AI can create significant career opportunities.gettyYou can’t avoid the news about AI and the peril it creates in the job market, but there is also career promise that you won’t want to miss. In fact, when you embrace AI, you’ll be able to tap into new opportunities and potential in your work and your career.And it’s just in time, because many say this is the worst job market in years. Specifically, today’s job market is being called frozen with little firing, but also low hiring, according to US data from the Federal Bank of St Louis. And the job market is especially tough for younger workers and new college graduates, according to US data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. But for those who are able to harness the power of AI in their skill development, their work and their career, will be able to more easily weather the storm and gain benefits as well.Leverage AI for New Career OpportunitiesConsider how AI is raising the ceiling in terms of opportunity; and how you can increase the upside for your own career.1. Leverage ProductivityOne of the biggest ways to leverage AI and raise the ceiling in your career is to focus on productivity. As one of the clearest benefits of AI use, it’s perhaps the most obvious way to create advantage for yourself and your work.According to data from PWC, when companies incorporate AI, their productivity rises 42%. But the real story is in job skills. For those jobs that use AI, the skills required are changing twice as fast as the skills needed in less-AI-involved jobs. According to the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report, 63% of employers say that the skills gap is the most significant factor holding them back, so when you build your skills, you gain from the demand for AI-skilled workers. Create opportunity in your career by embracing AI in your role; experimenting and exploring how you can improve your productivity. Build your skills in using AI, so you can create value in your current role, but also in a future roles. 2. Leverage Wage GrowthAnother way to benefit from AI in your career is to seek roles and companies in which AI is incorporated into the work. Fascinating data from another PWC report also finds that the jobs that use AI see a 56% wage premium. So the accounting job that requires the use of AI pays more than the one that doesn’t. Or the HR position that incorporates AI receives a higher wage than the non-AI-enabled role.Create opportunity in your career by building your skills in AI and seeking roles that incorporate AI. Again, when you have the skills to bridge the gap that employers are facing, you make yourself invaluable in your career.3. Leverage New SkillsSo what are the skills that will matter most? According to the World Economic Forum report, they are AI and big data; networks and cybersecurity; technological literacy; creative thinking; resilience, flexibility and agility; curiosity and lifelong learning; leadership and social influence; talent management; analytical thinking and environmental stewardship.What to notice about the list: In addition to technical and technology skills, you see plenty of human skills, people skills and interaction skills.Create opportunity in your career by developing these skills through both formal learning and through the inherent learning that occurs on the job. Be sure your behavior demonstrates the skills and collect examples of how you put the skills into practice. Also track the outcomes you gain from using the skills, so you can demonstrate your impact on your resume and articulate it effectively in your job search or job promotion process.4. Leverage New JobsOne of the most exciting implications of AI is the new roles that are expanding and being created. According to another report from the World Economic Forum, these include big data specialists; fin tech engineers; AI and machine learning specialists; software and application developers; security management specialists; autonomous and electric vehicle specialists; UI and UX designers; internet of things specialists; data analysts and scientists; environmental engineers; information security analysts; devops engineers and renewable energy engineers. Key functions within organizations are also expanding their use of AI. The parts of the organization bringing AI in most significantly include marketing and sales; product and service development; IT; service operations; knowledge management; software engineering and HR, according to a report from McKinsey.Create opportunity in your career by seeking new jobs and exploring departments that are growing in their use of AI. Look for jobs that are not just AI-automated, but AI-augmented, meaning that AI is being used within work processes and keeping the human in the loop, magnifying the impact of human skills and contribution.5. Leverage Your AI ExpertiseAnother way to gain advantage in the current market is to help companies figure out how to use AI. Many organizations are struggling to incorporate AI successfully, so if you have consultative skills to ask good questions, map processes, recommend AI solutions, shorten their learning curves and manage change, you’ll be in demand.Create opportunity in your career by building your expertise in AI processes. Focus on an industry or an area of core competence and build your brand based on knowledge of the area combined with your knowledge of AI. Perhaps you can work with clients who are trying to incorporate AI successfully into manufacturing, into the design field, into HR or into finance. The options are endless, and you can pair your existing competencies with new AI acumen to help companies learn faster, integrate AI and transform successfully.Embrace AI for Career OpportunityThroughout history, people have been fearful and resistant to new technology. Garment workers in the mid-1800s worried that sewing machines would take their jobs. Lamplighters at the turn of the century worried that electricity would take theirs. And technology did indeed change the nature of their work. As technology changes the landscape of work it can be scary and feel uncertain. But it’s possible to embrace new opportunities and to stay optimistic about your own resilience, capability and perseverance; and create your own bright future.