Why wage premiums for AI talent are surging globally

However, the report estimates a shortage of AI talent by 2027 if demand continues to go up, with Germany potentially seeing the biggest gap.

“The reality is that firms will need to pay what they need to pay to bring in relevant talent,” said Tom McMullen, leader of Korn Ferry’s North America Total Rewards expertise group, in the insight.

Lack of salary benchmarks

Another contributing factor is the lack of salary benchmarks in the new field, according to the experts.

Jeff Constable, co-leader of the Global Financial Officers practice at Korn Ferry, said compensation for new fields or disciplines is always higher because there are no established peer groups or market data to benchmark salary ranges, bonuses, and incentives.

But he noted that they tend to go down over the long term.
“At some point, the premiums will go down,” he said.