Machine Learning: Learn Guide

Over the past decade, we have witnessed the transformation of Machine Learning, starting from taking photos with blurry backgrounds to getting our queries answered by virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri. Such applications and products have people hooked on to them because of implementing machine learning at its crux.??

If you are also interested in becoming a machine learning specialist and want to polish your skills or want to know what all the qualifications you need for the job, then here’s what you need to know. You may go through our brief version of a more well-elaborated learn guide and find out more details of the same towards the end of this article.?

What is Machine Learning?

Machine learning is a branch of Artificial Intelligence built on the idea that computers can deal with tasks that, until now, have only been executed by people. It is the field of study that enables systems with the ability to learn without any human interference or definite programming. It’s one of those exhilarating technologies that is promptly being used in many places than one would expect.?

Difference between Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Mostly, people use artificial intelligence and machine learning synonymously without knowing what they really mean and how they function. However, both these terms are two different impressions.?

Artificial Intelligence is a superset of Machine Learning that stimulates a computer system to impersonate human intelligence. It has a wider range of scope and is engaged in creating a smart system that can perform various high-complexity tasks.??

Machine Learning is a subdivision of AI that stimulates a system to learn from past data without definitive programming. It has a narrower scope than AI and primarily focuses on making machines execute only the specific tasks they are schooled.?

Learning Paths

If you want to learn or get acquainted with a tailor-made skillset and become a competent Machine Learning Specialist, then there are two different methods of learning, namely offline and online modes of learning. The e-learning mode is preferred by those who want to take up a certification or free crash course to qualify with relevant skills and competencies. On the other hand, Traditional learning is apt for those who want to pursue a master’s or bachelor’s degree in Machine Learning and Data Science.???

Well, both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. However, it’s generally best to take up an online course as it is more beneficial concerning convenience, cost and time.?

Skills Required?

To qualify as a Machine Learning Specialist, you need to equip yourself with some necessary soft and technical skills that can be learned through various courses.?

It is further classified into three categories:?

Beginner Skills

This refers to non-technical skills and is required when you begin your ML journey. They are as follows:?

• Communication: Having solid communication skills is vital to progress in this career. It is common for a machine learning engineer to communicate and explain important technical concepts to people with minimal or no proficiency in this field.?
• Curiosity and Exploratory Nature: It refers to having clarity on what the concept is and what its demands are. Having certainty about the subject and a strong drive to explore more about this field is essential.?
• Structured Thinking: When data is involved, it is critical to abide by a structured, logical progression to analyze a problem and arrive at a solution in an organized way.?
• Storytelling Skills: To arrive at coherent material, you must possess these skills to deliver the data in an easy-to-understand pattern.?
• Math and Statistics: A basic knowledge of math and statistical concepts will aid you at many levels, especially in this field.?
• Data Visualization: It requires you to be well-versed with various data visualization tools, such as MS Excel, SQL, Tableau, etc., to draw meaningful insights from large datasets.?

Intermediate Skills

These are some important technical skills that essentially revolve around information technology. Let’s briefly go through them:?

• Advanced Excel: Being well versed with advanced tools like VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP and having specialized knowledge of PIVOT tables in MS Excel will be extremely beneficial for you to secure a bright future in ML.?
• Machine Learning Basics: It goes without saying, to become a good machine learning specialist, one should be well informed on all the common machine learning basics. They are divided into three types starting, from Supervised to Unsupervised and going to Reinforcement learning.?
• AI and Cloud Computing: Possessing the knowledge of AI and cloud computing basics can help in enhancing your expertise and give you a holistic experience in this field.?
• Programming Language: It requires you to be well-read in different programming languages. Such as:?
• R Programming: It is used for statistical computing.?
• Python: It is a popular data science programming language.

Advanced Skills

These skills are required to move from novice to expert level in machine learning. Let’s quickly overview them:?

• Text Mining: It uses natural language processing to translate unstructured text into a structured configuration.?
• Artificial Neural Network: It functions across multiple layers starting from when the data is received in the input layer, which then goes through several hidden layers, which helps in translating the raw data into a valuable form for the output layer.?
• C++: It is commonly found in games and large systems and is famous for its transportability.?
• Machine Learning Tools: The following are some frequently used tools:
• Google Cloud ML?
• Spark
• Hadoop
• MATLAB
• Azure Machine Learning Studio
• Knime
• Scala?

Conclusion

In recent times, Machine Learning has become more pervasive and is everywhere around us. Hence, wanting to become a Machine Learning Specialist has a lot of scope and potential in itself. And so we have put together a thorough learn guide to help you through suggestive skills required, learning courses and potential career options. To future-proof your career and improve your prospects, check out our learn guide for Machine Learning.?

You can also probe into various other learn guides catering to different industries. Please view them from our advice page.???