A recent study revealed that while nine in 10 organizations have implemented AI and many employees use AI tools to accomplish some tasks, many employees still have no clue what they’re doing (about 46% of leaders cite skill shortages, according to McKinsey).

This skills gap between AI implementation and moving beyond AI awareness into AI fluency and role-specific proficiency, has opened a premium market for leaders and professionals who have moved beyond the exploratory phase to actually having in-depth non-technical AI expertise.

Professionals who are well-versed in the below are most likely to see real gains in their career, from a promotion standpoint (see Accenture as an example), as well as from a salary raise:

AI governance
AI workflow development and implementation for specific business and professional use cases
AI leadership (like managing agentic AI teammates)

Additionally, through AI upskilling, you increase your competitive edge in the already crowded remote job market. Between hiring a professional with AI expertise and one who has none or if anything, the bare minimum, employers will naturally gravitate to the candidate who is up to date and current on all things AI.

And they make this abundantly clear in their job adverts too, with about 51% of job listings citing at least one or more AI skills as a requirement of the role, even outside of tech, according to Lightcast.

Here are a few AI certifications you can start right away to boost your income:

1. PMI Certified Professional in Managing AI (PMI-CPMAI)

This recent PMP certification allows you to achieve an employer-recognized certificate that verifies you understand how to build with AI and lead AI projects as a project manager or director.

With an estimated global AI spend of more than $600 billion within the next two years, and four in five organizations ranking AI and big data as top-priority skills, this certification will make you in top demand.

Salary potential: From $269,000 to $470,000 for a Head of AI projects role (Glassdoor)

2. Google AI Professional Certificate

This is another fresh certification hot off the press, delivered via Coursera in collaboration with Google. It’s a seven-course series and covers applied AI for specialized use cases such as:

Strategy and planning
App development
AI for communication and content writing
AI for research and market insights
AI for data analysis

Salary potential: Due to the varied use cases it covers, there are so many types of high-paying remote roles this would be suited for, including senior marketing manager, software/app developer or engineer, head of GTM, and data analyst.

3. ISC2’s Building AI Strategy Certificate

This certification from the global industry-recognized cybersecurity body, ISC2, includes courses such as:

AI Security: Managing Overconfidence
The Evolving Cybersecurity Workforce
Planning for Secure by Design AI
AI for Cybersecurity
Foundations of AI
Aligning With Global AI Regulations

AI certifications can boost your salary by as much as 47%

getty

The Building AI Strategy certification is also 100% online and self-paced (although you must complete within 60 days from purchase), as are the others, and is a perfect match for serious cybersecurity leaders and emerging professionals seeking to climb the ladder and maximize their earning potential.

Salary potential: Again, the specific role you decide to pursue from here varies, but as an example, if you were a data and cybersecurity manager in the United States, you could make up to $167,784 annually, with potential to make more as you climb the ladder into senior leadership. A VP of Information Security role, for instance, makes about $290,000 yearly (Salary.com).

These credentials help you build leverage and expand your access to extremely competitive opportunities.

As Pearson CTO Dave Treat told me in a podcast interview last week, “The most important skill of all, is learning.”

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