Machine Learning Career Path: Charting Your Journey in a Dynamic Field

Key takeaways

To start a career in machine learning, you may start in an entry-level role as you build skills and experience in the field. 

• Machine learning professionals may work on projects involving computer vision, bioinformatics, and robotics.

• You may consider a bachelor’s degree in a subject like computer science or engineering to start this career path.

• You can ultimately advance to senior roles in machine learning, such as a machine learning architect or a machine learning research scientist, with a master’s degree and skills and experience in machine learning.

Explore the machine learning career path to understand what the trajectory of your career in machine learning might look like. Afterward, if you’re ready to start building machine learning skills, consider enrolling in the Machine Learning Specialization. In as little as two months, you’ll have the opportunity to learn how to build recommender systems with a collaborative filtering approach, build and train neural networks, apply machine learning techniques for clustering and anomaly detection, and more. Upon completion, you can add this shareable credential to your resume or LinkedIn profile.

What is machine learning?

Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) in which algorithms and other tools are used to give a computer or robot the ability to understand and respond to data. Machine learning can be used to create a computer algorithm that can learn and adapt to different situations, using experience to learn from mistakes and achieve success. In this way, computers that use machine learning explore the world similarly to humans: analyzing complex environments, drawing on past experiences, and learning from mistakes as they go. 

Machine learning applications

As a machine learning engineer, you can start in an entry-level position and work your way up to a leadership role in many different industries and machine learning applications. You can work on projects like:

• Computer vision: Computer vision is the ability for computers or robots to analyze and process visual data. It uses machine learning to teach the computer to understand and respond to objects in images and video.

• Natural language processing: Natural language processing (NLP) is the technology that allows machines to understand and respond to human speech. It relies on machine learning and AI to understand language patterns and respond to prompts in a manner that replicates how a human would respond.

• Bioinformatics: Bioinformatics is a method of processing, understanding, and deriving meaning from biological data like DNA or protein sequences. To work with such a large data set, you will need to know machine learning principles and technologies.

• Robotics: Machine learning can be used to work with robots. In some cases, you will use technology like computer vision or NLP to give robots more functionality and machine learning to help the robot analyze and understand the environment. 

Machine learning career path

You can start your machine learning career in roles like junior machine learning engineer, associate data scientist, or junior software engineer. As you gain experience, learn new skills, or pursue a higher degree, you may qualify for more advanced positions like data scientist or machine learning engineer. Later in your career, you may be eligible to take on more senior roles like senior machine learning engineer, machine learning research scientist, or machine learning architect. 

Read more: 7 Machine Learning Roles and How to Get Started

Entry-level machine learning jobs

To start a career in machine learning, you will typically need to earn a bachelor’s degree in a field like computer science, data science, statistics, or engineering. In some cases, you may start a machine learning career with experience in the field or certifications that demonstrate your skills without formal education. In these roles, you may support senior or mid-level machine learning professionals. 

*All salary information represents the median total pay from Glassdoor as of April 2026. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

Junior machine learning engineer

Median total salary in the US: $146,000 [1]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2024 to 2034): 34 percent [2]

As a junior machine learning engineer, you will work alongside senior engineers to develop and improve machine learning systems. You will help develop, test, and research new machine learning techniques and algorithms. 

Associate data scientist

Median total salary in the US: $140,000 [3]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2024 to 2034): 36 percent [2]

As an associate data scientist, you’ll work with a team to analyze and glean insights from data. In this role, you may help design and create machine learning software or research and test machine learning algorithms. 

Junior software engineer

Median total salary in the US: $131,000 [4]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2024 to 2034): 15 percent [5]

As a junior software engineer, you will work with a team of development professionals to develop, test, and integrate software, web projects, or database projects. In this role, you may write code, debug programs, and troubleshoot problems as they arise. 

Mid-level roles in machine learning 

After you’ve gained experience in the field, certificates, or an advanced degree, you may be ready to move into mid-career machine learning roles like data scientist or machine learning engineer. While senior positions help direct strategy and vision, and entry-level roles support machine learning tasks, mid-career machine learning professionals drive machine learning implementation. 

Data scientist

Median total salary in the US: $155,000 [6]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2024 to 2034): 34 percent [2]

As a data scientist, you will collect, process, analyze, and interpret data to help companies or organizations gain meaningful insights. You will then provide recommendations or visualizations to stakeholders to demonstrate your findings. 

Machine learning engineer

Median total salary in the US: $161,000 [7]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2024 to 2034): 34 percent [2]

You will design, build, and implement machine learning models as a machine learning engineer. You will use machine learning techniques to train and fine-tune models and evaluate model performance. 

Senior roles in machine learning 

To move into senior roles in machine learning, you will need a combination of formal education, skills, and experience working with machine learning. You will often need a master’s degree to move into senior roles like senior machine learning engineer, machine learning research scientist, or machine learning architect. 

Senior machine learning engineer

Median total salary in the US: $213,000 [8]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2024 to 2034): 34 percent [2]

As a senior machine learning engineer, you will play a leadership role on a staff of machine learning professionals to design machine learning models and algorithms. You will help drive innovation by introducing new technologies and advances to your team and setting the overall strategies your team uses.

Machine learning research scientist

Median total salary in the US: $228,000 [9]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2024 to 2034): 20 percent [10]

As a machine learning research scientist, you will research, develop, and create new AI systems using the latest technology and scientific methods. In this role, you will lead a team to create machine learning systems that solve real-world problems in many different industries. 

Machine learning architect

Median total salary in the US: $182,000 [11]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2024 to 2034): 20 percent [10]

As a machine learning or AI architect, you will develop the infrastructure and systems needed for a machine learning or AI system to function, such as understanding what the model needs to accomplish, deciding which technology is most appropriate, and auditing your process to look for improvements. 

Is ML a high-paying job?

According to Glassdoor, a machine learning engineer earns a median total salary of $161,000 [7]. This is a high-paying role compared to the median weekly wage for all other occupations that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports as $1,204, or $62,608 per year [12]. 

Strengthen your skill set with guided learning tools

Discover fresh insights into your career or learn about trends in your industry by subscribing to our LinkedIn newsletter, Career Chat. Or if you want to keep learning more about machine learning and how to use it, check out these free resources:

• Watch on YouTube: Your Machine Learning Roadmap: What to Learn and When

• Take a quiz: Machine Learning Career Quiz: Is It Right for You? Find Your Role

• Gain insights: 6 Machine Learning Certificates + How to Choose the Right One for You

Whether you want to develop a new skill, get comfortable with an in-demand technology, or advance your abilities, keep growing with a Coursera Plus subscription. You’ll get access to over 10,000 flexible courses. 

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