The VIPs of AI in finance are making millions

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be a very lucrative business if you’re in the right sector. Senior people in AI earn hundreds of thousands as a standard but a select few are making millions, and it's no surprise they’re working in financial services.

Heidrick & Struggles have released their 2022 Data, Analytics and AI compensation survey. It clarifies the advantage of working in the finance industry if you're an AI practitioner. 

In Europe, the survey puts the average total compensation of AI professionals in financial services at $576k. The second-highest paying sector for AI professionals is the consumer sector, where average total compensation is $382k. 

Surprisingly, compensation for US-based AI practitioners in the financial services sits a little lower, at an average of $551k. At elite levels, that disparity continues. 

Europe the top destination for finance’s AI elites

If you're an elite AI professional, you might want to be in Europe. Heidrick says that in the 95^th percentile in Europe, financial services professionals received far higher bonuses than the rest ($463k versus $276k in Europe). It’s the salaries that will catch the eye, however: top finance execs earn salaries averaging $913k annually in Europe, says Heidrick.

For total compensation, the 75^th percentile of financial services AI execs earn $1.6m. For the 95^th percentile it reaches $2.9m; no other industry comes close.

In the US, healthcare is top for AI, but financial services professionals still make millions

In America, it’s healthcare and tech giving AI experts the big bucks. In the 95th percentile, AI practitioners in the healthcare earn $3.7m. In finance, the comparable figure is $2.7m.

A big win for the US however is sign on bonuses. AI professionals in America receive $130k in cash compared to Europe’s $30k. The gap in equity bonuses is even greater, with US executives earning $500k on average compared to just $200k in Europe.

Click here to create a profile on eFinancialCareers. Make yourself visible to recruiters and find careers that could make you millions.

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: alex.mcmurray@efinancialcareers.com in the first instance. 

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash