AI engineers’ monthly pay exceeds $2,000, but few qualify

The 2024-2025 Vietnam IT Market Report by IT jobs platform TopDev shows that cloud services, cybersecurity and data and analytics positions, including AI and big data engineers, command the highest salaries, which are noticeably higher than the industry average.

TopDev said the market is experiencing a surge in demand in those fields, causing employers to offer high salaries.

Truong Thien Kim, deputy director of recruitment and payroll services provider Adecco Vietnam, said the demand stems from digital transformation currently being undertaken by businesses.

"The demand for positions such as data engineers, AI engineers and programmers is growing. With the rapid development of AI-based applications, concerns about data security are rising, and so demand for cybersecurity experts is also growing."

Recent surveys have found that Vietnamese businesses are becoming more open to AI.

A report in August by accounting firm CPA Australia said eight out of 10 Vietnamese businesses have used AI in the past 12 months, exceeding the 69% average for the Asia-Pacific region.

The usage in the country would most likely increase in the next 12 months, it added.

KMS Technology, a U.S. software services company with several development centers in Vietnam, said it is frequently hiring AI and machine learning engineers as many of its clients have been increasingly interested in AI-powered tools.

But the hype notwithstanding, experts said the reported salary ranges for AI and data positions are not easy to achieve, and most engineers in them earn around average levels.

Ngo Tin, an engineer at a German technology company in HCMC, said that such a level of pay is usually offered to AI engineers with at least two years of experience and English proficiency.

"The pay also varies based on companies and projects. But at several companies that I know of, even AI staff with more than five years of experience do not make significantly more than other IT jobs."

While AI is indeed growing popular, most businesses view it as a "good to have" rather than indispensable technology, and so are not willing to pay too much for AI jobs, especially amid the current economic situation, he said.

A veteran manager working for a company based in HCMC’s Quang Trung Software City said only large projects looking for highly skilled engineers to develop advanced AI models would offer salaries of thousands of dollars per month for AI jobs.

"Such positions are limited and finding qualified candidates is difficult because most applicants are still inexperienced."

Other firms looking to apply AI in their business operations are hiring a lot of AI engineers but do not require too much expertise, and so only pay average salaries, the manager added.

Headhunter Navigos Search said in a report on the first half of 2024 that job opportunities in the IT sector are primarily available for experienced individuals who meet the specific requirements of each project.

TopDev reported that recruitment for IT jobs overall is declining. Nearly 30% more companies have temporarily halted hiring in 2023-2024 period.

Only 6% plan to increase recruitment spending while 70% said they would maintain their current levels and 24% are considering payroll cuts.

The platform said the number of job seekers in the IT sector is growing, resulting in increasing competition.

Fresh graduates are expected to have a tougher time finding internship and employment opportunities as businesses favor experienced candidates, it said.