Ask Slashdot: How To Get Into Machine Learning?

An anonymous reader writes: I know this is a vague question, but hoping to get some useful feedback anyway. I'm an experienced SW Engineer/Developer who is looking to get into the Machine Learning arena. I have an MS in CS and a solid 15 years of experience in a variety of areas, but no experience in Machine Learning.With that as background, my question is: What is the most time-efficient (and reasonable cost) way to:
(1) Decide whether Machine Learning is for me and
(2) Make myself employable in the field.
An additional constraint is that I can't afford to quit my full-time day job. Thanks.

Comments

Certification?

[MAXOMENOS]

Have you considered online education towards a certificate in machine learning? For example, The University of Washington, via Coursera, offers a certificate in Machine Learning after about 30 weeks of study and a capstone project. You'll need some background in statistics, and familiarity with Python, and you'll have to put in several hours a week. Total cost is about $500.