Can you get a job in data science and machine learning without a college degree?

🧵👇

Short Answer: Yes.

Long Answer, keep reading 👇

(Advice from industry experts who I talked to.)
Companies are looking for people who add value.
In order to add value, you'll need skills. Simple as that.

Get the skills to provide value and you'll get the job.
In the age of the internet where everything is pretty much free, why do college degrees matter?

A college degree makes it easier to get the skills to get a job in machine learning or data science.
College degrees also help you make many useful connections and provides many opportunities in the form of internships and whatnot.

College degrees have their own place
However that does not mean that you cannot get into these fields without a degree, it'll just take more work.
For machine learning and data science you mainly need 3 skills:

- The theoretical part which mainly includes math
- The practical part which includes programming skills
- An understanding of the industry in which one is applying machine learning and data science
Most people will probably stop here because of the math.

Math is important, but not when you are starting out. You can learn math as and when you need it, programming is actually the more important part.
Start by having strong fundamentals in programming.
This is more important than you think it is.
Python, R and Julia are some of the options out there.
Python is the most recommended for several reasons.
Next, work on a few Kaggle challenges by taking the help of submissions of other users, the docs and the internet.

While you are making these models, try to research a bit more about what's going on under the hood.
If you're making a neural network, try researching about the some of the activation functions you have used in the model.
This was just one approach to learning the skills needed for machine learning and data science. Do what works for you, just get the job done.
And of course, this isn't going to be a very easy process.

It could take more than a year before you could get ready for applying to jobs.

That doesn't mean it can't be done.

More from Pratham Prasoon

More from Machine learning

Happy 2⃣0⃣2⃣1⃣ to all.🎇

For any Learning machines out there, here are a list of my fav online investing resources. Feel free to add yours.

Let's dive in.
⬇️⬇️⬇️

Investing Services

✔️ @themotleyfool - @TMFStockAdvisor & @TMFRuleBreakers services

✔️ @7investing

✔️ @investing_city
https://t.co/9aUK1Tclw4

✔️ @MorningstarInc Premium

✔️ @SeekingAlpha Marketplaces (Check your area of interest, Free trials, Quality, track record...)

General Finance/Investing

✔️ @morganhousel
https://t.co/f1joTRaG55

✔️ @dollarsanddata
https://t.co/Mj1owkzRc8

✔️ @awealthofcs
https://t.co/y81KHfh8cn

✔️ @iancassel
https://t.co/KEMTBHa8Qk

✔️ @InvestorAmnesia
https://t.co/zFL3H2dk6s

✔️

Tech focused

✔️ @stratechery
https://t.co/VsNwRStY9C

✔️ @bgurley
https://t.co/NKXGtaB6HQ

✔️ @CBinsights
https://t.co/H77hNp2X5R

✔️ @benedictevans
https://t.co/nyOlasCY1o

✔️

Tech Deep dives

✔️ @StackInvesting
https://t.co/WQ1yBYzT2m

✔️ @hhhypergrowth
https://t.co/kcLKITRLz1

✔️ @Beth_Kindig
https://t.co/CjhLRdP7Rh

✔️ @SeifelCapital
https://t.co/CXXG5PY0xX

✔️ @borrowed_ideas
Really enjoyed digging into recent innovations in the football analytics industry.

>10 hours of interviews for this w/ a dozen or so of top firms in the game. Really grateful to everyone who gave up time & insights, even those that didnt make final cut 🙇‍♂️ https://t.co/9YOSrl8TdN


For avoidance of doubt, leading tracking analytics firms are now well beyond voronoi diagrams, using more granular measures to assess control and value of space.

This @JaviOnData & @LukeBornn paper from 2018 referenced in the piece demonstrates one method
https://t.co/Hx8XTUMpJ5


Bit of this that I nerded out on the most is "ghosting" — technique used by @counterattack9 & co @stats_insights, among others.

Deep learning models predict how specific players — operating w/in specific setups — will move & execute actions. A paper here: https://t.co/9qrKvJ70EN


So many use-cases:
1/ Quickly & automatically spot situations where opponent's defence is abnormally vulnerable. Drill those to death in training.
2/ Swap target player B in for current player A, and simulate. How does target player strengthen/weaken team? In specific situations?

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