Transition from a pure software Engineering Role to Machine Learning Data Science

I am currently 39 years old and have been learning Data Science ML for the past 1.5 years on my own also I have taken a course on the same.I am highly interested in switching over from my current role to AI/ML one, I am holding myself a bit as I think at this age making a career move can be risky considering I have a young family and a comfortable job at hand, I would like to hear more from people who are in similar situation as I am that would give me the required confidence to jump the boat and move to the desired area of work.Thanks in advance

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Hi Anurag,

I have moved from a core software role to AI/ML role a couple of years back and the experience has been rewarding. There is a need for folks with software background in this work as we productionize AI/ML models at scale. There needs to be some thought put in on how will the model handle different load conditions, will it be deployable at edge, can I scale this model to 1 million instances and other ‘itilities’ right at the time of creating these models. If you refer this paper from Google, they’ll clearly highlight the need of someone who is knowledgeable in software best practices to be on the team. A very clear understanding of ML/DL concepts plus clear understanding of software best practices is a great addition to the team is what I have found.

Regards.

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Hi Anurag,

I also want to switch careers and focus on AI/ML more than on, let’s say general software engineering. I’ve been in the field of backend web development for 13 years now and haven’t touched AI/ML in all this time, but being as I am, I want to give it a try and see if I can penetrate this field and make a living out of it while satisfying my curiosity and maybe even give something back. Now, I may not be in your shoes, but I have the same “fear” as you do, nonetheless, I believe that with proper planning, maybe a contingency plan, and a bit of courage we can achieve it. Getting into this field is nowadays easier than before, due to the wealth of resources out there, it won’t be always a walk in the park, but I strongly believe it will be a very rewardful experience in the end. Having professional experience in software development and on top of it, AI/ML knowledge can only lead to spectacular things. Wish you good luck!

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