RBC: From Backend to AI Future — Why IT Talent Moving

In 2025, a growing share of IT specialists are moving into neural network development and big data. Against a backdrop of fewer traditional IT vacancies and rising competition (with up to nine resumes per role), many are retraining as machine learning engineers, NLP experts, and prompt engineers. The AI segment is expanding steadily: there are on average only two candidates per opening, and salaries can reach 12500 $ per month.

The market itself is transforming. Employers increasingly seek not broad “junior” or “mid-level” specialists, but for pinpoint skills — from crafting prompts for LLMs to configuring neural-network architectures. Job titles often remain familiar (developer, analyst), but AI tasks are now embedded within them. For many seasoned engineers, especially from backend backgrounds, moving into AI has become a logical next step.

Ksenia Sheremetyeva, Selecty COO:

Demand for AI skills will only grow. According to HSE ICEF forecasts, the number of AI professionals in Russia could increase nearly tenfold by 2035. Moreover, AIis leaping far beyond IT: it is already being actively deployed in finance, logistics, and industry.