Knowing how to talk about professional roles in the AI industry is essential not only for understanding the field, but also for performing well in a job interview conducted in English. Correct pronunciation, proper use of articles, and natural fluency when describing these positions can make the difference between sounding prepared or uncertain.
What are the business-oriented roles in AI?
Business-oriented roles are the positions you are most likely to find in private companies or startups [0:26]. They focus on developing products and solving practical problems with data and artificial intelligence.
What does a data scientist do?
The data scientist is one of the most recognized roles in the industry [0:35]. Pay attention to the spelling of the word scientist: it begins with an S followed by a C, just like the word science. Also, remember that in English you must use the article a or an before your profession. While in Spanish you might say "soy profesor," in English you must say "I am a teacher" — and in the same way, "I am a data scientist" [0:52]. The word data has two correct pronunciations: you can say day-da or DA-da [1:12].
How do data analysts and data engineers differ?
A data analyst focuses on handling data to assist in business decisions [1:22]. The word analyst is spelt with a Y, and the stress falls on the first syllable: AN-a-list [1:18]. A data engineer, on the other hand, works on the infrastructure that supports data systems. Notice the spelling of engineer: it contains two Es [1:35].
What about the ML engineer and the AI product manager?
A more recent role is the machine learning engineer, often shortened to ML engineer [1:55]. ML here works as an acronym or initialism. This role is similar to a data engineer, except it focuses specifically on ML models [2:04]. For those who prefer a less technical path, the AI product manager is a position that is just starting to take off but has a lot of potential [2:17]. Be careful with the pronunciation of product: it is pronounced frotact, not "frotuct" [2:13].
What are the research-oriented roles in AI?
Research-oriented roles focus on expanding the future of artificial intelligence [2:30]. Notice the difference in pronunciation depending on usage: when research is a noun (meaning investigation), we stress the first syllable — RE-search. When it is a verb (meaning to investigate), we say re-SEARCH [2:37].
What does an AI researcher do?
An AI researcher is a person who does research. They constantly ask themselves questions like "What else could we do with AI? How far could we go?" [2:52]. One specific type of AI researcher is the cognitive scientist [3:00]. The word cognitive is pronounced with stress on the first syllable: COG-ni-tive, not "cog-NI-tive" [3:04]. Cognitive scientists investigate the human mind and brain to build applications that mimic how the brain works. A clear example of their contribution is the concept of ANN (Artificial Neural Networks), which comes directly from cognitive science [3:14].
Which role matches your AI career goals?
Whether you are drawn to building products as a data scientist, analyst, or ML engineer, or you feel more passionate about pushing the boundaries of knowledge as an AI researcher or cognitive scientist, understanding these roles in English gives you a real advantage. Practice saying them out loud: record yourself describing which role you see yourself working in and focus on pronunciation. Sharing your answer in the comments is a great way to get feedback and keep improving.
