We live in a world where, sometimes, it seems like almost every month there is some huge scientific breakthrough or achievement. Of course, it just seems this way, but anyhow, the technological achievements in the past decade or so have really changed the way we do and look at things. Just take a look at cryptocurrency and the blockchain technology that supports it, as even though there were much false news and controversies, today, this tech is used in many industries.
We have all heard about VR and AI, and both have tremendous meaning and effect globally, but AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in our everyday life. That also means how many current and future jobs are dependent and correlated to this technology, and one of those jobs is machine learning. Here, don’t let this term confuse you, as even though it might look complex at first, the whole point of this career can be quite fruitful, but in order to better showcase its importance, we first need to clarify what machine learning is.
What is it?
Source: forbes.com
Think of all this as a person who trains and provides instructions, but not to persons, to machines, in order to increase productivity and make them learn tasks and processes much faster. The machines will not learn by themselves how to classify documents or how to sort them, analyze data and predict markets, and someone needs to create an environment and produce a tailor-made solution for each problem. We all know how sometimes it can be challenging to find the information we need due to overcrowdedness, and now imagine how much data companies and agencies deal with on a daily basis.
So, in order to extract value from all that data, they need a machine learning developer to lead processes like data collection, cleaning, and training models. Now, it should be much easier to understand why there is so much noise about this career as there is too much data, meaning that every company, especially those who deal with personal info, simply needs to have a position like this.
Which attributes should developers have?
Now, when we understand what machine learning is, it is time to describe some of the characteristics that one person should have in order to become a successful developer with a great career.
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Ability to solve problems fast and find a creative solution
Source: medium.com
It is impossible to become great in this job if you are not curious enough to find how things work and creative enough to find the best possible solution to any problem. It is not a good career for people who easily get frustrated if the first solution is not good enough, but it is perfect for those who want to find the reason why and come up with a better one. Of course, it is also necessary to be efficient and find the best approach, which should be generalized. Fixing smaller bugs requires more time and makes every model much more complicated to work with it, which is never a good idea. In the end, a crucial part of finding a creative solution is to know when to quit and try something other instead of losing time on one that keeps failing.
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Understanding programming
Well, it is pretty obvious that it is impossible to become a developer without knowing programming languages, and not only the most frequently used. A good developer needs to be familiar with many of them because they will need to use them for machine learning. Learning how to program is fundamental for machine learning, and it is impossible to become successful in this field without learning the basics first.
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Knowing mathematic and statistic
Source: unsplash.com
Programming is not the only knowledge that one developer needs to have since it is impossible to understand the process of machine learning without knowing mathematics and statistic. They deal with algorithms, and understanding a characterization of probability and techniques derived from it is a must in order to be successful. Besides that, it is crucial to understand various methods of analysis because it is the only way to build and validate a model from observed data. It does not mean that one needs to be an expert in those fields, but some elementary knowledge and understanding are a must.
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Data management skills
It is necessary to deal with large data sets in order to become an expert in machine learning. Those data need to be analyzed, which means that the developer needs to know how to filter important and less important ones, recognize various patterns, and come to useful conclusions by using them. It is impossible without the ability to visualize, and there are many handy tools that one can use to do that. It is not easy because the data sets are pretty large, and it is crucial to learn how to deal with them because it is a vital part of the machine learning process.
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Enjoying the iterative process
Source: einfochips.com
The iterative process means to begin with one simple model fast and iterate and try to make it better in every next stage. It is the only way to achieve success at the end of the process, and because of that, the developer needs to be comfortable with iteration. Of course, it is crucial to recognize when there are no improvements despite the iteration, and it is time to stop and try something new. In that way, the developer will not spend time on unsuccessful solutions, and they can dedicate themselves to finding the better one.
Is machine learning for you?
There isn’t the best time to take this path and become an expert in this field, as regardless of your age, switching career is always an option. Of course, just because there is such a high demand for this position doesn’t necessarily mean that learning all that’s needed, programing, and even coding will be easy, but with time and dedication, it’s more than possible. The only thing here is finding the right agency to launch your career, and it all starts by choosing the right company that will help you with training and coaching in order to achieve your career goals, just like the Simplilearn.
