Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have become a topic of interest for everyone in the technology sector. Traditionally, you must have seen fascinating robots working like humans in sci-fi movies only. But, AI and ML have powered such devices and gadgets and brought them into our homes today. Drones, voice assistants, driverless cars, and Google lens are some of the popular applications you must have come across. Companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, IBM, and Microsoft are investing heavily in projects based on these technologies to develop more such products and services. In fact, startups are a step ahead of large companies in adopting AI and ML to offer innovative solutions for various industries.
Countries across the world are in the race of AI adoption, and India is not behind. Today, when you open any job portal, you will find many open positions in India for AI specialists, machine learning engineers, and related roles like NLP scientists, data scientists, big data engineers, and data architects. Professionals are also proactive in preparing for such roles by taking a Machine Learning course in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi, and other cities. The Digital India initiative taken by the government is further driving the demand for these technologies.
Wondering why AI and machine learning are gaining such high traction? Read on to know more, but first, let us briefly discuss what machine learning is.
Machine Learning – What is it?
An important aspect of artificial intelligence, machine learning is something that enables computer programs to be more accurate at predicting outcomes without any human intervention. Historical data is given as input to machine learning algorithms so as to predict new values. It is used by enterprises to gain a view of trends in customer behavior and business operational patterns so as to support new product development. Machine learning has become mainstream in the operations of various companies like Netflix, Google, Uber, and Facebook.
Demand for machine learning
The Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) segment has contributed significantly to the Indian economy and accounted for over 7.7% of the GDP in 2016 alone. In recent years, exceptional growth in AI investment has been witnessed due to the right blend of technology, information, and the ability to make intelligent systems possible. A report by Accenture has estimated that artificial intelligence can possibly add USD 957 billion, or 15% of India’s current gross value, by 2035.
AI and machine learning are penetrating into all the industrial sectors and offering businesses a variety of growth opportunities. Take the manufacturing industry, for example. This sector can adopt AI-fueled systems, whose capacity to learn, adjust, and develop over the long run, to kill idle equipment and broken machines. This can result in a share-of-profit increase of up to 39%. Full and responsible implementation of machine learning can open new economic opportunities that would not exist otherwise.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further forced the companies to shift their operations online and embrace digitalization. Surveys have found that there would be a rise in tech skills like AI, machine learning, data analytics, and deep learning in the post-COVID world. In fact, a recent study by Analytics India Magazine noted that the open jobs for analytics professionals had the highest proportion at 33.7%, followed by machine learning at 20.4%.
As businesses are expected to automate their operations soon, there is a growing demand for AI and ML specialists. This trend is also supported by LinkedIn’s job report 2020, which stressed on a finding that the hiring growth of AI experts has grown to 74% annually in the past few years. As a matter of fact, another job portal Indeed, surveyed the salary earned by machine learning engineers and found the average base pay to be $145K per year in the US and Rs. 13.6 lakhs in India.
Is a Machine Learning Course worth it?
Looking at such promising career opportunities in this field, it makes sense to think about a machine learning career. Even if you don’t know anything about machine learning yet, don’t worry; there is a solution. A lot of online training providers are addressing the skills gap by offering comprehensive courses with concepts explained through short video modules. Those who are serious about an ML career are enrolling in such courses and reaping the various benefits associated with them.
Industry experts guide you throughout the course and make you work on industry projects to hone your practical skills. Interactive quizzes and end-of-chapter assessments strengthen your understanding of the ML concepts and help you apply them in real-world scenarios. What’s more, you get access to integrated virtual labs where you can practice different machine learning algorithms and create models. Considering you are a working professional, these online courses would suit best with your work schedule. The classes are taken on weekends, and you can follow self-paced videos on weekdays by taking out very little time.
The certification that you achieve on completing an online course will demonstrate your credibility and validate your job-ready skills. You can also share it on professional networking sites like LinkedIn to impress employers. Hiring managers will understand that you have the required skills and are ready to work on ML-related projects.