The Uptake | The price of experience

Are you paid well for the work you do?

Your answer probably depends on whom you compare yourself with. In China’s artificial intelligence sector, some doctoral interns working in key research areas reportedly earn RMB 5,000–6,000 (USD 744–892) a day. Annual compensation packages for a select group of new graduates can reach seven-figure RMB sums, including equity and bonuses.

Those figures might prompt a little career reflection. Before you reconsider your profession, though, the opportunities behind those salaries deserve a closer look.

Much depends on the experience employers are trying to buy.

Researchers who have helped train leading AI models bring knowledge accumulated through expensive trial and error. They know which approaches worked, which failed, and how their teams solved problems. Hiring someone with that judgment can help an employer avoid mistakes whose computing costs could exceed the researcher’s compensation.

Acquiring that experience, however, requires access to resources that few organizations possess.

Only a limited number of companies and laboratories can fund model training at the largest scales. Fewer people still get to lead that work. Candidates who have had those opportunities hold an advantage when competing for their next role.

Many leading developers have already spent years assembling their research teams. Industry sources who spoke with our counterparts at 36Kr describe a shift toward filling specific gaps and securing exceptional researchers, with less need for broad recruitment.

Higher pay can therefore coexist with fewer openings. A company can spend more to hire one person without expanding opportunities for everyone else.

Hiring priorities are also changing. Companies need engineers who can turn models into reliable applications, alongside researchers who improve the models themselves. Demand for those roles can move in different directions. The largest reported pay package tells little about how many opportunities are available or who can realistically compete for them.