Find Your Machine Learning Tribe

Get Started And Avoid Getting The Wrong Advice

Machine learning is a fascinating and powerful field of study filled with algorithms and data.

The thing is, there are so many different types of people interested in machine learning, and each has different needs. It is important to understand what it is you want from machine learning and to tailor your self-study to those needs.

If you don’t, you could very easily go down the rabbit hole and get lost, lose interest and not get what you’re looking for.

Find Your Tribe!

In this post you will discover the 10 main groups of people interested in machine learning. I call them machine learning tribes.

You will discover the general needs and the types of resources that each tribe will find most valuable.

Importantly, you can review the 10 tribes and discover where you fit, find comfort that there are other people like you and get an idea of what your next steps could be.

Where do you fit? Leave a comment and let me know.

Find Your Machine Learning Tribe

Find Your Machine Learning Tribe
Photo, some rights reserved.

Avoid Tribe Mismatch, It’s Very Common

You’re interested in machine learning. You ask around and a specific course or book is recommended.

A few hours in, you get frustrated but you’re not sure why.

Has this happened to you?

It’s because the resource you picked up is great, it just might not be great for your specific circumstance.

This is a common problem and I call it the problem of mismatch.

Classic Example of the Developer and the Textbook

A classic example is a developer interested in working through a one-off problem. They are recommended a machine learning textbook.

They purchase it, start reading and never make it past the first chapter.

A textbook is perfect for a student in a graduate machine learning class with 4 years of math class in their recent past.

It is next to useless for a developer, 10 years into their career looking at machine learning as a tool to deliver a result.

This is why it is critical to know about the different groups interested in machine learning and to which group you belong. So that you can find other people like you and start using the resources that will actually help you get the solution you’re after.

10 Machine Learning Tribes

In this section we lay out 10 different groups of people interested in machine learning.

I’ve given each name, highlighted their main goals and interests and listed resources that people in that group can use in their next steps. I’ve also grouped the groups by general theme such as business, academic, engineering and data.

There may be some overlap in the groups. It is also possible that you belong to one or more of them. That’s fine (and I’d love to hear about it in the comments).

Also, we are constraining our interest here to machine learning, not all of data science, which is broader.

Let’s dive in.

Tribes Overview

Here’s a quick snapshot of the 10 tribes:

  • Business Tribes
    • 1) Business Person with a General Interest
    • 2) Manager Interested in Delivering a Project
  • Academic Tribes
    • 3) Machine Learning Student in a Undergraduate or Graduate Class
    • 4) Machine Learning Researcher Interested in Impacting the Field
    • 5) General Researcher Interested in Modeling Their Problem
  • Engineering Tribes
    • 6) Programmer Interested in Implementing Algorithms
    • 7) Developer Interested in Delivering One-Off Predictions
    • 8) Engineer Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services
  • Data Tribes
    • 9) Data Scientist interested in Getting Better Answers to Business Questions
    • 10) Data Analyst interested in Better Explaining Data
Machine Learning Tribes

Mind Map of Machine Learning Tribes

Business Tribes

Generally, these are people interested in harnessing machine learning effectively in their organization, but not necessarily interested in the nuts and bolts of algorithms or tools.

Business people might use terms like business intelligence or predictive analytics, both of which are more general fields that may make use of machine learning techniques.

1) Business Person with a General Interest

This may be anyone from an executive to a consultant who has heard about machine learning and is looking to make use of it strategically, perhaps in upcoming projects or initiatives.

This is not really my area, but some resources that might be useful for more strategic thinking include:

I would also recommend the books in the next section for “Managers“.

Gartner Magic Quadrant for Advanced Analytics Platforms

Gartner Magic Quadrant for Advanced Analytics Platforms Taken from Gartner, all rights reserved.

2) Manager Interested in Delivering a Project

This is a project manager or similar leadership position on a project in which machine learning is being used. It may be a niche feature of the project or core to the project.

Resources that would be useful would be high-level perspectives on the field that relate various classes of problem and algorithm without going into too much detail.

Check out the following books:

Academic Tribes

Generally, these are people interested in machine learning from an academic perspective. They may be students (undergraduate or postgraduate) or otherwise associated with a university.

Additional examples are post-docs, research associates and lectures of various sorts.

Academic tribes may spend a lot of time researching a specific machine learning algorithm in research papers. You can learn more about researching algorithms in the post “How to Research a Machine Learning Algorithm“.

3) Machine Learning Student in a Undergraduate or Graduate Class

A machine learning student is very likely taking a class and interested in hyper-specific questions related to techniques and algorithms.

A student has the structure to focus and the time to dive deeper into the material. They are best served with a textbook. Some of the best machine learning textbooks are as follows:

4) Machine Learning Researcher Interested in Impacting the Field

A machine learning researcher is interested in a deep understanding of one aspect of machine learning to the point of making a minor addition to extend the field.

