reach of generative AI are two key factors driving this growth.

Let’s look at the employment landscape for prompt engineers as of October 2024: 

• Full-time, freelance, and contract opportunities are available. 

• You can specialize in large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT or Bard, or draw upon general knowledge of this field. 

• There are job openings across industries, including EdTech, nonprofit education, software development, management and consulting, finance, information technology, AI and other emerging technologies, internet and web services, pharmaceutical and biotechnology, and health care.  

How to get a prompt engineer job 

Using this career guide as a starting point, begin your prompt engineer job search. Follow these steps to boost your confidence, tailor your approach, and stand out from other candidates in this competitive field. 

1. Improve your job search methods.

As we’ve explored, job titles in prompt engineering are diverse, so you’ll need to expand your search queries on different career sites beyond just “prompt engineer” or “prompt engineer jobs.” Search queries to try might include: 

• ChatGPT prompt engineer or ChatGPT prompt engineering jobs

• Text prompt engineering or text prompt engineering jobs 

• Remote prompt engineer jobs

• AI prompt engineer or AI prompt engineer jobs

• Bard prompt engineer or Bard prompt engineer jobs

Also try various job titles in machine learning, AI, software engineering, and data science, using examples from the previous section.

In addition, be sure to conduct your job search in multiple places, including:

• General career sites like LinkedIn and Indeed

• Talent pool and freelance sites like Toptal, Upwork, and Fiverr

• Career sites specific to prompt engineering, like Promptly Hired and Prompt Jobs

• Career sites dedicated to AI, machine learning, and data science, like AI-Jobs and Joblist.AI

2. Read job descriptions carefully. 

Read individual job descriptions carefully for the results that each search query yields. Some roles often include prompt engineering as a day-to-day function, even when the job title itself doesn’t include “prompt engineer.” 

As employers continue hiring prompt engineers, you may see job postings with a variety of qualifications and duties listed. Become familiar with what employers require, from one industry to the next, as you plan your next steps. Requirements might include specific skills, expertise in a particular industry, years of experience, or formal education. 

3. Develop your skills and experience. 

Based on insights you glean from job descriptions, make a list of prompt engineering skills, experience, and other qualifications you’ll need for the prompt engineer job you desire. Skills to work on include:

• Composing effective prompts

• Using different prompting techniques

• Understanding natural language processing

• Working with large language models

• Understanding the industry you want to work in

Read more: How To Write ChatGPT Prompts: Your 2024 Guide

Consider taking courses in prompt engineering and related topics to gain the skills you need. Other advantages of taking courses include:

• Learning in a structured format

• Exploring the topic with the support of the instructor 

• Earning a credential or completion certificate 

• Becoming job-ready in weeks, often less time than it takes to earn a degree  

Here's a video on how to structure your prompts effectively:

To gain experience in this field, consider taking on contract work in prompt engineering or completing a prompt engineering project in your current role. 

4. Build a prompt engineering online presence. 

In today’s employment landscape, employers often look to the internet to learn more about a candidate during the recruitment process. Building your online presence can help you stand out from other candidates and showcase your passion for prompt engineering. Your online presence can cover these areas:

• A detailed LinkedIn profile that lists your employment history 

• A portfolio, blog, or website dedicated to displaying your prompt engineering work

• Other social media profiles where you post content related to prompt engineering, including your personal views, articles you’ve read, industry knowledge, and recent projects 

• A profile on Upwork, Fiverr, and other freelance sites to promote your prompt engineering services 

5. Build a professional network.

Strengthening your professional network can provide greater access to job openings, mentoring, educational opportunities, and events. Networking also allows you to interact with people who share your interest in prompt engineering or business leaders who may be looking to hire someone with your skills.

To network effectively, consider participating in local events, online forums, conferences in your industry, or live classes. You can also follow brands or social media accounts related to AI systems to stay informed about the latest advancements.

Read more: 9 Networking Tips to Expand and Strengthen Your Network

6. Apply for prompt engineering jobs.

Return to career sites and review current prompt engineering job listings. When you’ve identified the ones that best fit your career objectives, begin applying. Be sure to optimize your resume, cover letter template, and other job search materials, tailoring them to each employer you’re applying to work with. 

As you search online for “prompt engineer jobs,” you may find that the search results yield only a handful of jobs with prompt engineering in the title. This can be due to employers using a variety of job titles to recruit people with prompt engineering skills. In some cases, you have to look beyond a seemingly unrelated job title to find a mention of prompt engineering in the job description as a required skill or day-to-day function.

Below, you’ll explore job titles related to prompt engineering, including “prompt engineer” itself and the variations, as they have appeared on career sites LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter. These roles exhibit varying degrees of emphasis on prompt engineering, with some placing it at the core and others integrating it into other aspects of the job.

Prompt engineering job titles

• Prompt engineer

• Prompt engineer and librarian 

• AI prompt engineer

• AI senior prompt engineer

• Associate director, generative AI prompt engineer

• Artificial Intelligence / prompt engineering curriculum writer / subject matter expert

• AI chatbot prompt engineer & writer

• Prompt engineer - generative AI platform intern

• GenAI lead prompt engineer

• GenAI prompt engineer and coach

• AI security prompt engineer

• AI product manager and prompt engineer

Large language model job titles

• LLM interaction engineer

• AI / LLM engineer  

• AI LLM consultant

AI job titles 

• Research engineer, Human-AI interaction

• Conversational AI engineer

• AI / ML engineer

• AI writing evaluator

• AI content writer

• AI software engineer

• AI engineer

• Founding engineer, AI

• Artificial intelligence specialist

• AI manager, innovation lab

• AI researcher

• Game AI engineer and LLM developer

Generative AI job titles 

• Director, generative AI platform - agents and tooling - people leader

• GenAI Engineer

• GenAI technical lead 

• Business process analyst / business process engineer (GenAI)

Machine learning engineer job titles

• Machine learning engineer

• Machine learning engineer - generative AI and deep learning

• Principle machine learning engineer - query processing / indexing

• Sr Machine Learning engineering manager 

• Machine Learning Engineer, LLM Infrastructure

• AIML machine learning engineer/scientist, SIRI information intelligence

Data science job titles

• Data scientist

• Senior data scientist, AI

• Senior Data Science Engineer, LLM MLOps Platform

Software engineering job titles

• Cloud platforms and infrastructure engineer, Google Cloud

• Software engineer (AI / ML), enterprise systems

• Software engineer 

• Staff Software Engineer - ML Engineering

• Senior Software Engineer- Data (Machine learning)

• Staff software engineer 

Read more: How to Become a Prompt Engineer: Skills You Need + Steps to Take

Consider enrolling in this course on AI Essentials, offered by Google, which covers generative AI tools, responsible AI use, prompting techniques, and more.

Best practices for your future in prompt engineering 

The rapid adoption of AI technology inspires both excitement and uncertainty about what the future holds. Many roles are bound to evolve or be less in demand, requiring people to pivot, reskill, and take on new challenges. Prompt engineering is no different. No matter your career path, empower yourself with these best practices:

• Be on the lookout for increasing or dwindling demand for prompt engineers.

• Observe how AI technology develops and what skills you’ll need to stay current. 

• Note job titles that employers use to attract candidates with prompt engineering skills. 

• Brainstorm ways to apply your prompt engineering skills to other roles.

• Keep your online presence up-to-date, so that potential employers see your latest and best prompt engineering work. 

Learn prompt engineering with Coursera 

Taking online courses can be a great way to enhance your job search efforts, build job-ready skills, generate talking points for an upcoming interview, and discover career opportunities. Explore Coursera’s offerings in prompt engineering and generative AI: