{"id":22508,"date":"2020-12-17T10:03:34","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T10:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/reasons-dont-need-learn-machine-learning\/"},"modified":"2023-09-21T16:41:26","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T16:41:26","slug":"reasons-dont-need-learn-machine-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/ai-ml\/reasons-dont-need-learn-machine-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons You Don\u2019t Need to Learn Machine Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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An increasing number of influencers preach you should start learning Machine Learning. Should you listen to them?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n

Anincreasing number of Twitter and LinkedIn influencers preach why you should start learning Machine Learning and how easy it is once you get started.<\/p>\n\n

While it\u2019s always great to hear some encouraging words, I like to look at things from another perspective. I don\u2019t want to sound pessimistic and discourage no one, I\u2019ll just give my opinion.<\/p>\n\n

While looking at what these Machine Learning experts (or should I call them influencers?) post, I ask myself, why do some many people wish to learn Machine Learning in the first place?<\/p>\n\n

Maybe the main reason comes from not knowing what do Machine Learning engineers<\/a> actually do. Most of us don\u2019t work on Artificial General Intelligence or Self-driving cars.<\/p>\n\n

It certainly isn\u2019t easy to master Machine Learning as influencers preach. Being \u201cA Jack of all trades and master of none\u201d also doesn\u2019t help in this economy.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Why do so many wish to learn Machine Learning?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Photo by Ariana Prestes<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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While I was studying at University, I\u2019ve decided that I\u2019m going to become a Machine Learning Engineer. It seemed hard, challenging and most importantly fun. Before that my wish was to become an iOS game developer.<\/p>\n\n

If someone would show me a workday from an ML engineer, maybe I would stick with iOS game development. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m really happy with my career, but the career choice wouldn\u2019t be as black and white as it was.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Photo by KOBU Agency<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Why is that? Because you can get the same amount of fun writing an iOS game as with training a Machine Learning model\u2026 or developing a backend application\u2026 or a frontend application. All of the above can become challenging (just ask engineers at top Tech companies).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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While in University, my thinking was:<\/p>

Machine Learning seems hard, so it’s going to be easier to get a job. I\u2019ll get higher wage. It is more future proof (web development will soon be automated) and it is fun.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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My thinking was wrong. So allow me to explain each of the statements above.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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1. Machine Learning seems hard<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Photo by NOAA<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Most internet influencers preach: Starting with Machine Learning is really easy. You just download the Titanic dataset, copy 10 lines of Python code from a tutorial and you\u2019ve started with Machine Learning.<\/p>\n\n

While that\u2019s true, it\u2019s hard to imagine that someone would pay you for that knowledge. So you need to go levels deeper.<\/p>\n\n

And levels deeper is where it gets hard. Having a great mentor is really important so that you don\u2019t need to figure out everything on your own. Getting a good internship is also a great way to grow as an engineer.<\/p>\n\n

I wish someone would tell me that at the beginning of my career. I had to put in considerable hours to keep up with my peers who worked in other areas of Computer Science.<\/p>\n\n

Why? Well, It\u2019s easier to get a mentor for frontend (backend or mobile) development because there\u2019re more people doing it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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2. Easier to get a Machine Learning job<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Photo by Hunters Race<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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One thing is for sure and I learned it the hard way. It is harder to find a job as a Machine Learning Engineer than as a Frontend (Backend or Mobile) Engineer.<\/p>\n\n

Smaller startups usually don\u2019t have the resources to afford an ML Engineer. They also don\u2019t have the data yet, because they are just starting. Do you know what they need? Frontend, Backend and Mobile Engineers to get their business up and running.<\/p>\n\n

Then you are stuck with bigger corporate companies. Not that\u2019s something wrong with that, but in some countries, there aren\u2019t many big companies.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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3. Higher wages<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Photo by Sharon McCutcheon<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Senior Machine Learning engineers don\u2019t earn more than other Senior engineers (at least not in Slovenia).<\/p>\n\n

There are some Machine Learning superstars in the US, but they were in the right place at the right time \u2014 with their mindset. I\u2019m sure there are Software Engineers in the US who have even higher wages.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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4. Machine Learning is future proof<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Photo by Tomasz Frankowski<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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While Machine Learning is here to stay, I can say the same for frontend, backend and mobile development.<\/p>\n\n

If you work as a frontend developer and you\u2019re satisfied with your work, just stick with it. If you need to make a website with a Machine Learning model, partner with someone that already has the knowledge.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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5. Machine Learning is Fun<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Photo by Braydon Anderson<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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While Machine Learning is fun. It\u2019s not always fun.<\/p>\n\n

Many think they\u2019ll be working on Artificial General Intelligence or Self-driving cars. But more likely they will be composing the training sets and working on infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n

Many think that they will play with fancy Deep Learning models, tune Neural Network architectures and hyperparameters. Don\u2019t get me wrong, some do, but not many.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n

The truth is that ML engineers spend most of the time working on \u201chow to properly extract the training set that will resemble real-world problem distribution\u201d. Once you have that, you can in most cases train a classical Machine Learning model and it will work well enough.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Conclusion<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Photo by Johannes Plenio<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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I know this is a controversial article, but as I already stated at the beginning, I don\u2019t mean to discourage anyone.<\/p>\n\n

If you feel Machine Learning is for you, just go for it. You have my full support. Let me know if you need some advice on where to get started.<\/p>\n\n

But Machine Learning is not for everyone and everyone doesn\u2019t need to know it. If you are a successful Software Engineer and you\u2019re enjoying your work, just stick with it. Some basic Machine Learning tutorials won\u2019t help you progress in your career.<\/p>\n\n

The aim of this article was to give a critical view that you usually don\u2019t hear from influencers.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you feel Machine Learning is for you, just go for it. But Machine Learning is not for everyone and everyone doesn\u2019t need to know it. If you are a successful Software Engineer and you\u2019re enjoying your work, just stick with it. Some basic Machine Learning tutorials won\u2019t help you progress in your career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":784,"featured_media":18193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[183],"tags":[783,94,92,835],"ppma_author":[3778],"class_list":["post-22508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai-ml","tag-career","tag-data-science","tag-machine-learning","tag-software-engineer"],"authors":[{"term_id":3778,"user_id":784,"is_guest":0,"slug":"roman-orac","display_name":"Roman Orac","avatar_url":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/medium_b7d17fbf-b990-4540-aa64-0ff5333f3943-150x150.jpg","user_url":"https:\/\/www.sportradar.com\/","last_name":"Orac","first_name":"Roman","job_title":"","description":"Roman Orac is Senior Data Scientist at Sportradar<\/a>, a global leader in understanding and leveraging the power of sports data and digital content for its clients around the world."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/784"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22508"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33059,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22508\/revisions\/33059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22508"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=22508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}