Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) talent is growing rapidly both in Korea and abroad. As AI adoption expands across industries, compensation for AI and data development roles is trending upward.
Wanted Lab, a Korean recruitment platform, analyzed salary data from 258,146 users and found on May 26 that AI and data development roles command higher average salaries than other job categories such as management and marketing. Starting salaries were highest in the management and business category at approximately 33 million won, but developer salaries began rising most steeply from the third year onward, reversing the rankings.
Average salaries by years of experience show that developers start at around 34 million won at the entry level, rising to approximately 63 million won at the 10-year mark and about 86 million won by the 18th year. Over the same period, management and business professionals earned approximately 57 million won at 10 years and about 81 million won at 18 years.
Salary gaps also emerged within the development category depending on job function. Machine learning engineers, who develop AI models, and data engineers, who manage data infrastructure, start their careers in the 40 million won range. Front-end engineers and web publishers, by contrast, start in the 30 million won range. AI and data-focused roles carry higher entry barriers, which is seen as driving their relatively higher starting salaries.
The pay gap between job functions widens as professionals gain more experience. Machine learning engineers recorded the highest salary at approximately 86 million won at the 12-year mark, while data engineers earned around 80 million won by their 18th year. Management and marketing professionals, meanwhile, generally remained in the 60 million won range even at the 12-year mark, showing a clear gap with development roles.
Some job categories showed accelerating salary growth in the later stages of careers. Marketing and advertising professionals saw salaries rise to approximately 77 million won at the 14-year mark, approaching levels comparable to development roles. By the 18th year, their salaries reached about 88 million won, the highest among all major job categories. Sales professionals, however, earned approximately 70 million won at the 18-year mark, showing relatively limited growth compared to other categories.
Industry observers expect AI's importance to grow further amid rapidly shifting industrial structures. "As talent evaluation criteria change, the need for AI capabilities is increasing not just in development but also in management and marketing roles," an industry official said. "Going forward, the ability to understand and utilize AI technology will become an increasingly important competitive advantage."
