AI Alignment Researcher
Impact: Existential Risk Mitigation and Future Shaping
Focuses on aligning the goals and behaviors of advanced AI systems with human intentions and values.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- Team-oriented
- Client facing
- Rarely
- Impact visibility
- Very High
- Travel
- Minimal
- Schedule flexibility
- Flexible
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 45-55 hours
- Stress level
- High
At a glance
- Median salary
- $210,000
- Entry-level
- $135,000
- Senior
- $320,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 22%
- Demand
- Growing Fast
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- Very High
- Typical student debt
- $50,000 to $100,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Reinforcement Learning
- Game Theory
- Cognitive Science
Soft skills
- Critical Thinking
- Abstract Reasoning
- Research Skills
Technical complexity: Very High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Doctoral or Professional Degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 10
- Years to senior
- 15
- Career switching
- Hard
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Senior AI Alignment Researcher, Head of AI Alignment
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- Low
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Growing Fast
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 9.2/10
- Meaning
- 9.8/10
- Work-life balance
- 6/10
- Prestige
- 9.6/10
- Social perception
- Very High