Future innovators and leaders, reflecting upon New Jersey’s history with artificial intelligence, are sure to mark December 2023 as a pivotal moment in time. It was then that New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber announced a revolutionary partnership in artificial intelligence.
Along with support from the New Jersy Economic Development Authority, this partnership establishes an artificial intelligence innovation hub for New Jersey, creating what Governor Murphy refers to as “a new home for the world’s boldest and brightest to pioneer breakthroughs for the betterment of humankind.”
While this statement may seem grandiose, there’s plenty of muscle behind it. Drawing from the strength of the central New Jersey region and Princeton’s advancements in AI, this partnership has the potential to shape the state’s higher education and business communities and inspire the birth of AI innovations that have the power to change the world.
The purpose of the AI hub is threefold: (1) to bring together scientists and companies, both established and emerging, to advance AI research and development; (2) to promote workforce development by collaborating with universities, community colleges, and vocational schools in the Garden State to prepare the next generation of AI professionals; and (3) to emphasize the ethical use of AI.
This AI revolution will add to the state’s already robust tech sector, which is home to 16,000+ companies and an impressive talent pipeline. New Jersey is where you’ll find the second largest tech talent pool in the nation and the highest concentration of scientists and engineers in the country. There’s simply no better place to create an AI tech hub than New Jersey.
If you want to become part of the swiftly growing AI field in New Jersey, you’ll need the foundation that only a formal degree can provide. Fortunately, on-campus and online degree programs in AI are growing in number too, both in the Garden State and throughout the country.
Designed to prepare scientists and engineers in many industries, whether at an entry or advanced level, AI programs serve as the springboard off which you can pursue a new career or take your current skills in a new direction.
How Hackensack Meridian Health is Leading the AI Revolution in New Jersey
Google’s generative AI technology has made its grand entrance at Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), bringing with it the potential to revolutionize this major healthcare system.
HMH isn’t a stranger to Google’s technologies; they already use Google’s Chrome Enterprise, and their cloud infrastructure is supported by Google. But now they’re going one step further and embracing generative AI tools like Vertex AI platform and Generative AI Studio to revolutionize how diagnoses are made, administrative tasks are managed, and patients are educated.
HMH’s newest Google AI technology will accomplish several things:
- Ease the burden on clinicians and administration by automating tasks associated with routine paperwork and other repetitive, manual tasks. This allows clinicians to focus more on patient care and less on paperwork.
- Provide support for clinical decision-making by identifying patterns in large patient data sets and unlocking unique insights that can guide clinical decisions.
- Improve patient and community health literacy by simplifying complex healthcare subjects and making them easier for patients to understand. AI tools can create a tailored, personalized patient experience that clarifies the complicated.
According to Robert C. Garrett, CEO of HMH, “Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize how we deliver care, making it more efficient, personalized, and effective.”
These AI tools are designed to provide healthcare solutions that will improve patient care and elevate the patient experience.
With 18 hospitals and 36,000 employees, HMH is the largest healthcare system in New Jersey.
AI Jobs in New Jersey
According to CompTIA’s annual State of the Tech Workforce report, New Jersey is home to about 271,000 tech workers, which represents 6.3 percent of the total state workforce. Between 2021 and 2022 alone, tech jobs here grew by 3.3 percent, or about 8,563 workers. CompTIA noted an additional increase of 2.5 percent between 2022 and 2023.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, jobs for AI scientists and engineers in New Jersey (categorized as computer information and research scientists) are projected to rise by 15 percent in the decade leading up to 2030. During this ten-year period, the state should see about 110 job openings annually in this field due to a blend of new job creation, retirements, and natural job turnover.
Artificial Intelligence Jobs in Jersey City, Princeton, Teaneck, and Newark
From Princeton to Newark, New Jersey’s AI scientists and engineers are behind some of the most exciting AI innovations in the world. These professionals lend their talents to nearly all areas of business and industry, contributing to AI advances that are solving problems, uncovering insights, and challenging the status quo.
- Generative AI data scientists/architects at Cognizant Technology Solutions in Bridgewater collaborate with cross-functional teams to define AI project requirements and objectives. They also conduct research to stay current on the latest advancements in generative AI, machine learning, and deep learning and explore ways to integrate them into products and services.
- CTO AI/ML engineers at Merck in Rahway utilize ML algorithms to analyze large data sets to make predictions and conduct research and analysis of retrieval techniques, language models, and generative AI methodologies.
- AI/ML engineers at Insight Global in Middletown Township are part of the development code review team. These Python developers oversee the automation of the entire enterprise, where they develop automated provisioning, delivery, and assurance.
- Senior/technical program managers in generative AI at Capital One in Newark execute business strategies by leveraging generative AI. These professionals are responsible for bringing together product, tech, and lines of business and delivering measurable outcomes.
- AI and cloud engineer managers at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. in Princeton design, develop, and implement AI and machine learning models and algorithms to address specific customer needs and enhance business value. They are responsible for building and maintaining infrastructure for cloud-based AI platforms such as data storage, processing, and analytics.
- Generative AI practice leaders at Ehub Global Inc. in Jersey City formulate business development strategies using generative AI and create solutions and services offerings that drive account growth.
- LUID developers in conversational AI at Cognizant Technology Solutions in Teaneck design and develop AI solutions that utilize Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services and technologies and frameworks.
- AI solution engineers at Berkeley Heights’ Fiserv, a global leader in Fintech and payments, deploy AI-enabled applications and build relationships with clients.