A researcher is interested in research papers, journals and the organizations and networking that go along with them.

Textbooks don’t cut it, they’re secondary sources and out of date.

Some high-profile machine learning journals and proceedings are:

Checkout the great answers to the Quora question “What are the best conferences and journals about machine learning?“.

Here’s a handy list of the top 50 ranked journals in Artificial Intelligence.

5) General Researcher Interested in Modeling Their Problem

A general researcher may be interested in machine learning, but as a tool. They are most likely interested in building a descriptive or predictive model using their own data.

For example, a scientist from the field of client research, geology, or biology has their own dataset and is looking to create a model in order to make predictions and/or better understand the underlying problem.

They are often less interested in model accuracy and more interested in model explainability. Therefore, simpler well understood methods borrowed from statistics are preferred, such as linear regression and logistic regression.

Nevertheless, good systematic process is desired.

I would recommend the resources under the “Engineering Tribes“, specifically,”Developer Interested in Delivering One-Off Predictions“. Also take a look at the “Data Scientist” group under “Data Tribes“.

Engineering Tribes

Generally, a group of developers that are used to delivering solutions to problems with software and want to incorporate machine learning.

A good general post I recommend for engineers looking to get into machine learning is “Machine Learning for Programmers“.

Engineer Tribes can get a lot of help and support in machine learning communities like those on Q&A sites. For more information, checkout the post “Machine Learning Communities“.

6) Programmer Interested in Implementing Algorithms

An excellent way for a programmer to develop skills in machine learning is to use their existing programming skills and implement machine learning algorithms from scratch.

I talk a lot about this approach and give good tips and resources in my blog post “Understand Machine Learning Algorithms By Implementing Them From Scratch“.

Three books I recommend for this approach taken from that blog post are:

7) Developer Interested in Delivering One-Off Predictions

A developer is not necessarily a great programmer, and programming is not required to develop and deliver an accurate and reliable predictive model.

A one-off predictive model may be required in a business environment for the set of predictions it can provide. It is also a powerful model for self-stud, for working through practice datasets and even machine learning competitions.

You can learn a lot by working systematically through a process on a problem and delivering a standalone model.

Checkout my systematic process for working a machine learning problem end-to-end in the post “Process for working through Machine Learning Problems“.

8) Engineer Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services

An engineer interested in adding machine learning to their software project requires some knowledge of the algorithms, some knowledge of how to work problems end-to-end and knowledge for how to get the algorithm running reliably in an operational environment.

This group of people grow from the previous two groups described and might best be described as a machine learning engineer. They look to use fast algorithms that deliver reliable and accurate results, balancing these concerns.

This group also makes heavy use of machine learning libraries and infrastructure.

Some useful resources on jumpstarting machine learning libraries include:

Also, checkout the post “Building a Production Machine Learning Infrastructure“.

Data Tribes

Generally, this are groups of people that primarily are in data roles but may need to make use of machine learning.

9) Data Scientist interested in Getting Better Answers to Business Questions

The learning does not stop when you’re a data scientist.

You must stay on top of the latest data flows, techniques and algorithms. This includes the machine learning techniques that you need to describe data and create predictive models.

The data scientist can take what they need from the more applied resources listed under “Engineering Tribes“, as well as the more theoretical resources listed under “Academic Tribes“.

Nevertheless, some data science-centric machine learning resources that include this mix are:

10) Data Analyst interested in Better Explaining Data

Data analysts are primarily interested in explaining data in the context of business interests. Sometimes machine learning algorithms are useful for providing more powerful models. Mostly descriptive models, but also sometimes predictive.

Like the group “General Researcher“, this group likely has a good foundation in statistics and statistical inference. Also, given that they are most likely interested in a descriptive model, classical methods like linear and logistic regression may be sufficient. Explainability over accuracy in the resulting model.

Many of the same resources above would be useful, although perhaps with more of a statistical inference stance.

Action Step

In this post you discovered 10 different groups of people interested in machine learning.

Here’s that handy mind map to summarize the 10 tribes:

Machine Learning Tribes

Mind Map of Machine Learning Tribes

Your action step is to review the list and figure out where you belong.

Which group is your tribe? Leave a comment below and let me know.

394 Responses to Find Your Machine Learning Tribe

  1. Avatar
    Najmuddin September 4, 2015 at 11:54 pm #

    Great post! Keep up the good work.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee September 5, 2015 at 8:10 am #

      Much appreciated Najmuddin.

      • Avatar
        Deepak Dubey September 5, 2022 at 4:56 pm #

        Thanks Jason, I was very confused between different tribes and different course suggestions. I was feeling confused like where i am going or where i have to go. But after this, i made my mind. I wanted to implement machine learning to build better software solutions and services.

