Modern frameworks, for machine learning and for career goals

Hack.Chat with Pluralsight

Hack.Diversity
Sep 8, 2018 · 3 min read

“We’re excited to #hackdiversity because at Pluralsight, we want to democratize professional technology training” — Jody Bailey, Head of Technology at Pluralsight

Jody Bailey sharing about his journey to Head of Technology at Pluralsight.

In 2017, IBM published a report, “The Quant Crunch: How The Demand For Data Science Skills Is Disrupting The Job Market,” which highlights data particularly relevant to the value of hacking diversity:

  • Demand for data scientists will soar 28% by 2020
  • Jobs requiring machine learning skills are anticipated to pay an average yearly salary of $114,000.

During our Hack Chat with Pluralsight, we delved into what skills Hack Fellows might incorporate into their repertoires to ride this growth potential.

In abstract

We started the presentation with an exercise in abstract thinking: what are tensors?

We learned to think of them as arrays that can have any number of dimensions: 0, linear, 2D, 3D etc. This leads into the question of, how can we use this concept to represent and make sense of real-world data, and by extent, how can we leverage tensors to solve real-world problems?

This is where things get interesting.

In practice

  • What is the relationship between housing prices and square footage? e.g. a 1:1 comparison
  • What happens when there are two inputs? e.g. housing square footage and local school performance as related to housing prices

Quickly, we saw the vast variety of input-target relationships and configurations that go into training a traditional machine learning model.

Modern pathways toward success

Even more impactful, was learning about the winding career journeys of the folks working in these roles at Pluralsight — a machine learning engineer by way of a political science degree, a CTO by way of a physics degree, a software architect by way of dropping out of high school in favor of hands-on education. This sample of non-traditional career paths converged on shared attributes of hustle, creativity, initiative, and tenacity to land in the roles that they’re in now.

We were energized, and inspired, to end the evening with a reflection that Hack Fellows’ journeys (and what amazing journeys of hustle, creativity, initiative, and tenacity they are) are assets, not detractions.

Per Hack Chat protocol, we welcome our hosts into the Hack family album, NOW LIVE!

Special thanks and appreciation

Want to partner with us for an event? Let us know at info@hackdiversity.com. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Website, and Support!

The Hack.Diversity Movement

Follow our movement towards diversity of talent representation in Boston's high-skilled innovation economy. www.hackdiversity.com

Hack.Diversity

Written by

Program of @newenglandvc, tackling the under-representation of minority talent in Boston’s high-skill innovation economy.

The Hack.Diversity Movement

Follow our movement towards diversity of talent representation in Boston's high-skilled innovation economy. www.hackdiversity.com

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