The Truth About Prompt Engineering

Prompt Engineering: What is it? Why does it pay so much? Do I need to know coding? This deep dive cuts through the noise and reveals what it really takes to get into this line of work.

Introduction

If you use ChatGPT, you might be a prompt engineer. In a nutshell, a prompt engineer is someone who fine-tunes the input (i.e., the prompt) that will obtain the best possible output from a large language model like ChatGPT. Yes, this became a real paying job which could earn you in some cases up to $300k annually. You might be asking yourself:

What exactly is a prompt engineer?
What does their day-to-day look like? And,
Why do they make so much money?

This is the topic of today's article, let’s dive right in.

What is a Prompt Engineer?

A 'Prompt Engineer' specializes in designing prompts that optimally interact with other inputs within a generative AI model. These models receive several inputs, including the prompt, to produce some desired output. Other lesser-known yet crucial inputs include pre-training data, temperature, tokens, etc. Well-crafted prompts lead to better and more precise answers from AI models, enhancing their capability in tasks like writing marketing copy, engaging with customers via chatbots, generating art, among others. This process is known as fine-tuning.

According to an article by McKinsey & Co., generative AI is gaining traction in institutions worldwide. Their research revealed that a third of respondents worked at organizations that regularly employ generative AI for at least one function. Interestingly, among these organizations, 40% are planning to ramp up their investments toward artificial intelligence, thanks to the strides made in generative AI. The business functions most commonly integrating language models into their workflows are marketing and sales, product and service development, and service operations — areas where AI integration is already prevalent. Companies aiming to maximize the value derived from these tools are willing to invest substantial resources to ensure they obtain the best results from them. This surge in investment directly fuels the high demand for prompt engineers, now being hired to meet specific organizational goals.

AI Art generated with a simple prompt:

Create an image of autumn in the park.

Becoming a Prompt Engineer

It is too early to identify a standardized approach for verifying the credentials of prompt engineering candidates. However, there is a certain skill set that recruiters look for to fill those prompt engineering roles. A successful prompt engineer must craft clear and concise prompts that ensure the AI produces a specific output while systematically evaluating different responses. Here are the main skills you must have if you’re planning on sending in your application:

Written Communication:
The bulk of the work as a prompt engineer is writing prompts. These prompts should make the AI understand exactly what output is needed. Farook Zafar, prompt engineer at Meta, firmly believes that a liberal arts background could potentially make you stand out because of the linguistics-heavy art and science of natural language processing.
Critical Thinking:
More often than not, the AI model will not meet the specificity or sophistication of the required output. It is the job of a prompt engineer to figure out why some inputs work and others don’t in achieving the desired output for very niche applications. This requires breaking down problems and coming up with logical solutions.
Creativity:
LLMs will often surprise you with an unexpected answer, and you’ll find yourself having to approach the problem from different angles. Creativity plays a crucial role when it comes to tinkering with the inputs to guide the model to the exact response you’re looking for.
Project Management:
Although not exactly a project management role, there is an expectation for prompt engineers to manage their time and expectations adequately.
Collaboration:
Prompt engineers never work alone. They are in constant communication with software engineers, data scientists, project managers, and others.
Ethical Awareness:
As prompt engineers shape the outputs of AI models, ethical considerations and responsibilities come into the picture. It is crucial to ensure their work is safeguarded against causing emotional distress or violating privacy laws.

A question that often comes up is: “Do I need a background in computer science to become a prompt engineer?” The answer is not so straightforward. Having a fundamental understanding of machine learning, statistics, and Python will certainly make you stand out from a pool of applicants. That being said, if you have great writing skills, you are already in good standing. At its core, prompt engineering is more about communication than coding. This is the main skill required for crafting questions and fine-tuning the language. If we take Zafar as an example, he does not have a background in computer science yet works at Meta as a prompt engineer.

Now, if you’re seriously considering applying for prompt engineering roles you are advised to build a portfolio to showcase your personal projects, collaborations, and contributions as a way of displaying your prompt engineering skills. If you’re curious about what it takes to get hired in this field, check out this job posting by Anthropic with a salary range of $250k - $375k USD.

AI Art generated with a complex prompt:

Generate a highly detailed image of a vibrant autumn park at golden hour, with the sun setting behind a distant row of trees shedding their leaves. The foreground is dominated by a winding path covered with red and gold leaves, a wooden bench, and a vintage street lamp illuminating a peaceful, serene setting. A couple is seen walking a small dog in the distance, and the scene reflects a harmonious blend of warm colors and the comforting essence of fall.

Why $300k?

Reality Check

Although we see these impressive numbers being thrown around frequently when speaking about prompt engineering salaries, it is important to note that not all of these positions are high-paying relative to others in the tech industry. The previous salary ranges we saw earlier are considered to be on the higher end, and these salaries may vary greatly depending on location, industry, application and required qualifications. For reference, according to Glassdoor, the average base pay for a software engineer in the US ranges between $84k - $132K USD per year. Machine learning engineers on the other hand can earn an annual median salary of $136,620 USD, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. In my research, there seems to be a limited number of prompt engineering job listings out there, with many articles repeatedly referencing the same few, such as the one by Anthropic mentioned above. However, I did find a job board specifically for prompt engineering roles at promptjobs.com. Here I found some more realistic figures in terms of salaries ranging from $90k - $150k USD.

