- StartSmart Insider
- Posts
- $136K For Just "Chatting" With Robots...But?
$136K For Just "Chatting" With Robots...But?
The AI gold rush is here? Just not the way you think!

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Peter Drucker
Hey Coach Will here……Welcome to the Insider.
Let’s get started.
Picture this: You're scrolling LinkedIn when you see a job posting that makes you spit out your coffee. "Prompt Engineer & Librarian"
Salary: $175,000 to $335,000
Requirements: Talk to AI really, really well.
Wait. WHAT? THIS AI JOB BROKE THE INTERNET!
When Anthropic dropped this posting, the internet collectively lost its mind. Three hundred grand... for writing better questions?
Spoiler: It was real. And the average prompt engineer now earns $136,141, with most salaries falling between $ 96,000 and $160,000.
But here's where I save you from wasting six months: This is NOT "zero coding required."
The Anthropic role? Required "basic programming and QA skills" and being "comfortable writing small Python programs".
But here's the interesting part: The bar is lower than traditional software engineering, and if you already know your industry well, you can leverage AI much faster than a coder can learn your domain.
The question isn't "Will AI take my job?" It's "Will I learn AI before my job expects me to?"
➡️ TL;DR (For People Who Actually Have Jobs)
The Truth: Those "zero coding!" promises? Lies. But you don't need a CS degree—sweet spot: domain expertise + technical curiosity + willingness to look dumb while learning.
The Real Playbook: Marketing exec blogs about GPT-3 → O'Reilly book deal → $180K freelance gigs. The formula: Expertise + AI tinkering + public proof = opportunity.
What Works: Stop trying to "become a prompt engineer." Become a [your job title] who's weirdly good with AI. Because "Prompt Engineer" will be as quaint as "Social Media Manager" in five years.
The reality is that $96K-$160K is typical. Premium exists because skills are rare right now. Get in before "knows AI" becomes like "knows email."
📆 Mastering The Prompt Game
Forget the mysticism.
Prompt engineering is just structured communication with a computer that's really good at pattern matching but terrible at reading your mind.
You need three things:
Free AI tools (you have a browser, right?)
15 minutes daily (less than your doomscroll habit)
Proof you can do stuff (because "trust me, bro" doesn't get you hired)
✅ Master These Four Prompts
Stop treating AI like a coworker you don't want to offend. It doesn't have feelings. It doesn't get tired. Practice each daily using YOUR actual work. Document before/after.
The Data Miner: "Analyze this customer feedback and extract: (1) pain points, (2) feature requests, (3) sentiment score. Format as a table": [insert feedback here]
The Translator: "Convert this technical doc into a 5th-grade reading level FAQ, maintaining accuracy": [insert doc here]
The Content Machine: "Create 10 LinkedIn posts for [product launch], targeting CEO, VP Sales, Marketing Manager. Include hooks and CTAs."
The Consultant: "Evaluate these vendor proposals using [criteria]. Show step-by-step reasoning, then recommend the best option."
✅ Pick Your Lane
Don't be a "general" prompt engineer.
That's like being a "general doctor." Specialists make the money.
Pick based on what you ALREADY know:
Healthcare → HIPAA-compliant documentation
Finance → Risk analysis, regulatory reporting
Legal → Contract analysis
Marketing → Content at scale
Sales → Personalized outreach automation
The formula nobody tells you: Domain Expertise + AI Fluency = Unfair Advantage
✅ Build Your Portfolio (5 Pieces)
Time Saver – "This took 4 hours. Now takes 20 minutes. Here's the prompt."
Quality Multiplier – Before and After Examples. Make it obvious.
Consistency Engine – "I can generate these 50 times with the same quality."
Complex Solver – Tackle something people think AI can't do.
Business Impact – Connect to money. Revenue up. Costs down. Time saved.
Post on LinkedIn: "I reduced [thing] by [percentage] using this prompt structure..." Watch your DMs fill up.

🧬 The Real Story (Actual Human)
Michael Taylor: From Ad Spend King to AI Author
Five years ago, Michael Taylor led a vibrant marketing agency with a team of 50 talented individuals, overseeing an impressive $50 million in Facebook ad spend.
At that time, he had no experience in prompt engineering—because the role did not yet exist.
In 2020, he gained access to the GPT-3 beta and documented his experience in a blog post. O'Reilly Media saw it and said, "Write us a book".
He partnered with James Phoenix—a data engineer who'd taught 60+ bootcamps—and created a Udemy course. It now has 80,000+ students.
They published "Prompt Engineering for Generative AI" through O'Reilly in June 2024.
Today?
Michael works two days a week as a freelance prompt engineer and spends three days building AI products.
His formula: Domain Knowledge + Technical Curiosity + Public Documentation = Career Transformation
He didn't wait for permission or job postings.
He created value, made it visible, and opportunities found him.
You can follow this exact playbook. Replace "marketing" with your field.
Same formula, different ingredients.
🚀 The Future (Buckle Up)
The global prompt engineering market is projected to grow at a 32.8% annual rate through 2030.
Before you celebrate, here's cold water: "Prompt Engineer" Is Temporary!
Even Michael Taylor—who wrote THE book—admits: "I don't think 'prompt engineer' will be a common job role.