        Thanks again brother.

        • Avatar
          James Carmichael September 6, 2022 at 7:29 am #

          Hi Deepak…Thank you for your support and feedback! We greatly appreciate it!

      • Avatar
        Princess Leja January 10, 2024 at 2:55 am #

        Hi Jason

        My tribe is No1 and 10. Where business is mentioned, I am there and specifically marketing. I want to use ML for analysing customers and products according to their demographics and target them for business. I I am a holder of BOBIT (Buiness and IT) degree. Some of the links you have cited for my two tribes are now closed. Please provide more.

        With thanks.

  2. Avatar
    Susan Sun September 5, 2015 at 4:24 am #

    I’m in group 10. 🙂

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee September 5, 2015 at 8:11 am #

      Thanks Susan, I wonder if a text like “The Elements of Statistical Learning” would be a good place to start for you?

    • Avatar
      TomF May 14, 2019 at 1:24 am #

      How about ‘old Windows/VMWare guy tired of maintaining OSs, wanting s more valuable skillset, and needing to stay employed for 15 mores years”? I guess 9.

      • Avatar
        Jason Brownlee May 14, 2019 at 7:48 am #

        Yes.

        There are many ways to deliver value with this tool set!

      • Avatar
        George Muchiza February 11, 2020 at 7:02 pm #

        Wow, very inspiring and helpful. You have dissected the machine learning ‘myth’ to bare bones. Now as a relatively new comer? I can identify not path but the resources to work with as well.
        Thank ypu Jason.
        Your posts are always brilliant by the way….

  3. Avatar
    Justin September 5, 2015 at 7:49 am #

    This is excellent! Very well thought out and communicated. Thank you for all the resources as well!

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee September 5, 2015 at 8:09 am #

      Thanks Justin.

      • Avatar
        Ashabkaar July 19, 2019 at 8:10 pm #

        Hi i belong ti group 8.machine Learning Engineer.
        Tnx Mr jason for ur sound, effective & motivated post.

    • Avatar
      Amit September 7, 2015 at 7:54 am #

      I am in Group-8 – machine learning engineer. That would be a great job title.

  4. Avatar
    hexcola September 5, 2015 at 2:10 pm #

    Thank you, Jason, this is really awesome!

    I’m a programmer, I think group 8 fit me well, and for my business, group 9 will help a lot, any advice?

    btw, can I translate your blog to Chinese and post to my blog? It definitely will help a lot of people, and I will keep your original link for sure.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee September 5, 2015 at 5:18 pm #

      Very nice hexcola.

      Rather than translate, why not start your own blog and share your machine learning journey!?

  5. Avatar
    Viral Rathod September 5, 2015 at 4:41 pm #

    Great way to start my ml learning. Really useful to identify yourselves as one of the mentioned tribes. I’m 8! Thanks Jason.

  6. Avatar
    Srinivasan September 7, 2015 at 3:42 am #

    I belong to Tribe-2. But would want to build deep knowledge in Machine learning in next couple of months by implementing/using some of the algorithms. So on the journey of trying few algorithms and learning Python and R now. Your post is very useful. Thanks a lot.

  7. Avatar
    Beatrice September 7, 2015 at 9:03 pm #

    General Researcher Interested in Modeling Their Problem

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee September 8, 2015 at 5:51 am #

      Thanks Beatrice!

      • Avatar
        Chris October 14, 2017 at 3:30 pm #

        Hi Jason,

        Im a guy in South Africa and would like to get into machine learning. I do not have an IT background. Is there space in the area of learning for someon with no IT background to develop a career in the field? And what areas can one get into if one gets into business as a ml consultant?

  8. Avatar
    Amedeo September 8, 2015 at 11:05 pm #

    Excellent Jason! We are a start up on advanced analytics and all of us follow your blog and waiting with lot of interest your mail. Thanks Jason!

  9. Avatar
    Osayame David Gaius-Obaseki September 16, 2015 at 3:44 am #

    Hi Jason,

    I’m in Group 8, but often find myself in Group 3. I am currently entering grad school, and looking forward to taking some courses. More importantly, for my tribe (8), learning ML algorithms and reading papers is a means to an end (building cool things). I’ve found that keeping the end in mind, and being given room to tinker (break things quickly) prevents frustration or boredom.

  10. Avatar
    Emily December 3, 2015 at 12:21 am #

    Jason, this is a fantastic concept! I’m preparing a presentation on instructional design as part of interviewing for IBM Watson Health (keep your fingers crossed for me). To discuss my design process (quite similar to UI design process) I need a context and machine learning seems a good fit. But of course it’s a hugely complex topic and I’m not a programmer, so it’s like pulling a rabbit out of a hat to put together a *very* simple, but accurate story. Your mind map is perfect. I’ll be sure to include a reference to your website in my discussion. Congrats on teaching a maths-avoidant, right-brained baby-boomer mom the basics! Cheers from Boston, MA.