Why are the salaries so high?

The utility of AI models in automating repetitive and mundane tasks has surged the demand for generative AI experts. According to Time Magazine the number of posts referring to “generative AI” has increased by a factor of 36 in comparison to the previous year. Even those without a technical background are seemingly being targeted by these posts.

Zooming into why certain salaries are astronomical, consider this listing from Boston Children’s Hospital. They’re looking for a prompt engineer to “collaborate with researchers and clinicians to understand their needs and design prompts that will effectively gather data". This position revolves around information management with AI. Specifically the gathering of sensitive notes about diagnoses, patient billing information, and comments between medical professionals. Given the privacy concerns and inherent responsibilities of healthcare roles in general, such positions justify high compensation. Hence, some prompt engineering jobs can be lucrative. It is important to note that aside from a competitive salary, high stakes also demand strong qualifications. For this reason, specialized prompt engineering roles require some sort of domain expertise alongside the core prompt engineering capabilities.

Job Security

Considering that the main idea behind artificial intelligence is the ability to learn and improve itself, one can only wonder how long it will take until the same generative AI takes over these prompt engineering roles. Several experts in the field hold the belief that prompt engineering roles are temporary. This stems from the observation that as AI systems become more sophisticated and better at understanding natural language, the need for human intermediaries to ‘translate’ or ‘sculpt’ prompts might diminish. The lifecycle of a prompt engineer, therefore, might inherently be tied to the current limitations of AI. Just as the role of a telephone switchboard operator became obsolete with the advent of automated switching technology, so too could the role of the prompt engineer fade as AI learns to interpret and respond to less structured human input more effectively.

However, the demand for prompt engineers in the interim could skyrocket, much like a gold rush, where the initial scarcity of a resource inflates its value and the rush to exploit it. In this transitionary phase, AI is not yet fully autonomous or reliable, requiring human touch. The famous 'meltdown' of Microsoft’s Bing, as mentioned by Sanh, showcases the immediate and significant impact that skilled prompt engineers can have on an AI’s performance. Moreover, fields like healthcare, as highlighted by the listing from the Boston Children’s Hospital above, may maintain a long-term need for human oversight due to the critical nature of the work involved and the catastrophic potential of mistakes. In such sectors, the human-AI collaboration could become more entrenched, offering a more secure prospect for those in the field. Therefore, while some industries may see a tapering off of demand for prompt engineers, others may continue to provide stable career opportunities, underscoring the sector-specific nuances of job security in the field of prompt engineering.

AI Art: Prompt engineers at work

Conclusion

The hype around prompt engineering is not an accurate reflection of the broader job market. The initial impression I had, given all the sensational headlines, turned out to be wrong. The availability of prompt engineering roles revealed fewer opportunities than anticipated, with the majority of listings calling for some technical expertise, contrary to the belief that a writing skillset alone could land you that sought-after position. Those prompt engineering roles we covered offer high salaries not only because of an organization’s need to understand and interact with the models but also due to the high stakes involved in the fine-tuning of inputs, especially in critical domains like healthcare. These professionals bridge the gap between raw AI potential and practical, dependable applications, and for this, they are handsomely rewarded.

As we look forward, regardless of whether you aspire to become a prompt engineer, understanding and harnessing the power of generative AI is rapidly becoming an invaluable skill across various industries. We are becoming more aware of the capabilities of this new technology to the point where learning AI is not so much about protecting ourselves from AI taking over our jobs but rather about capitalizing on the technological leverage it provides. The true competitive edge will belong to those who successfully augment their capabilities with these new tools, not in fear of displacement, but in the spirit of innovation and progress.

References

McKinsey & Company. (2023, September 22). What is prompt engineering? [Blog post]. Retrieved from source
McKinsey & Company. (2023, August 1). The state of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s breakout year. [Blog post]. Retrieved from source
The Forage. (n.d.). What is prompt engineering? [Blog post]. Retrieved from source
Mashable. (n.d.). What are prompt engineer jobs, and why are these jobs so exciting? [Blog post]. Retrieved from source
Anthropic. (n.d.). Prompt Engineer & Librarian. Retrieved from source
Cook, J. (2023, November 1). AI prompt engineers earn $300k salaries: Here's how to learn the skill for free. [Blog post]. Retrieved from source
Coursera. (n.d.). How much do AI engineers make? 2023 Salary Guide. Retrieved from source
Bernard Marr. (2023, May 11). The hot new job that pays six figures: AI prompt engineering. [Blog post]. Retrieved from source
Prompt Jobs. (n.d.). AI Prompt Engineer IDHA. Retrieved from source
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Computer and Information Research Scientists. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from source