Seeking Career Advice to go from general CS background to a career in AI/Machine Learning

Submitted by brown_ja t3_11urpbb in deeplearning

Hey.

I'm a University student in final year studying Computer Science. I've enjoyed my degree and I have a decent GPA but my University does not have a clear path to get me into AI and Machine Learning related career.

I'm seeking professional advice on how to go from a general CS background to being employable in AI/Machine Learning over the next 5 to 6 months. If you have specific recommendations beyond what Google offers that would be great. Also, can't afford to do a masters degree in AI😅.

Thanks in advance.

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alki284 t1_jcpxhj6 wrote

Frankly, you’ll struggle. A lot of junior ML positions require a masters degree as a minimum. But beyond that, what is your ML background like? Are you comfortable with the maths? Do you have side projects to show case your skills and knowledge?

If you don’t have a background, then going into a back end SWE role and transitioning after a couple of years is also a viable path. You can try and get in ‘ML adjacent’ type roles and gain experience from there

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smackson t1_jcpxq8l wrote

Do further study at a university that does have machine learning expertise.

Sorry, not a 5 to 6 month solution there.

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sqweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeps t1_jcrf571 wrote

Go to grad school, get really good at optimization, prob/stats, linear algebra, and take plenty ML. Masters usually is minimum for ML positions, but PhDs will dominate positions for any cutting edge research

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chengstark t1_jcrfptp wrote

Dont, it’s a waste of your time.

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SingleTie8914 t1_jcrrv31 wrote

start as an sde first and self study ML/DL & work on side projects to demonstrate your skills

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Immarhinocerous t1_jcsdckk wrote

Replying to brown_ja (#2,264,443)

As someone who's mostly self-taught (I have a BSc, but it's in health sciences), I followed a similar route to what they recommended. It gives you:

  • income,

  • experience working in software development - you will hopefully learn a lot from this,

  • exposure to co-workers who you may be able to learn from, especially if your backend role is at a place doing ML.

With income, you can also afford to take more courses. Even if it's only the occasional weekend course, or something you work on a few nights a week, it can help you expand your skillset while gaining other practical skills (backend work with APIs, DBs, cloud infrastructure, etc are all useful).

After doing that awhile, you may be able to land a more focused ML role, or be able to do a master's program (which combined with your SWE experience will give you a leg up on landing the role you want). If you want to go straight into an ML role after SWE, you will definitely need project experience. But you can do that while working, if you're up for it.

One of the best ML people I know has a maths background, works in risk/finance, and is basically entirely self-taught. But the guy is brilliant and insanely passionate about what he does. I just mention him to show that you don't absolutely need to go the master's route. But it could be worthwhile when you can afford it, especially if you're lacking in maths.

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