Is Machine Learning The Right Career Option For Me?

Imagine putting precious years of your life to study a course only to realise that you’re not interested to pursue a career in your choice of field! The truth is, not every career is everyone’s cup of tea. So, before deciding on a career in machine learning, it would be wise if you understood which machine learning skills you ought to have. This quick-read will help you decide whether or not machine learning is the right fit for you.

Machine Learning Knowledge and Machine Learning Skills-

1. Python/C++/R/Java –

   For a job in machine learning, you will have the machine learning skills of knowing these languages well. R works great in statistics and plots. C++ helps in speeding up the code.

2. 

    Statistics –

   Machine learning and statistics go hand-in-hand. You need to know descriptive statistics, the fundamentals of statistics and the probability theory, probability distributions and hypothesis testing.

3. Computer Science Fundamentals and Programming – 

   To build a career in machine learning, one needs to be aware of data structures, algorithms, computability, and complexity as well as computer architecture. Coding competitions, practice problems, and hackathons are a great way to hone your skills.

4. Applied math and algorithms –

   You will need to develop an understanding of subjects like convex optimization, gradient descent, lagrange, partial differential equations and quadratic programming.

5. Software Engineering and System Design –

   Since the software you create is a small component that fits into a larger ecosystem, you need to understand how different pieces work together. Careful system design is necessary. It lets your algorithms scale well with increasing volumes of data.

Interests-

1. Do you enjoy building things in the virtual world?

If you get some satisfaction from making things in the virtual world, a career in machine learning might be the right fit for you. Machine learning engineers are required to have a natural curiosity for how things work. A limitless imagination can do wonders for nascent machine learning engineers.

2. Are you intrigued by the theory of computer science?

You need not know the entire history of computer science. An interest in the theory of computer science is important for any coder. If you spend enough time building on the foundations already provided to you by experts in the field, you will fast-track your potential achievements.

3. Are you a team player?

A machine learning engineer doesn’t work by himself in isolation. The program he creates is part of a bigger picture. He needs to work with other developers well. Developers often study, critique and improve each other’s work. To be a successful machine learning engineer, you need to be a team player at heart.

4. Is your love for technology unparalleled?

This might be fairly obvious. You need to be constantly amazed and intrigued by the possibilities technology offers to this world. If you’re always finding new ways to harness the potential of technology, you are on the right career track.

Personality and Lifestyle-

A machine learning engineer need not be the typical nerd. He just needs to work a computer program well. A machine learning engineer has to work 5-6 days a week. He wouldn’t be working in isolation. His work hours will be long. The compensation he will receive for it will make it seem worth the time and effort. To put it simply, if you love computers and you want to move away from regular fields like software engineering, machine learning is the place to be!

Since you are here, check out Want To Pursue a Machine Learning Course? Here’s Where You Should Aim To Be!