5 reasons you should learn Machine Learning

Today, technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have integrated into our lives in such a way that it is impossible to imagine a world without them. Think about the smart virtual assistants (Siri and Alexa), the recommendation engines on online shopping platforms (Amazon and Netflix), self-driving cars and smart homes, they all are applications of machine learning. Certainly, the inclusion of these radical technological innovations has made our lives so much more comfortable.

Although ML has been around for a long time (for instance, Turing's Enigma machine), it’s only recently that the interest in this concept has peaked. As more companies are getting inclined towards advanced ML solutions and technologies, it is encouraging students and professionals to take up a machine learning course.

What is Machine Learning? Why is it important?

In simple words, machine learning is a subset under the broad umbrella of artificial intelligence. AI is a concept that helps to design and create intelligent machines that can function like humans and learn from experience (without being explicitly programmed). And, machine learning is the branch of AI that gives shape and meaning to the concept of creating intelligent machines. It is a method that involves data parsing and data analysis to automate analytical model building. In machine learning, the systems can learn from data to identify patterns and make informed decisions with minimal or no human intervention. 

Thanks to the rapid advancements in technology, machine learning has come to bear applications that are now being widely used across various parallels of the industry. Companies, both big and small, are investing in ML solutions to streamline business operations, enhance manufacturing processes, improve marketing campaigns and maximize customer satisfaction. Automation is one of the most significant contributions of ML. By automating routine and menial tasks, ML allows employees to devote their time to more important tasks that require human cognitive abilities. Furthermore, ML allows organizations to save both time and money without compromising on the product/service quality. Online fraud detection, real-time customer support, malware filtering, and traffic/weather predictions, are some of the significant applications of ML.

Why learn Machine Learning?

According to Google, machine learning is the future, and rightly so. The fact that an increasing number of enterprises are adopting ML techniques and solutions into their infrastructure says a lot about the promising future of ML. Jobs in this domain are growing at an unprecedented rate. 

If you are still not convinced about choosing ML as a career option, here are five reasons why you should learn ML:

1. Machine Learning brings better career opportunities

According to the latest reports, while the global ML market was valued at $1.4 billion in 2017, it is predicted to reach $8.8 billion by 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43.6% between 2017 and 2022. Furthermore, by 2020, AI and ML hold the potential to create an additional value of $2.6 trillion. 

The numbers make it very clear that at present, ML is the star of the technology and enterprise sectors. With continuous advancements, AI and ML applications are expanding to almost every industry, including healthcare, BFSI, education, e-commerce, logistics, and much more. This is creating job opportunities for Machine Learning engineers, cybersecurity analysts, data architects, data scientists, data mining specialists, and cloud architects across various verticals. Thus, if you wish to put yourself among the most valued professionals in the industry, you must learn machine learning. 

2. Machine Learning jobs come with big paychecks

Yes, being one of the most in-demand skills right now, ML jobs pay very well. According to Glassdoor, the average annual salary of ML jobs in India is anywhere between Rs. 4,60,000 and Rs. 11,00,000.  Since there is a severe shortage of talented professionals in data science and ML, companies are usually willing to compensate with handsome salary packages (much higher than the average salary standard in the industry) to deserving candidates. 

3. Machine Learning jobs are peaking

While job opportunities in data science and ML are spiking rapidly, unfortunately, there aren't enough talented professionals to fill job vacancies in these domains. In fact, 2018 statistics show that over 50,000 jobs in data science and ML remained unfulfilled due to the shortage of qualifying talent and skills. 

Furthermore, Gartner maintains that out of 10 lakh registered Indian companies, 75% have either already invested or are willing to invest in machine learning and data science. As for the demand of professionals in these fields, banking and financial services lead the front with almost 44%, followed by e-commerce and healthcare, each creating around 12% of the total of analytics jobs in 2017. Apart from these sectors, energy (8%), telecommunication (6%) and media (6%) are also creating a massive demand for skilled data science professionals.

4. Machine Learning increases your knowledge and efficiency

As we said earlier, machine learning is one of the in-demand skills one can have now. Learning about the field and acquiring the necessary skills will not only help expand your knowledge base, but it will also make you a valuable asset for any organization. 

You can use your ML knowledge to add value to the working of a company by enhancing business operations through automation, real-time customer support, and of course, cost-optimization. Also, having ML skills helps you climb the career ladder faster than your counterparts. 

5. Machine Learning helps you to understand customers better 

ML technologies and solutions can dig into customer data and understand individual needs, preferences, and pain points of each customer segment. This, in turn, allows companies to create highly personalized products/services, offers and discounts, and marketing strategies to cater to individual customer needs. In the long run, a company can maintain long-term relationships with happy and satisfied customers. This has a significant bearing on company ROI.

Any professional who will be able to leverage ML tools and solutions to accomplish this goal is a welcome addition to an organization. 

As machine learning has emerged to become an indispensable part of the industry, there is a high demand for the right talent and skills in the domain. There has never been a better time than now to start building a career in machine learning. And, the best way to do so is by enrolling in an ML course from a reputable and accredited platform/institute. 

Now, the question remains… Are you ready to build a successful career in machine learning?

By Sai Digbijay Patnaik, Simplilearn