  11. Avatar
    Reet January 3, 2016 at 7:42 pm #

    I belongs to groups 6, 7, and 8.

  12. Avatar
    Pankaj January 16, 2016 at 5:27 am #

    I guess group 9 and 10 suit me the best

  13. Avatar
    Brent February 4, 2016 at 3:27 pm #

    I’m a bit of the 3 major groups. I’d pick 1, 5, and 10.

  14. Avatar
    john February 12, 2016 at 11:55 pm #

    I’ve been surfing online more than three hours nowadays,
    but I by no means discovered any attention-grabbing article like yours.
    It is pretty value enough for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made good content as you probably did, the web
    will likely be much more useful than ever before.

  15. Avatar
    canismajoris April 13, 2016 at 3:19 am #

    I belong to 8…try hard to move into 4 & 5…hope someone accepts me as their student!!

    • Avatar
      canismajoris April 13, 2016 at 3:20 am #

      *trying…!!

  16. Avatar
    César Gomes July 19, 2016 at 4:02 am #

    Congratulations for explanation about theme! I liked it so much reading that did not even notice the time pass…

  17. Avatar
    David Snyder July 20, 2016 at 12:31 am #

    Jason,

    Really nice article.

    I’m definitely in one of the Engineering tribes. As I’m just getting started, I’m probably place myself in Group 6. But I hope to continue growing my knowledge and gain deeper and deeper understanding in machine learning.

  18. Avatar
    Jim August 13, 2016 at 12:24 am #

    I’m in 8 – Engineer Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services –

    Maybe a quick visualisation of feedback received would be good Jason, just a pie chart as feedback comes in, see who everyone identifies with the most!

  19. Avatar
    Omri September 29, 2016 at 4:56 pm #

    I’m in group 9. I am already familiar with many ML approaches but want to have a deeper understanding in order to support my product better. The assumptions (both statistical and practical) of each model plays a crucial part of the decision on which model to invest.

    Are there any additional resources besides the three books that people like me would fine relevant?

    I hope I gave enough information.

    Thanks for the site! It’s excellent!
    Omri

  20. Avatar
    Young October 12, 2016 at 12:41 am #

    I’m in group 3
    Thanks

  21. Avatar
    Abhishek October 23, 2016 at 9:55 pm #

    I somehow don’t belong to any of the tribe. Because, I am trying to make a career change. I do have an engineering background and with it comes the mathematics background. Also, I have some experience in python (mostly through online courses). Can you help me understand where I belong and how i can proceed?
    p.s. I am doing Machine Learning course offered by University of Washington on Coursera.

    Thanks, looking forward to learning from you.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee October 24, 2016 at 7:06 am #

      Hi Abhishek,

      Think about why you want to learn machine learning and what you want to be able to do with the skill.

      Focus on where you want to be and then associate with that tribe.

      • Avatar
        abhishek gawde October 24, 2016 at 8:02 pm #

        Thanks that would help! Just love this site!

  22. Avatar
    Eric October 28, 2016 at 9:54 pm #

    Any book or textbook you recommend for someone that is curious about machine learning. But is just exploring or testing the waters right now?

  23. Avatar
    Yashraj December 2, 2016 at 9:37 pm #

    I am in group 8. Engineer Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services

  24. Avatar
    Christopher December 15, 2016 at 7:19 am #

    Nice, I am in groups 3 and 8! I am currently an Undergraduate Student, and I desire to develop production machine learning infrastructures, as well as go a bit more in-depth through various textbooks.

  25. Avatar
    Scarlett December 20, 2016 at 6:38 am #

    Graduate Student just starting out with Machine Learning! Learning more and more about this field and preparing myself to dive into it. Wish me luck!

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee December 20, 2016 at 7:24 am #

      Good luck Scarlett!

      Ask lots of questions.

    • Avatar
      Benson February 25, 2017 at 6:52 pm #

      Hi Scarlet,

      How far have you gone into ML?

      I think I am in the same position as you and looking for someone to develop with.

      I am free to share and discuss if you are still in the ML pathway.

      Regards,

      Benson

  26. Avatar
    Paul December 27, 2016 at 4:08 am #

    Jason
    Thank you for the wonderful post. You always provide context in an area that is so vast that it is easy to get lost, become disillusioned and quit. Keep it up.
    I bought your bundle on ML and the ebooks are great.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee December 27, 2016 at 5:25 am #

      Thanks for your kind words and your support Paul, I really appreciate it!

  27. Avatar
    Jai December 27, 2016 at 11:36 pm #

    Hey man! Which category would i fit into if I want to apply machine learning to stuff like poker and board games? Or maybe trying to use it in the stock market?
    Which book/course/path would you recommend to such a person?

