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Ask HN: How can a front-end developer dive into machine learning?

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Re: Ask HN: How can a front-end developer dive into machine learning?

#121

Post by i-machine-learn »

seibelj wrote: post #107
throw_fraud_dev wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a self trained dev (aka horrible person?) who's spent the last 8 years doing back end dev work - mostly C#, Java, Python and now Scala in everything from SV startups to a government research lab. Either I'm an outlier, or you're overestimating the importance of those cherished fundamentals (which can be picked up independently of a degree anyhow).

I think 8 years of experience plus solid references and projects speaks for itself. It's a resume that lists a 3 month boot camp, a github full of forked projects with no original commits (plus the obligatory ToDo app in rails), Senior Software Engineer title, $100k salary demand, leaving their first professional programming job after 6 months, can't speak knowledgeably about basic shit like IPC. I don't... have time…

Can't you just filter this out with an hour coding challenge?

I don't even know why you are screening these candidates, the profile you are talking about doesn't even hit our hiring team usually or gets binned within 5 minutes.

I really think you have a recruiting process problem.

Re: Ask HN: How can a front-end developer dive into machine learning?

#122

Post by jorgemf »

PeterisP wrote: post #110
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a computer vision/ML applications engineer I disagree with this. What you describe is someone who is actively implementing cutting edge tech. That is VERY different than what 99% of people should be doing with ML which is: Spinning up some K80s on Azure, installing TF/CUDA/OpenCL, pulling existing pre-trained models off the shelf, and running inference on a novel data set. That's how you get into it as a garden va…

I would definitely extend this to running training as well, but I agree with the concept - for most people, it should be either transfer learning to adapt existing models to their data, or running training from scratch with currently known best practice methods, NN architectures and hyperparameters, but doing it on their particular datasets. Possibly by using mostly existing code and modifying mostly the data input/o…

Cleaning the data, compare the models and understand why the results are like they are, those are huge things in Machine Learning. Actually it is like 90% of my job. Training the model it is nothing compared to it. As I said in another comment, I have seen people doing so many mistakes before training or comparing the models. They spent weeks seeing the models with good results in their test but performing like a random classifier in production. Just because they training setup was wrong, they didn't know how to compare models, etc. Machine learning is not like learning a new framework. You can learn the framework and use it, but you are going to do so many mistakes because all the other machine learning knowledge you need.

Re: Ask HN: How can a front-end developer dive into machine learning?

#123

Post by jorgemf »

dikdik wrote: post #108
jorgemf wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work in machine learning and I don't think a 3 months course is going to transform you in a machine learning engineer. I think you need at least the time you took. You need to learn the maths, statistics, etc. Apply those tools to real problems, get some experience with different problems and techniques. And, finally, be involved in some type of research. Because machine learning is evolving so fast, you need to le…

Any insight for someone that already works as a bioinformatics scientist that wants to move into deep learning? I've got the programming, math, some stats, and am currently involved in research, but I only know a little about deep learning. I'm currently working my way through the course.fast.ai deep learning courses and am going to do Part 2 when it is released. Any other resources that would be useful for getting a…

And for the job I don't know. You can post your CV here in the monthly thread for jobs, also take a look to the companies searching for people with experience in bioinformatics that wants to apply deep learning. I think a startup it is a good place to find a job and improve your deep learning skills.

Re: Ask HN: How can a front-end developer dive into machine learning?

#124

Post by hackernewsacct »

wunderlust wrote: post #115
hackernewsacct wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What graduate program is this? Most MS programs I came across make you take CS pre-reqs before applying.

> basically I'm taking enough undergrad courses to fill several semesters, before even getting to MS work

The response makes it sound like they were accepted to a MS program under the condition they complete undergrad courses. I am curious which MS program this is.

Re: Ask HN: How can a front-end developer dive into machine learning?

#126

Post by hello_newman »

nogbit wrote: post #119

I don't usually comment on HN but when I do... Kidding aside, I've seen these kinds of posts so many times and I want to make sure that for those that are thinking "strategically" about their profession, career and passions then I would advise to buckle down with a good BS in Math at a minimum (or CS). But why? Im your older self telling you that you will grow to really really like and enjoy programming, computers, t…

That's exactly how i feel. I dropped out of school at 19, taught myself to code, went to a hack school, and have been working as a rails dev for the last 4-ish years. I realized I wanted to go into ML, and instead of trying to take shortcuts, at 24 I enrolled in my local community college to finish a degree in comp-sci. Looking at 8+ math classes (from Geometry to Calculus 3), but the only reason why I'm doing it is because I believe it will be worth it in the long run.

The only thing that sucks about it is all the GE classes I have to take before I can even start my fun Comp-Sci classes.

Re: Ask HN: How can a front-end developer dive into machine learning?

#127

Post by a1exyz »

sseveran wrote: post #40
ransom1538 wrote: post #26

Hey honest question. I have worked with ai and nlp guys. How i have seen this works out: there is a problem x. They get the best most recent respected research on the problem x. They implement it most of the time it's on (github). If it doesn't solve the problem at hand they shrug their shoulders and say something like "it is the standford nlp parser can't do better than that!" the concept "getting into ai" - I am co…

So I have been doing what I shall call applied machine learning since I was in college when I built an ad classifier for a web crawler I was building at the time. I made the real transition while working in the search team of a web company almost 10 years ago now. Let me first say that I am unlikely to ever design a new novel algorithm like an SVM kernel. I have however studied ML theory extensively and have a good g…

do you have advice on whether it is worth going back to school if your goal is to build novel and useful software/ai tools using deep learning - not necessarily improving the algorithms themselves. Would you expect to still need those 5 things you listed as advice.

Re: Ask HN: How can a front-end developer dive into machine learning?

#128

Post by brookside »

seibelj wrote: post #107
throw_fraud_dev wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a self trained dev (aka horrible person?) who's spent the last 8 years doing back end dev work - mostly C#, Java, Python and now Scala in everything from SV startups to a government research lab. Either I'm an outlier, or you're overestimating the importance of those cherished fundamentals (which can be picked up independently of a degree anyhow).

I think 8 years of experience plus solid references and projects speaks for itself. It's a resume that lists a 3 month boot camp, a github full of forked projects with no original commits (plus the obligatory ToDo app in rails), Senior Software Engineer title, $100k salary demand, leaving their first professional programming job after 6 months, can't speak knowledgeably about basic shit like IPC. I don't... have time…

Posts like this definitely give me a nice flare-up of imposter syndrome. Had not heard the acronym IPC. So I guess I don't even know basic shit.

As a bootcamp graduate, what do you want me to ... do? I can't go back in time and major in CS. My employer is satisfied with my work and I build things I'm asked to build independently. Should I give up a startup salary, inflated as it may be, and ship myself off to a CS monastery?

Re: Ask HN: How can a front-end developer dive into machine learning?

#129

Post by seibelj »

brookside wrote: post #128
seibelj wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think 8 years of experience plus solid references and projects speaks for itself. It's a resume that lists a 3 month boot camp, a github full of forked projects with no original commits (plus the obligatory ToDo app in rails), Senior Software Engineer title, $100k salary demand, leaving their first professional programming job after 6 months, can't speak knowledgeably about basic shit like IPC. I don't... have time…

Posts like this definitely give me a nice flare-up of imposter syndrome. Had not heard the acronym IPC. So I guess I don't even know basic shit. As a bootcamp graduate, what do you want me to ... do? I can't go back in time and major in CS. My employer is satisfied with my work and I build things I'm asked to build independently. Should I give up a startup salary, inflated as it may be, and ship myself off to a CS mo…

Hit the books? That's what I do, I'm reading this one for fun now: https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Kernel-Development-Robert-Love/...

It's awesome. I have a library stacked full of software and CS books. Maybe try to get your bachelors at night? I got my master's at night while working.

This is a craft. If you want to be an expert, train like an expert. Realize 3 months of a bootcamp isn't going to cut it, not at least until you've been working for 4, 6, 8 years.

If you can't tell me what inter process communication is, what it's used for, pipes, signals, etc. then I think you have some pretty big gaps in knowledge that preclude you from being an expert at this point.

Re: Ask HN: How can a front-end developer dive into machine learning?

#130

Post by atarian »

nogbit wrote: post #119

I don't usually comment on HN but when I do... Kidding aside, I've seen these kinds of posts so many times and I want to make sure that for those that are thinking "strategically" about their profession, career and passions then I would advise to buckle down with a good BS in Math at a minimum (or CS). But why? Im your older self telling you that you will grow to really really like and enjoy programming, computers, t…

I'm not sure if I agree with this. This is like saying that the very essence of cooking is chemistry and that in order to fully understand and appreciate how cooking works, a chef should get a MS in Chemistry.
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