If you want a high-paying job, there aren't many places left to hide from AI.

According to internal data from the U.S.-based job site Ladders, as seen by The Deep View, the number of knowledge worker job listings requiring AI skills has now skyrocketed to nearly half of all roles.

"We found in our data that about 50% of all high-paying jobs at the $100,000-plus level now include some type of requirement for AI literacy," said Marc Cenedella, CEO of Ladders, in an exclusive interview with The Deep View.

That 50% with AI requirements is up from 20% in 2021, when most AI requirements focused on machine learning, deep learning, automation and big data.

Ladders, formerly TheLadders.com, launched in 2003, specializing in white-collar jobs paying $100,000 and above. This data comes from a pool of 1.1 million white-collar jobs analyzed, though the site reviews 72 million job listings a year before curating them down to a select number of the highest-quality jobs that make their list.

Here are more details from the company's internal research on AI in job listings:

• For executive roles, 45% now require AI skills
• Across all of the different roles and industries, at least 40% of the job listings now contain AI requirements
• Other specific roles where at least 45-50% of the jobs listed now require AI skills include Data, Finance, Design, Product, Software Engineering, and HR.

AI is also impacting the process of finding and landing the best jobs, and not always in a good way. Generative AI has made it easy for job seekers to quickly create personalized cover letters and resumes. But it may be secretly torpedoing candidates' chances at the best jobs, and not for the reasons they might think.

"When it comes to writing your resume, AI will give you an exactly average, typical resume, which is not what you want," said Cenedella. "You want one that's going to stand out and help you get the job. So for job seekers, it's confusing, because they'll use [AI] and it'll produce something that is extremely [typical] and reads well, but it's not actually helping them."

Our Deeper View

The fact that 50% of jobs now require AI skills doesn't tell the whole story. "When you actually read through job postings, you see that it's moved from a familiarity prerequisite,” said Cenedella, “[to where] you're going to be expected to have this knowledge within your purview." In other words, you now need to show that you know how to put the AI skills to work. And the only way you're going to do that is to actually use the technology, make mistakes with it, and figure out where it does and doesn’t make sense to use it in your daily routines. But with the technology moving so quickly, keeping up with the latest developments is a job in and of itself. So if you've been waiting to get started, now might be the time. If you want to follow my latest takes on the AI space in real-time, you can find me on X/Twitter at x.com/jasonhiner.