Tech jobs are booming.

In 2017 alone, tech companies posted ads foralmost 3 million job openings.

Many of these workers studied in fields often thought of as unemployable, such as creative writing or acting.

Woman with script on stage

Chris Zuppa/The Penny Hoarder

What well see now is another change of course.

Probably not as good as youd like.

It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.

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But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?

Yes, these are tech jobs for humanities majors.

What is conversational design?

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AI itself is quite dumb, Bradbury says.

But it can be improved.

Did you know?

Conversational design does involve software development and programming.

But it also requires creative skills more often found in professions like acting and writing.

What skills do actors and writers bring to AI?

There is a lot of non-technical work, says Bradbury, describing the process of conversational design.

Its not actually programming at all because it is natural language.

To keep customers happy, business AI needs to respond naturally no matter what path the conversation takes.

For that, Bradbury says, tech companies need designers with creative skills not just a STEM background.

Which creative skills are vital for developing artificial intelligence?

Dialogue writing

Software development always requires designers who can write code.

But artificial intelligence requires creative writing too.

Writing and communication skills are in high demand in conversational design because bots need scripts to follow.

The ability to combine casual and professional writing is particularly valuable.

AI companies need writers who can write natural dialogue customers will easily understand.

Clear writing and communication is key for creating bots, Bradbury explains.

Without it, the experience [of talking to AI] will be very frustrating.

Acting and improvisation

Two skilled designers Bradbury knows were trained actors who had attended drama school.

Their experience developing and expressing a characters persona allowed them to create a believable personality for bot software.

Think of bots as Method actors, Bradbury jokes, referring to a popular acting technique.

Its not just the writing part.

Its also getting into the role, understanding what the bot is facing.

Designers with an improv background can predict the different scenarios bots might encounter and create appropriate responses.

Though the result these two scenarios is the same, the customers emotional states are very different.

An effective chat bot needs to respond to both customers with empathy.

AI companies need designers with strong interpersonal skills to predict customers needs and create the appropriate response scripts.

Designers with customer service experience can predict how customers will react to a given situation.

This lets them create AI that responds appropriately and helpfully.

These designers need to spot patterns, identify trouble spots and think of solutions to problems.

You have to think about all the possible range of what can go right or go wrong.

Get involved in the tech industry, even without a job.

Attend conferences or networking events in your region, then talk with the tech professionals you meet.

Apply for a conversational design job, even without a STEM degree.

You dont need a new degree to add a few tech skills to your resume.

Look for computer science classes at your local community college or adult learning center.

Katharine Paljug is a freelance writer and editor.

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