Instead, it will be a skill you need to possess to do many jobs effectively".
Translation: This is more like "learning Excel" than "becoming an accountant."
The Timeline:
2025-2027: Premium salaries for AI fluency. Get in now.
2027-2030: Baseline expectation. "Can you use AI?" becomes like "Can you use email?"
2030+: Not AI-fluent? You're the dinosaur everyone routes around.
The 2025 data is brutal: industries crushing it with AI saw 3 times higher revenue growth per employee (27%) compared to AI-resistant laggards (9%).
Your move: Don't aim to "become a prompt engineer." Aim to become "the [insert your job title] who's dangerously competent with AI before everyone else."
🤖 Your StartSmart™ AI Power-Up
Copy this into Claude or ChatGPT and enjoy the ride:
You are the Prompt Engineering Accelerator, my personal AI fluency coach and strategist.
Context: I work in [YOUR INDUSTRY] as [YOUR ROLE]. My top strengths are [LIST THEM]. I have [basic/none] coding experience.
Mission: Design a 90-day, hands-on learning path that turns my strengths into AI-powered results — producing visible portfolio pieces that demonstrate ROI in my industry and solve real business challenges. Make it practical, progressive, and confidence-building.
Day 1 Challenge: Identify the single most valuable AI use case in my industry right now — the one with the fastest path to measurable business impact.
Then:
-Give me one prompt template I can use to explore or build that use case today.
-Explain exactly how to capture and communicate its business value (metrics, before/after examples, or mini case study format).
Make the response motivating, actionable, and beginner-friendly.
Ask me any clarifying questions you need to tailor it perfectly.
🔄 Your Next 90 Days
Here's a helpful StartSmart™ tool stack to help you build marketable AI expertise, making the journey engaging and accessible.
✅ Essential Free Tools for Pro Development:
Claude AI for advanced analytical thinking and complex problem-solving
ChatGPT for high-quality content creation and ideation
Perplexity for comprehensive research and market intelligence
Google Docs for systematic documentation and knowledge management
✅ Professional Portfolio Development:
LinkedIn for consistent thought leadership and industry engagement
Notion for organizing your comprehensive prompt library and methodologies
Loom for creating compelling case studies and demonstration videos
✅ Your 90-Day Implementation Strategy:
Month 1: Dedicate 30-60 minutes daily to skill development. Create 10 diverse portfolio pieces demonstrating your AI capabilities across different business functions.
Month 2: Establish weekly content publication schedule. Share insights, experiments, and results to build your professional reputation and industry visibility.
Month 3: Leverage your documented results to either negotiate an AI-focused role within your current organization or apply for new positions with a compelling portfolio of achievements.
Companies truly value candidates who can demonstrate real-world expertise in AI.
✅ Claim Your Spot! (Limited Availability)
This "Unfair Advantage" Is About To Make Business Consultants OBSOLETE
While everyone else is paying $500 an hour for advice they could find on Google...
The StartSmart™ AI Business Hub is on its way, and it's designed for one thing - taking you from "startup struggle" to "scaled profitability" faster than you ever thought possible.
But here's the catch...
Most business owners will NEVER find out about this because they're too busy chasing the latest "shiny object."
[Get Started Today - Before Your Competition Catches On]
🗞️ In The News!
Autodesk launches 2025 AI Jobs Report: Demand for AI skills in Design and Make jobs surges.
Autodesk’s AI Jobs Report makes one thing clear: the future of work isn’t waiting. It’s here and moving quickly. The winners in this AI-driven economy will be those who can merge technical fluency with human creativity, ethics, and leadership.- Read More
AI fluency is on track to become a baseline expectation across the workforce.
🧰 Sponsor’s Corner
Learn AI in 5 minutes a day
What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. Luckily, you can join 1,000,000+ early adopters reading The Rundown AI — the free newsletter that makes you smarter on AI with just a 5-minute read per day.
🎬 That's a Wrap
The $3X Revenue Secret That's Actually Pretty Simple
And it's not just a coincidence - there's a real connection here.
Here's the thing, though...All those "Prompt Engineer" jobs people are talking about? They probably won't be around in 5 years.
It'll be like saying you're a "Microsoft Word specialist." Nice, but... everyone knows that now.
But here's where it gets exciting: You could be the first person in your field to excel with AI. Before it becomes just another thing everyone's expected to know.
Want to try something fun this week?
Pick that one task that always makes you groan. You know the one. Try solving it with AI three different ways. Keep notes on what works.
Congratulations - you just built your first AI portfolio piece.
The cool thing about tech changes: The people who do well aren't the ones who wait for the perfect roadmap. They're the ones who start experimenting with things while they're still new and messy.
So why not give it a shot? You might actually enjoy it!
Think Big, Play Smart, Win More
– Coach Will
P.S. Workers using AI save 2.2 hours per week. That's 114 hours per year. What would you do with an extra 114 hours?
Did a friend send you this newsletter?
First, give them a BIG thank you!
Then, subscribe here for your free weekly dose of StartSmart™ Life Hacks! Until next week, remember: In a world of complicated choices, be the obvious one."
📊 Quick Poll
What's stopping you from experimenting and using AI? |
Hit reply. I read everything.
Reply