Where Are the Most Machine Learning Jobs in 2018? | Opinion

This originally appeared on Quora. Answered by Håkon Hapnes Strand.

They're everywhere.

USA has been the leader in machine learning, and in tech hubs like Silicon Valley it seems like every company has data scientists employed. The trend has spread to the rest of the country, and there are no indications that any of this is slowing down.

Europe has been lagging behind in industry adoption, but is catching up in a big way. 2017 was a huge year for machine learning, as we experienced an explosion of new jobs, and 2018 is looking to be even better.

Russia has an abundance of software talent and is shaping up to be a force to be reckoned with in the world of machine learning. Putin recently announced his intentions to make Russia an AI superpower.

India has the largest IT consulting industry in the world, and machine learning has become a central service offered by every consulting company.

China recently announced their intention to become the world leader in AI, and is investing gargantuan sums of money in order to make this happen. The world's two largest AI startups are both Chinese, yet I had never heard of them. That tells you something about the scope.

Japan has long been the world leader in electronics and is now building its robotics industry. Central to this is machine learning and AI, with an explosion of new jobs in the making.

I'm less familiar with other parts of the world. I expect South Korea and Taiwan to be similar to Japan while the Australian job market is probably more similar to that of Europe. I also expect machine learning jobs to be less prevalent in developing countries. I assume the African continent is lagging behind, although I know South Africa has a thriving industry.