5 AI Courses That Could Add $30K To Your Salary in 2025

Forbes

22-07-2025

The average U.S. salary is $62K, but you can boost your salary by up to $90K if you learn AI skills getty
The average U.S. professional makes about $62,000 on average each year, according to BLS (the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
But research reveals that AI skills can top that up by as much as 47%. So, if you were making at least the median U.S. salary, acquiring AI skills can bump that figure up to as much as $91,000.
These short online AI courses, or microcredentials as they're sometimes called, can be your fast-track route to boosting your earning potential and increasing your value in the job market, without needing to quit your job right away.
Here are some AI course suggestions for you to pick depending on your career goals (the earning potential for each is greater than the average salary for each certificate listed, due to the ROI of upskilling in AI): Provider: Coursera
Earning potential: More than $159,405 Where to find it: Coursera
Earning potential: More than $123,134 Where to find it: PMI (Project Management Institute)
Earning potential: More than $146,818 Where to find it: Coursera
Earning potential: More than $85,602 Where to find it: HubSpot
Earning potential: More than $115,283
To top up your salary by as much as an extra $30,000 a year, here are some actions you can take now: Conduct a quick inventory check of the skills you already have Upskill/reskill in high-income, in-demand skills Try "skill-stacking" to 10x your salary--learn how to implement this technique in this Forbes article Become AI literate in a general sense, and AI fluent in your own specific role (applied AI, like the courses listed above, is where the real gold lies) Consistently expand your network strategically to put yourself in front of the right people, especially decision-makers Build thought leadership and a strong digital footprint/personal brand that attracts high-caliber career opportunities Launch a portfolio career (learn more about this technique by reading this Forbes article) and start an AI-powered element of it (like an AI-powered side hustle) this week Which AI Skills Make The Most Money In 2025?
The most in-demand AI skills to make money in your 9-5 as well as on the side or full-time as a business include: GenAI Applied machine learning PyTorch (machine learning library) Computer vision Reinforcement learning Machine learning Deep learning Supervised learning Artificial neural networks Prompt engineering
You can read the full list of 17 AI skills that employers need you to include in your resume, here.
The answer as to which AI certifications are best for you depends heavily on certain factors, such as:
1. Your career goals--for example, the IBM Product Manager course listed above wouldn't necessarily be relevant if you're an educator seeking to use AI as part of your workflow. You'd then need to find an AI course that matches your interests and career path.
2. Your level of familiarity and proficiency--are you a complete novice, intermediate-level, or well-versed in tech already? If you're a beginner, choose courses that are clearly marked for beginners and that explain foundational AI concepts to warm you up.
3. Your budget--you may prefer to start with free AI certifications and courses, and if your budget is tight, that's perfectly OK. There's a myriad of free AI courses available online, from a range of recognized providers including Microsoft and IBM.
If you're ready to bump up your salary this year and you're tired of staying at the same income level year in, year out, this is your moment. You can start stacking your skills, begin a new AI course, launch a secondary income stream, and create your own career-proofing plan.
Choose a course from the list above (or find another one more closely tied to your goals).
Start it this week. Don't put it off until after enrolling. Begin lesson/module one right away.
Bump up your salary through AI skill-stacking and building a growth mindset getty
Bookmark this article. Then come back three months later and see how far you've come. Watch the exponential career and income growth that comes as a result of you deciding to invest in yourself.