  28. Avatar
    steve pan December 30, 2016 at 2:41 pm #

    I’m in group 10

  29. Avatar
    Shailesh January 6, 2017 at 7:13 pm #

    Thanks for all the info in this post! Helps me focus my efforts to build expertise a lot. I think I’m mostly an 8 with some 6 & 1 thrown in there as well but have been a little off track by struggling through the mathematical theory. Wondering if you know of any good online communities for #8??

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee January 7, 2017 at 8:26 am #

      Hi Shailesh, nice!

      Some ideas for communities for building smart software:

      To some extent this site.
      The IOT guys are very interested in using time series effectively in their apps – good guys to talk to.
      To a lower degree, some of the AI game devs communities are good to talk to.

      It is lonely. When I was building predictive models for operational use, the best guys to talk to were subject matter experts.

  30. Avatar
    Malak Pirtskhalava January 7, 2017 at 9:00 pm #

    I belongs to groups 5 and 7

  31. Avatar
    Lidi January 18, 2017 at 12:48 am #

    Thanks for your nice job.
    I’m a statistician and looking for a data analyst position. So I think Groups 9 and 10 are a better fit for me.

  32. Avatar
    Dark January 21, 2017 at 10:13 pm #

    It was really an awesome post for people who is striving to learn machine learning. But in my case, i am a last year student in instrumentation engineering and i want to do a good project in machine learning using R. So is it possible to do a good project in 2 months which will really help my cv to showcase my skills.
    And Thanks a lot for what you are writing, because it really helped to know it in deeper way.

  33. Avatar
    Precious January 22, 2017 at 1:22 pm #

    I belong to the 3rd category. It has been very challenging its definitely worth it.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee January 23, 2017 at 8:35 am #

      Thanks Precious, it’s great to have you here!

  34. Avatar
    Richard February 18, 2017 at 2:01 pm #

    I feel like I’m all over the place! I’m a developer-turned-manager responsible for everything related to databases at my workplace. I still like to program though. So I think I’m a 1 since I think we could use machine learning to do some predictions based on our data but I’m definitely a 6 and 7 as well. Have a lot to learn but that will be part of the challenge!

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee February 19, 2017 at 8:43 am #

      Hang in there Richard!

    • Avatar
      Jeff B April 1, 2017 at 5:37 am #

      Hi Richard,

      I very much relate to your experience. Feels like drinking out of a firehose. I would say I’m a 1, 6, 7 as well.
      Thank you Jason for your informative and extremely helpful emails.

      • Avatar
        Jason Brownlee April 1, 2017 at 5:59 am #

        Take it slow, pick one area, one tool, one problem type. Slowly develop a portfolio to build confidence.

        There’s no rush, applied machine learning is a long-term pursuit.

  35. Avatar
    Benson February 25, 2017 at 7:05 pm #

    Hello Jason,

    A very informative post. Many thanks.

    I think I am a 5, 6 , 7. I am only beginning to understand the ML general overview. I have successfully installed Python and Anaconda set of tools, and tested Ok using a long code I copied and pasted. Results look great as expected.

    Now I think it’s time to learn syntax I suppose ? The word CONFUSION is a great friend sometimes as you try to learn syntax

  36. Avatar
    William Dekou March 4, 2017 at 8:19 am #

    8) Engineer Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services

  37. Avatar
    Geet March 6, 2017 at 4:28 pm #

    It is very useful jason. I am in the group 9.

  38. Avatar
    Ramesh S March 8, 2017 at 8:23 pm #

    I fall into Engineering Tribe and I am in the group 8.

  39. Avatar
    Kathiravan March 16, 2017 at 6:10 pm #

    Hi Jason, The way you explain things and the order is simply awesome. I fall into Group 6 “Programmer Interested in Implementing Algorithms”

  40. Avatar
    Shreyas Rajesh April 4, 2017 at 3:46 am #

    Hi Jason,

    I have really liked all your articles about machine learning. This one is one of the best though. Really makes my interests more clear. Although, I am still undecided which of these categories I belong to. I am still an undergraduate student but I am greatly interested in learning more in detail about machine learning and applying it in the future in the field of artificial intelligence and hopefully one day try to develop new AI softwares to help the world simplying their tasks. Can you tell me which category you would classify that interest as. Also, I would love it if you could guide me in how to go about learning and developing machine learning skills. I have so far only done some basic java programming but nothing to do with machine learning yet.

