Opinion
Do I need a degree to do Machine Learning? I’ve refrained from adding my input into this discussion for a long time. One reason is due to the mere fact that I haven’t got a degree. Heck, I just about got an accounting & business diploma – I was 5 years late, but better late than never right? LOL. Another reason why I kept my 2 pence to myself was that I was incapable of articulating why I didn’t go, effectively. If you asked me at the time, my response would have been – "I didn’t go because I was a victim of circumstance. It didn’t make sense to go". It’s that simple.
Now, I’ve managed to put my thoughts together and equipped myself with experience. What qualifies me to have a say on whether education is essential if I’ve never had the experience? Well, I get to do machine learning work every day, without a degree and better yet, without the massive debt – I promise I didn’t mean any shade.
Red pill or Blue pill?
Because you’ve kept scrolling, I assume you want the red pill.
A degree in Data Science or Machine Learning is not a prerequisite for a career in the field.
Sorry.
Look, I get it. This matter is sensitive and subjective. For the reader who spent the past 3/4 years staying up late to finish their dissertation, of course, It’s a hard pill to swallow.
I love the way MJ DeMarco, author of The Millionaire Fastlane, frames this problem. He believes that college degrees are a hyperreality created by what he refers to as the script – we can think of the script as a fake reality being sold to us to maintain order.
"The ‘college degree’ hyperreality is two-pronged. First, it is the idea that intelligence and financial wealth require a college degree, regardless of cost, and more so, a life without one is forever underscored by underemployment and underachievement" – Mj DeMarco, Unscripted.
If Data Science and Machine Learning were highly regulated like the field of medicine then I’d say "absolutely! a degree is necessary.". The further away we move from highly regulated fields, the more unnecessary a degree becomes. This has been made possible with the internet. Don’t believe me? Type "Data Science Courses" or "Machine Learning courses" into your Google search bar and just see how many options you have to choose from.
The age of the internet granted us more access to information than has ever been witnessed. Most things can be mastered online by finding subject matter experts in the field and studying their works then implementing what you have learned.
A degree is typically a symbol for others. Therefore, there is some prestige and merit to earning one, but if someone can do a job of very good quality, would you care if they had a degree? The car you own, did you check to see if the people that assembled it had a degree? The shoes on your feet, did you check if the makers had a degree?
"The college hyperreality’s second prong is the notion that spending a fortune on a degree in whatever you’re passionate about, […], guarantees that there’s a job waiting for you after graduation – and that your degree entitles you to it." – Mj DeMarco, Unscripted
My point being, people get the things they want. If a company wants you to join their data team because they’ve seen your open source contributions, at that point your degree is pointless. They are going to make their move!
Final Thoughts
Weirdly enough, I’m not against degrees. I think people should do them if that is what they want to do. What I am against, is the false notions that are attached to degrees such as the sense of entitlement that people have once they’ve completed their tenure. I don’t blame them, they were sold a dream – a hyperreality, as MJ DeMarco would say. Long story short, A degree does not guarantee work.
Thanks for Reading!
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