Is Machine Learning a Good Career? A Complete Career Guide (2024 Updated)

Automation – a desire that has become a necessity for every vertical in the industry, has garnered a lot of demand for employees with tech skill sets consisting of AI and ML, persuading engineers to follow the Machine Learning career path. If you are considering a career in technology, you have likely come across various jobs in AI and machine learning; if you are a working professional wanting to transition into a Machine Learning career as a full-time developer, you are on the right road! Here we will be discussing the need for Engineers with a Machine Learning career portfolio (across the organization), who should consider ML as a career path, and the scope of Machine Learning jobs in the future.

Let's get started!

Table of content

- Machine Learning and its importance

• Machine Learning classification

- Machine Learning career path

- AI and ML job roles

• Machine Learning engineers
• Data Scientist
• Automation Engineers
• NLP Engineers
• AI Professionals

- Machine Learning professionals – Demand and supply

- Final thoughts

Machine Learning career: Machine Learning and its importance

Machine Learning is a branch of Artificial Intelligence that uses algorithms to evaluate data points and turn them into useful functionalities. These algorithms are created by feeding historical data into the code to provide outcomes with little or no human interaction.
Artificial intelligence saves time, effort, and resources in all departments. With each contact and feedback cycle, the algorithm improves its prediction accuracy.
Human interaction from software becomes obsolete as new initiatives compensate for the tech space and the necessity for tech skill-set expands.
Machine learning has the capability to grow and deliver far superior results than the prior encounter.

Machine Learning Classification

• Reinforcement Learning
• Supervised Learning
• Unsupervised Learning
• Semi-Supervised Learning

Machine Learning career: Machine Learning career path

As a subset of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning has become one of the most in-demand skills in recent years, and the need is rising at an exponential rate.
Machine Learning career opportunities will increase up to 200% in the coming decade, with a 75% growth rate in the previous four years. As demand grows, employment opportunities for engineers pursuing a Machine learning career path will increase.
As a student seeking education, one can pursue courses from accredited providers. For working professionals, there are possibilities such as Coding Bootcamps, part-time internships, or self-teaching using the amount of educational information available on the internet today.
As the talent gap is widening, particularly in the technical verticals of firms, now is an excellent opportunity for women in tech to take the lead and strengthen their position in the sector.

Machine Learning career: AI and ML job roles

Machine Learning career domain: Due to technological advancements in industries such as finance, health, education, and many others, AI and Machine Learning career enthusiasts today have more job opportunities than ever before.
There are different perspectives associated with AI and Machine Learning career sectors that one may pursue based on their skills.

Machine Learning career: Machine Learning engineers

Machine learning engineers are the individuals responsible for developing machine learning models. They are in charge of determining the best algorithms to tackle business challenges and build the model upon discovering the method so that it can be deployed and operated in production.
Individuals with an interest or professional experience in statics, analysis, or problem-solving models can pursue a Machine Learning career path.

Typical functionalities of ML Engineers include

• Investigate and extract insights from huge amounts of aggregation and analysis.
• Use data mining and machine learning to increase material comprehension and improve algorithms' accuracy.
• Analytical processes and data frameworks quality assurance.

Machine Learning Career: Data Scientist

Data scientists are experts in finding patterns in large amounts of data. They are responsible for building big data sets, discovering correlations within the data, and converting them into a format that machine learning models can understand.

They are in charge of figuring out how to gather additional data for the machine learning models. As the complexity of machine learning grows, so does the demand for data scientists.
To do this, they may work with the data engineering team, business analysts, and customer service team to collect data.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020-30), U.S., Data Science jobs will be one of the fastest-growing occupations. Being one of the most prominent roles in the machine learning career space, becoming a data scientist requires years of expertise in data engineering, notably as a data analyst.

Machine Learning Career: Automation Engineers

Automation Engineers work in various domains, including the Engineering Team, the Data Team, the Quality Assurance Vertical, or Release Management. They are responsible for automating the creation of machine models and applications. They evaluate the need to automate parts of a manufacturing process to decrease faults.

Automation Engineers identify and resolve process problems and defects with as little disruption as possible.

They often have a bachelor's degree in electrical or computer science. To understand and construct automated models, one must have strong logical and analytical attributes.

Machine Learning Career: NLP Engineers

Natural language processing (NLP) engineers are in charge of comprehending and interpreting input in diverse formats so that machine learning models can understand it.

They work with the team as data scientists and data engineers and may work in the research and development or marketing departments. They collaborate closely with the quality assurance team to ensure that the data is valid and high quality so that the models can properly handle it.

When hiring NLP engineers, organizations frequently have a specific requirement for a skill set. They seek employees with higher-tech abilities, specializing in,

• Method Extraction
• Text Processing
• Sequential Modeling

These hard requirements have resulted in NLP Engineers being one of the most under-supplied professionals in Machine Learning career disciplines.

Machine Learning Career: AI Professionals

Artificial intelligence (AI) specialists are experts in using artificial intelligence to assist in the resolution of business challenges.

They are responsible for finding ways to use AI to help with data analysis, campaign strategies, and product design. AI professionals use various techniques such as natural language processing, computer vision, and data mining to create ML models that help solve business problems.

AI professionals may possess a bachelor's degree in computer science, statistics, or a related field and several years of industry experience.

Machine Learning career: Machine Learning professionals – Demand and supply

According to the "LinkedIn Jobs on Rise Report 2021," - AI and ML jobs score higher in nations such as the United States, Brazil, India, Germany, and several others. This number is likely to climb significantly in 2024.

The statistics from several kinds of research clearly illustrate the shortage of skills required by businesses in many areas. According to the NASSCOM Talent demand and supply research, the demand and supply gap in the Machine Learning career path in the AI Field in the year 2021, particularly in the IT industry, was over 60%.

As the digitization of all elements across sectors grows, the demand for professionals pursuing AI and Machine Learning career fields will increase. To meet this increase in demand, now is the perfect time to choose a machine learning career path.

Since AI is constantly evolving, Machine learning engineers, Data Scientists, and NLP engineers must master new abilities rapidly;
which is beneficial to both the individual and the firm. It prevents individuals from falling behind in the sector while also allowing businesses to remain competitive.

Machine Learning career: Final thoughts

As the field of artificial intelligence progresses and evolves, so does the demand for Skilled Professionals. As a result, it's no surprise that enterprises are eager to recruit machine learning experts to fill the void.

Jobs AI and Machine Learning career fields have grown exponentially and will continue to do so; the status of job requirements and the compensation offered makes the Machine Learning career one of the leading career paths in the 21st century.