  41. Avatar
    fege April 14, 2017 at 4:32 am #

    Blog is very helpful and i guess i’m in 8 🙂

  42. Avatar
    Stephen April 16, 2017 at 9:39 am #

    I had a really hard time fitting myself into any one of these groups:
    I’m a professional software engineer, but my goals for machine learning as VERY far from my day job.
    I love statistics, numbers, and deriving information from data, but I don’t have a math degree and wouldn’t dare calling myself a Data Analyst.
    I want to build systems, but the application to build around doesn’t exist yet. The artificial intelligence aspect is the main in most of those designs.

    Here’s my goal: machine learning and data analysis for AIs for robots and chat bots.
    Also, learning “without the math” doesn’t appeal to me. It’s great if something works, but being incompetent without a tool or library feels like a bad idea to me.

    Help?

    Sorry for the long comment

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee April 17, 2017 at 5:06 am #

      Perhaps ML Mastery is not the best place for you?

      • Avatar
        Praveen September 13, 2017 at 6:34 pm #

        any resources for building AI / ML powered robots Jason ? I feel 8) Engineer Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services will fit for robotics. What do you say ?

        • Avatar
          Jason Brownlee September 15, 2017 at 12:02 pm #

          Sorry, I don’t have advice about robots. Perhaps start with small table top examples?

  43. Avatar
    Phanindra April 27, 2017 at 8:01 pm #

    Before reading this blog… I had done a bit of research and searched for a text book to get started into ML. First textbook I started with had too much of maths for me (me already being 5 years into my programming career). I was not very satisfied with the book or the approach it had taken. Then I stumbled across the book “Machine Learning in Action” (mentioned above). It proved quite good since it seems to be a book written for seasoned programmers rather than students. I am happy to continue on this path. But my question is this… Even though I have been programming for more than 10 years this is my first time interaction with Python…

    So i was wondering do I go back and learn Python completely before attempting ML?

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee April 28, 2017 at 7:39 am #

      No need, you can learn machine learning with your preferred programming language.

      I focus on Python and R on my blog because they are popular.

      Most of the production ML I have built runs in FORTRAN and Java.

  44. Avatar
    Vrushali May 18, 2017 at 8:23 pm #

    Very nice blog! Just curious why there is no girl in the photo? 🙂

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee May 19, 2017 at 8:17 am #

      Thanks.

      No idea, it was a random creative commons photo. I do not mean to offend in any way at all.

  45. Avatar
    Saugat May 21, 2017 at 9:31 am #

    I am in group 3. Hoping to learn something interesting and creating something cool while doing my UG.

  46. Avatar
    Ramakrishna May 27, 2017 at 4:17 pm #

    I am in 3,4,8 groups

  47. Avatar
    Gagan June 12, 2017 at 12:37 am #

    Machine Learning Researcher Interested in Impacting the Field

  48. Avatar
    Alexvitk June 13, 2017 at 4:28 am #

    i dont know exactly my tribe, may be "Business Person with a General Interest") im a trader on NYSE, i want to automate my strategy with ML and i hope your interesting blog wiil help me) (i`m not developer of course)

  49. Avatar
    Vijayaraj June 22, 2017 at 1:53 pm #

    Appreciate this. Give clarity and focus for those who are about to start the “journey”.
    Thanks.

  50. Avatar
    Fan Li June 23, 2017 at 8:27 pm #

    Academy tribe

  51. Avatar
    JTsao June 29, 2017 at 5:02 am #

    Jason.
    This is a great practical guide.
    I thought there might be also classification based on applications that can overlay on top of your guide.
    For example, chatbot for eCommerce is a single purpose development but it involves the currently evolving research in end-to-end neural network, that generally would be best worked by new or recent PhD’s interested in research. This is true with machine vision for self-driving cars that utilizes complex neural networks.

  52. Avatar
    Sonali July 4, 2017 at 2:35 am #

    Jason – I enjoy your blog-posts, and this one is awesome. Thanks for the matching resources (well thought out). I am in Tribe 2 and 8. I guess in today’s world, one has to straddle categories. Thanks and keep up the good work.

  53. Avatar
    Utkarsh Agarwal July 11, 2017 at 5:19 pm #

    Hi Jason

    I feel like I am in group 6 an well as group 10.
    Can these two groups go hand in hand?

    Thanks

  54. Avatar
    Matches Malonee July 14, 2017 at 6:30 am #

    Hi Jason.

    I read your post, and thought about the tribe that I’d be most comfortable in. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to decide where I belong. I do wish to pursue ML, but I never thought that ML will be such a big umbrella. Honestly, I’m a bit overwhelmed.

    I need some time. I’m hoping that you can recommend some general, non-specific, ML books that I can get started with and then study about a topic that catches my eye, in detail. Are there any texts/resources that every ML student must read? If so, then I’d be grateful if you could tell me about them. At least this way, I’d get into the learning part, without allotting way too much time to just picking out resources.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee July 14, 2017 at 8:36 am #

      Start small and figure it out along the way, like the rest of life.