- Data scientists at Dun & Bradstreet in Florham Park use their analytic and modeling skills to build models and solutions and collaborate with cross-functional teams and analytic vendors. They develop solutions to market-driven problems by using their knowledge of the latest AI/ML/NLO techniques.
- Research scientists in AI ethics at SonyAI America in Middlesex, as part of Sony’s new research organization, are responsible for researching, developing, and deploying FTA technology specifically for image processing and real-world applications. These professionals lead research programs in AI ethics and gather insights that address fundamental AI ethics problems.
AI Companies in Newark, Hoboken, and Holmdale
Verizon, Samsung, Siemens, Panasonic, AT&T, and Qualcomm are just some of the world’s biggest names in technology that call New Jersey home. And the state’s technology sector continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
In the last few years alone, Google opened an AI lab in Princeton. Amazon’s Audible, the leading digital audio book streaming platform, opened an 80,000-square-foot open workspace. Billtrust, an accounting software company that offers data protection and information management software, opened its massive headquarters in Lawrenceville.
As expected, AI companies have become the stars of the show in the tech sector in recent years. According to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, no less than 68 AI companies are now headquartered in the Garden State.
Companies like iCIMS – short for Internet Collaborative Information Management Systems – are positioning the state as a leader in artificial intelligence. iCIMS, which is based in Holmdel, is a cloud-based human resources and recruiting software company that helps organizations with their recruiting needs. AI is embedded throughout its software platform, creating unmatched candidate, job, and skills matching features. Established in 2000, this AI-powered company has grown to include some 1,400 employees and has built a client list of some of the biggest names in business, including Microsoft, Target, IBM, and Morgan Stanley.
Some of the most exciting AI startups also call this region home, and for good reason. New Jersey ranked second in the nation in 2018 for total venture capital investment. And in the past five years alone, VC investment here topped $60 billion. This, of course, attracted companies like Newark’s AlphaRoc, which provides AI-driven predictive insights for investment opportunities, and CoreWeave in Roseland, a specialized cloud provider that has quickly become one of the largest GPU providers and leaders. This company, which provides the chips that are powering AI infrastructure, now rivals major cloud providers like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.
There’s plenty of AI research and tech-collaborative initiatives taking place throughout the state’s colleges and universities, too. In Hoboken, the Stevens Institute for Artificial Intelligence (SIAI) consists of more than 100 faculty members from all academic units within the Stevens Institute of Technology who research AI and machine learning applications. SIAI also welcomes a host of outside partners in industry, government, and academia, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
The New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark is also engaged in robust AI research through its Center for AI Research, which is part of the Institute for Data Science. It is the hub for AI innovation, promoting cutting-edge research, publications, and patents in AI and machine learning.
AI Salary in Atlantic City and Trenton
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), New Jersey AI scientists and engineers, categorized by the BLS as computer and information research scientists, earned a median salary of $115,110 as of May 2022. During the same period, those newest to the profession earned about $81,360, while those with extensive experience earned about $184,860.
While AI professionals in the Trenton metropolitan area earned a median salary that closely resembled the state median as of May 2022— $118,560, those in the Atlantic City metro area earned a higher median salary, at $131,740.
AI scientists and engineers at the top of the pay scale earned about $167,860 in the Atlantic City metro area, while those in Trenton earned about $176,940.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Master’s Degree and Certificate Courses in New Jersey and Online
Artificial intelligence degrees range from undergraduate to graduate, offering both aspiring and practicing engineers, scientists, analysts, and more unique opportunities to gain valuable knowledge and skills in this interdisciplinary field.
Bachelor’s degrees in artificial intelligence offer a solid framework, often offered as a concentration in computer science programs, alongside a comprehensive overview of AI concepts and methods. These programs feature a solid mathematics core, which includes courses in calculus, linear algebra, and probability.
Master’s degrees and graduate certificate programs in artificial intelligence provide current engineers and scientists with a focused program of study in the field. These programs are most often offered through computer science or engineering departments, although many universities also offer them in schools of arts and science, philosophy, and more. These programs offer a more interdisciplinary examination of the field of AI, drawing from many schools and departments within a university.
Master’s programs in artificial intelligence offer opportunities to specialize in a specific area of study. For example, an MS in AI within a computer science department may offer opportunities to specialize in robotics, machine learning, or cybersecurity, while the same program in an engineering department may offer opportunities to specialize in a specific area of engineering. For example, Stevens Institute of Technology’s School of Engineering and Science offers an MS in Applied AI with concentration options in Design and Construction, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Data Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, and Systems Biology. They also offer a Graduate Certificate in AI for Engineering.
Whether you’re just starting your career or planning your next move, you’ll find a growing number of degrees in artificial intelligence, both in New Jersey and across the country. Many of these programs are offered in convenient and flexible online formats that provide busy, working adults with more opportunities than ever before to earn the degree that will take their career to the next level.
AI Engineering Degree and Certificate Options in Hoboken
AI engineering master’s degrees and certificate programs examine artificial intelligence within engineering frameworks, preparing engineers to develop, program, implement, and manage complex AI networks and systems.
Stevens Institute of Technology (Private)
Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science
Hoboken, NJ
Website
MS in Applied AI (online, on-campus)
Offered with concentration options in:
- Artificial Intelligence in Design and Construction
- Biomedical Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Data Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Software Engineering
- Systems Biology
Total Estimated Program Cost: $55,920
Graduate Certificate in AI for Engineering (online)
Total Estimated Program Cost: $22,368
Also offers: Option to combine MSAAI with a dual MBA degree, Option to apply Graduate Certificate credit towards the MSAAI
2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for computer information and research scientists. Job growth projections from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, CareerOneStop. Figures are based on state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed January 2024.