6 Free AI Courses To Boost Your Skills (And Earning Power)

If you're looking to future-proof your career, a safe bet is upskilling in AI. 

Two-thirds of leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI expertise, according to a recent Microsoft survey, and yet, only 39% of respondents had received AI training from their company.

This leaves the majority of employees upskilling in their own time, and at their own expense. But it may be a solid investment. 

3 finance jobs hiring right now

• Credit Risk Officer – Hedge Funds, ubs, Nashville ($185,000 – $230,000)
• Finance Analyst II – New Glenn, Blue Origin, Seattle
• VP – Financial Consultant, Charles Schwab, Stamford ($73,100 – $149,400)

Last month, PwC released new data on AI and its effects in the workplace after analyzing half a billion job ads from 15 countries. 

In its Global AI Jobs Barometer report, it details that "postings for AI jobs are growing 3.5x faster than for all jobs", and "jobs that require AI skills carry up to a 25% wage premium in some markets". 

Financial services, IT, and professional services are the industries most exposed to artificial intelligence (AI), and they are reportedly growing labor productivity at a rate that is over five times faster than other industries.

The 25% average wage premium figure actually applies to the U.S., where jobs requiring specialized AI abilities pay especially well. This ranges from 18% for accountants, to 33% for financial analysts, then 43% for sales and marketing managers, and at the top end, 49% for lawyers.

Of course, these pay gains are only received once you've been AI upskilling. But before you shell out your hard-earned salary, why not try a free course or two first? Here's six of the best available right now. 

1. Machine Learning Specialization

This beginner’s machine learning course from Stanford University promises to equip you with knowledge of artificial neural networks, logic regression, decision trees, and recommender systems. 

Taught by Andrew Ng, this course requires ten hours a week for two months, and although the training is free, there is a cost to obtain the official certification.

2. Google AI Essentials

Taught by the AI experts at Google, this AI essentials course is available in English, Portuguese and Spanish, with video subtitles in French, Japanese and Polish. 

Aimed at those with no prior experience in AI, in this course, you'll learn the fundamental concepts of AI, practical applications of AI in different industries, and basic machine learning techniques. This course is perfect for anyone looking to integrate AI into their work processes, or for those who are simply curious.

3. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python

As demand for Python increases, its value is projected to reach $100.6 million by 2030. Python is particularly relevant for the finance, fintech, and neo-banking industries because of its flexibility and skills in blockchain, web development, machine learning, automation, and data analysis.

Now AI has entered the chat, adding another layer of complexity. Thankfully, this seven-week HarvardX course delves into the theories and algorithms that form the basis of contemporary AI, and students are exposed to the theory underlying big language models, graph search methods, categorization, optimisation, and machine learning through practical projects.

4. Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT

Have you played around with ChatGPT but received subpar results back? Chances are you need to learn to prompt better. 

This course offered by Vanderbilt University teaches you how to apply prompt engineering to effectively work with large language models, and even how to create prompt-based applications yourself. Plus, after completing seven assignments, you'll have a shareable certificate to add to your resume, and social profiles. 

5. Prompt Engineering with Llama 2 & 3

If you rate Meta's open-source Llama 3 model above rivals like ChatGPT, you're in good company. According to a new deep dive from student research organization Lmsys, Meta's model shines in brainstorming and writing prompts, and its outputs are "more excited, positive, conversational, and friendly than other models".

DeepLearning.AI, in collaboration with Meta, is now offering a neat one-hour course offering best practices specific to prompting Llama models. In it, you'll learn how to use the model as a personal assistant, and you'll experiment with advanced prompt engineering techniques.

3 roles hiring now

• Product Manager, NY TD Bank, New York ($93,080 – $139,360)
• Global Fund Finance Open-Ended Funds BPP – Assistant Vice President, Blackstone Group, NJ ($125,000 – $185,000)
• Finance Analyst, the NBA, New York ($75,000 – $85,000)

6. Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics

University of California, Davis offers this four-module course, which covers the intersection of big data opportunities, and the ethical considerations of AI.

Taking approximately twelve-hours, it's part of a bigger ten-week Computational Social Science Specialization course, but can be completed on its own. 

In it, you will explore big data opportunities and challenges, get an introduction to IBM's Watson, and examine ethical limitations and considerations in AI, which is pertinent to all industries and applications. 

And there you have it. As the relentless march of AI continues, you can remain ahead of the curve and open up new job and salary opportunities with a little strategic upskilling, and often, very little commitment. 

Visit the Benzinga Job Board today and see who else is hiring

Featured image sourced from Shutterstock