  55. Avatar
    Purnima July 14, 2017 at 7:07 pm #

    I am a software tester, so as per my understanding i will not belong to any tribe. but i want to learn ML. so how do i start?

  56. Avatar
    rakesh kumar July 21, 2017 at 7:38 pm #

    I am in group 3

  57. Avatar
    Billy July 26, 2017 at 11:58 pm #

    Group 9. Many hours of frustration-meandering-wallowing. Your work is like a well-rested bright clear morning. Simple complete succession of English statements containing the ideas is the most difficult to find.

    If I understand the idea, I can figure out the implementation.

    Instead practitioners are tying to learn themselves with incomplete explanations and academicians are ardently explaining in absence of any context.

    Once self-identified, where does one find tribe-centric material, conversations, best practices?

    Hats off compadre!

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee July 27, 2017 at 8:09 am #

      Thanks Billy.

      Well, most of the material out there is for academics and researchers.

      There are some practitioner type material like this blog and some O’Reilly type books.

      My proposal is that once you know what you want/where you fit, that you can use that as a filter to help choose what material will get you closer to your goal.

      Does that help Billy?

  58. Avatar
    Rohan Talesara August 22, 2017 at 2:46 am #

    Amazing post!! This is probably what I was looking for to give my endeavors the correct direction…I belong to the second tribe, and it’s great to know that I’m not alone!

  59. Avatar
    Arnav Simer August 25, 2017 at 1:08 pm #

    I am from Engineer “Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services”

  60. Avatar
    Shubham Kumar August 31, 2017 at 5:19 am #

    I was wondering how much Data Structures and Algorithms do I need to know if I mainly want to focus on the Machine Learning or Deep Learning aspect of personal software projects.
    Say, if I want to build a Django website that uses ML algorithms to function.
    I have gone through lots of Machine Learning content, but never came across any DSA

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee August 31, 2017 at 6:27 am #

      A deeper understanding of algorithms and data structures will help you better understand how algorithms work and how to use them more effectively, but it is not required when getting started.

      You do not need to be a mechanic to dive a car.

  61. Avatar
    Satya Dikshit September 18, 2017 at 11:24 pm #

    Hi Jason,

    I am a systems administrator trying to make a career shift to Machine Learning. But, I don’t fit into any of the tribes that you have listed. I have no prior experience in programming but i have started learning Python on my own. I think I want to belong to tribe 8 (Engineer Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services) which requires lot of ground work.
    But like you have mentioned in your posts, I will take a leap and see where this goes.

    BTW, Your posts are awesome.

  62. Avatar
    Narendra October 25, 2017 at 10:07 pm #

    Thank you so much for the methodical segregation of tribes.

    Am Narendra. Currently am a computer engineer with little algorithm and data structures background, presently working as a software tester, my long term aspiration is to understand machine learning and be working in the field of machine learning (in another 1 or 2 years).

    Will i be a better fit in tribe 6 or tribe 3 to get started ?

    Regards,
    Narendra

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee October 26, 2017 at 5:27 am #

      Thanks Narendra.

      I would recommend starting where you feel most comfortable.

  63. Avatar
    Chad B October 27, 2017 at 6:29 am #

    Thanks Jason,

    I definitely fall into the 5/9 category. I have ended up in small companies mostly with their thoughts of:
    (1) get data
    (2) do machine learning
    (3) Profit!
    without any real business goals other than profit. I’ve hopped away from that start-up mentality and am in a more mature company though still in more of a research style role though often with well defined business objectives.

    I often use ideas in your blog as i navigate the ML/DL environment

  64. Avatar
    Seyni November 4, 2017 at 1:49 am #

    I am interested in the Academic Tribe but I can’t afford the books.
    Does Someone has some electronic books to send?

  65. Avatar
    Amitabh Roy November 10, 2017 at 3:48 pm #

    Thanks for giving such a nice categorization!
    I belong to Tribe 8.

  66. Avatar
    sai chand November 10, 2017 at 8:10 pm #

    I belong to engineering tribe

    6) Programmer Interested in Implementing Algorithms

  67. Avatar
    Heloiza Stam November 13, 2017 at 10:30 pm #

    Hi Jason, this article was enlightening, thank you! I’m studying Data Science and as I’m looking for positions in this field I encounter some confusion with the terminologies being used. As I’m in entry level, in this field, the ones that I find it more confusing are those where in the job description you see that there is not much infrastructure for the work of the data science its more like, ” We have data, come and find important insights”. However, for machine learning engineer positions its better established challenges. As I used to work with Organizational Network Analysis its clear to me the gap between IT and Business Units in some corporations where IT is treated more like a support role, than strategic. I would like to here your thought on that and with you have any tips on how to be more assertive in the job search. Best to you!

