Demand for Machine Learning Developers

The Future Looks Bright If You Are A Machine Learning Developer

Being a machine learning developer has quickly become one of the most coveted and sought-after roles in the technology industry. Companies’ adoption of big data, artificial intelligence and data science has created the perfect storm of demand.

What Is Machine Learning And Big Data?

Stanford University’s Coursera machine learning course defines machine learning as:

“the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed.”

Meanwhile, Florida International University defines big data as:

“vast numbers of predictive models used by organizations in pursuit of business goals, including reducing labor costs and improving the customer experience.”

These predictive models have the capability to originate high amounts of value for businesses and customers through improved business decisions. Companies employing data science and big data can provide superior products, services and options to the marketplace.

As a result, candidates with the right data science skills can now command top dollar. Interest in these technologies is growing across the world, from the U.S. all the way to China. Google, for instance, recently opened the Google AI Center in Beijing to develop its A.I capabilities in Asia.

High Demand For Data Science And Artificial Intelligence Developers

According to Forbes Magazine, data science and artificial intelligence are two of the highest demand skills for 2018. These interrelated skills have to do with applying machine knowledge to data and deriving insights as well as smart software that can apply that knowledge.

Low Supply Creates Shortage Of 250,000 Data Science Experts

McKinsey’s report The Age Of Analytics maps the great untapped opportunities for data analytics applications. The industries where businesses are currently competing for these opportunities include:

• Healthcare
• Fintech
• Manufacturing
• Retail

to name a few. The same report highlights the shortage of data science talent in the marketplace as one of the biggest problems facing these industries.

According to the McKinsey report, the shortage of data scientists alone may amount to over 250,000 and will grow in the coming years. The demand for related professionals would amount to more than 2 million individuals with the skills to apply data in the enterprise.

The Forecasts Show Growth In Data Science Roles To 2020 And Beyond

Meanwhile, ZDNet, the tech news site, has forecast growing demand for data science engineers up to 2020 and beyond. The site points to enterprises’ growing use of advanced tech such as artificial intelligence as the cause.

Companies Driving The Demand For Artificial Intelligence

Tech companies like Google and Amazon have all made major investments in data science, according to a Fortune report. However, there are companies across all types of industries where the demand for artificial intelligence developers is spreading.

Industries In Which There Is High Demand For Machine Learning Developers

The demand for artificial intelligence developers is being felt most intensely in industries at the forefront of today’s tech boom. These include:

• Self-driving cars – companies like Uber, Tesla and Google are investing in self-driving cars, which require talent skilled in artificial intelligence.
• Finance, hedge funds and trading – hedge funds like Renaissance Technologies apply secretive data science methods to analyze stock data and gain a trading edge.
• Robotics – according to TechRepublic, the robotics industry is growing rapidly and is expected to double in size to $73 Billion by 2023. This has led to robotics companies like Kawada Robotics taking a lead in the application of machine intelligence.
• Drones – TechWorld reports that autonomous flying vehicles, also known as drones, are becoming a part of many business operations around the world. In particular, delivery giants like UPS are investing in their drone inventories.
• Tech platforms in healthcare – personalized health platforms reduce health costs and contribute enormous value through improved public health. Nanalyze reports that startups like HealthMyne are using A.I. to diagnose medical images.

Given the broad range of applications of A.I., the need for experts in A.I will reach a multitude of industries, including marketing, hospitality, e-commerce and others.

Which Companies Are Hiring Data Science Developers?

Some of the largest technology companies, as well as smaller startups are all involved in the race for data science talent, including:

• Microsoft — Microsoft is seeking artificial intelligence engineers for its offices in Sunnyvale to apply artificial intelligence to its Bing advertising platform, among other things.
• IBM – IBM Research is seeking Research Scientists for its Shanghai, China offices to work on machine vision systems to develop cognitive solutions.
• Vidora – Vidora is one of many startups hiring for artificial intelligence engineers on the startup hiring platform AngelList
• Google – the tech giant is looking for data science talent for its Mountain View, CA office. The engineers would be involved in “cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence” as well as developing “solutions for real world, large-scale problems.”

These are a tiny handful out of countless tech companies and organizations seeking skilled talent for data-related occupations.

Machine Learning Developer Salary And Hiring Tips

According to Fortune, salaries for data science related roles rose by 16% in the last two years alone. This comes at a time when the U.S. national wage rate only rose 2%.

Machine Learning Developer – Salary $134,214

Machine learning developer salary has skyrocketed beyond other technology skills due to the global competition for these engineers. These artificial intelligence-focused developers form the backbone of development for artificial intelligence applications.

Many companies require Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degrees for these roles. When hiring, you will also want to look for practical experience and knowledge of state of the art machine learning methods. These include machine learning algorithms in the areas of:

• Supervised Learning
• Unsupervised learning
• Linear Regression
• k-Nearest Neighbors
• Neural Networks
• Deep Learning

And many others.

Data Scientist – Salary $141,807

A data scientist brings the deep mathematical and statistical knowledge that underlies the highly scientific process of deriving insights from data. The data scientist creates the knowledge framework which ensures the solution formulation uses reliable data and valid hypotheses.

When hiring data scientists, you will want to look for advanced mathematical, statistical and algorithmic skill. Many candidates hold Doctorate level credentials in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science or Data Science.

Hiring A Software Agency For Artificial Intelligence Projects

Nowadays, the availability of software agencies like Mobilunity and others cuts hiring time and costs. Mobilunity engineers are highly skilled in Python, data science and related tech skills.

Hiring a software agency involves doing a search for the skill you want, and then drawing a short list of companies that have implemented successful A.I projects. You then interview the companies and select the one that has the best capabilities for your project.

The Best Courses And Books For Machine Learning Developers

There are many ways to learn what is machine intelligence or to go in-depth and acquire hands-on skill. For instance, one could take a beginner artificial intelligence tutorial.

Alternatively, one may take a complete machine learning course that covers machine learning tools and machine learning algorithms. Here are some of the best courses for professionals.

• Georgia Tech’s Master’s Degree In Machine Learning – Georgia Tech has gained a reputation as a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence education.
• Udacity’s Intro To Artificial Intelligence – this Udacity course is taught by two of the leading luminaries in the field of artificial intelligence: Peter Norvig and Sebastian Thrun. Peter Norvig is a Director of Research at Google. Sebastian Thrun is not only the founder of Udacity and a professor at Stanford, but is widely credited as the creator of Google’s first self-driving car.
• Stanford’s Machine Learning Course – this MOOC course by Andrew Ng has gained a reputation on Coursera as one of the best in the field.