CIOs say AI salary hype misses healthcare reality

Some new college graduates with AI expertise are making as much as $1 million a year, according to the Wall Street Journal. But health system CIOs say the trend looks very different inside healthcare.

The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 26 that entry-level AI workers have seen the fastest pay increases in the field, with salaries rising 12% between 2024 and 2025, citing staffing firm Burtch Works. Early-career research scientists at Databricks are earning between $190,000 and $260,000, while Roblox and Scale AI are paying over $200,000 for new hires.

CNBC added that tech giants like Meta, Microsoft and Google are locked in a high-stakes AI talent war, offering multimillion-dollar signing bonuses and compensation packages to a small pool of elite researchers. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly offered $100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees, while Google DeepMind and Microsoft have been aggressively recruiting top talent.

This escalating competition is driven by the high costs of building large AI models — projects that can require investments in the billions.

Health system CIOs say healthcare is feeling some ripple effects, but the industry can’t compete on salaries alone.

“The reports from any outlet about six- or seven-figure salaries for entry-level AI talent are attention-grabbing. They represent the extreme end of the market — often for a handful of highly specialized roles in big tech, not the norm for the healthcare sector,” Sunil Dadlani, executive vice president, chief information and digital officer and chief cybersecurity officer at Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health System, told Becker’s. “In my experience, the reality on the ground is more nuanced. While there’s certainly fierce competition for top AI talent, the idea that anyone with ‘AI’ on their resume can command an outsized salary is an unrealistic expectation.”

Mr. Dadlani added that the real war for talent in healthcare is for individuals who can combine technical expertise with domain knowledge and a mission-driven mindset.

Zafar Chaudry, MD, senior vice president, chief digital officer and chief AI and information officer at Seattle Children’s, told Becker’s that healthcare isn’t just competing with other health systems, but with tech giants and startups that can offer astronomical salaries for AI talent. To address this, his organization’s hiring strategy focuses on mission, culture and the talent pipeline.

“We highlight the unique opportunity to use AI to save lives and improve patient care. This purpose is a powerful motivator that money can’t buy,” he told Becker’s.

He added that Seattle Children’s is also growing its own talent by training existing staff and partnering with universities to find promising new graduates early on.

“While we are adjusting our compensation to stay competitive, we believe this holistic approach to talent acquisition will continue to attract the best and brightest to healthcare AI,” he said.

At Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, CIO Omer Awan said healthcare organizations are seeing upward pressure on salaries, but not at the levels reported in Silicon Valley.

“These astonishing figures represent exceptional outliers — not the new baseline,” he told Becker’s. “Our hiring landscape tends to be more about strategic, specialized value and less about headline-grabbing compensation. We are seeing upward pressure on AI salary expectations in healthcare, but the extreme million-dollar packages are not reflective of our market.”

Industry experts warn that the ongoing salary inflation could widen the gap between tech companies and traditional industries. Mark Miller, CEO of Insurevision.ai, told CNBC that healthcare and other sectors risk being left behind in the AI race.

For now, health system CIOs say their best strategy is to compete on mission, innovation and culture — not just paychecks.

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