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee November 14, 2017 at 10:17 am #

      Sorry, I don’t have good general advice for job searching.

      Generally, for entry-level roles, I see that if you can turn up with a strong portfolio of completed projects (showing you know how to work through problems end to end on your own), that this is more variable than showing you have completed MOOC courses and such.

      I have some advice here on the topic:
      https://machinelearningmastery.com/build-a-machine-learning-portfolio/

  68. Avatar
    Sen November 23, 2017 at 11:15 pm #

    I can associate closely with group (8), my inhibitions are however programming prowess and I probably need to work on becoming a better programmer. I do think I have an end-to-end vision and would like to learn to apply ML to industry problems in telecommunications or connected devices or such. As of now I dont have a clear picture of where and how ML can be applied.

  69. Avatar
    Harsh Gautam December 9, 2017 at 1:17 am #

    I am able to connect myself with 3rd, 6th & 8th tribe.

  70. Avatar
    Sara December 9, 2017 at 8:32 am #

    6 and 7, aiming to reach 8 at some point.

  71. Avatar
    Sara December 9, 2017 at 8:35 am #

    6 and 7 because I’m an engineer and I want to know how to code algorithms but not so deeply, I’d be more interested in making predictions. I want to be in 8th group after becoming better in 7, because as you said logically the 8th comes from 6 and 7.

  72. Avatar
    Prakash Balakrishnan December 9, 2017 at 8:36 am #

    I think I fall into Engineering tribe (7 and 8) but looking forward to get into Data Tribe 9 .

  73. Avatar
    Mukesh Shende December 17, 2017 at 10:15 pm #

    This is great stuff Jason. This and previous post on “Why Get Into Machine Learning?” has started opening my mind about some things I have been probably missing. Particularly around letting people know about my knowledge and skills into this field and expertise I can offer.
    I see myself strongly in Data Tribes. Primarily into group 9 “Data Scientist interested in getting better answers to business questions” with good overlap in group 10 “Data analyst interested in better explaining data” too.
    I also see myself inclined to a group 4 “Machine Learning Researcher Interested in Impacting the field”

  74. Avatar
    Jesús Martínez December 19, 2017 at 4:02 am #

    I’m in group 8! This is a really good article, Jason. Thank you very much for your time and dedication. Your blog is awesome!

  75. Avatar
    Rizwan Mian December 20, 2017 at 3:20 am #

    Off topic: I enjoy looking at Gartner’s Hype charts and Magic Quadrants, and use them in my writing. About Magic Quadrant, I find it difficult to interpret which block a company should be. That is, which block is good or bad. To me, all blocks look good. For example, Revolution Analytics is in Niche Players, which seems pretty good to me. However, it is not in Challengers. Won’t a niche player challenging the status quo. Similarly, Microsoft is in the Visionary quadrant but not a leader. They seem synonymous to me.

  76. Avatar
    Rizwan Mian December 20, 2017 at 5:27 am #

    I am in group 8, 9 and 10. Wonder how can I find the relevant communities, forums etc.?

    Separately, where would you put Kaggle-lers?

  77. Avatar
    Sergey January 7, 2018 at 3:38 am #

    Hi!
    Going to join tribe 8 as “machine learning engineer” sound great. 🙂
    Thank you for your blog!

  78. Avatar
    Vijay January 9, 2018 at 2:48 am #

    I belong to the category of Engineering Tribe. My interest is an intersection of 6,7,8 categories.

  79. Avatar
    Pallavi s January 10, 2018 at 9:42 pm #

    The Best Article for ML Beginners. Categorization of Machine Learning Tribes is very useful and informative.

  80. Avatar
    Rajkumar January 11, 2018 at 1:02 pm #

    What is the role of Quality Analyst in Machine learning platform? Is it a good idea to take Machine learning as next step in career being a QA?

  81. Avatar
    Bea January 13, 2018 at 1:06 am #

    Business and Data groups. I will start with learning the basics of Phyton and R (and a bit of SQL), and will take it from there. Also, need to finish all the steps in your email tutorials. Btw, those are great. Thank you!

  82. Avatar
    tirumalesh March 8, 2018 at 3:08 am #

    i used to take tribe a 8 in “machine learning”

  83. Avatar
    JJ March 9, 2018 at 2:14 pm #

    I’m in groups 6, 7, and 8.

  84. Avatar
    Nivedita March 13, 2018 at 1:08 am #

    Jason: I belong to tribe 1,2 or 9,10. as I am interested in understanding what business problems can machine learning solve, specific to retail (FMCG) or Healthcare industries.

  85. Avatar
    Gowtham March 18, 2018 at 10:41 am #

    I’m a student in undergraduate class but I don’t have machine learning as my subject now. ML is my own interest apart of my college syllabus I’m working on ML which I feel facinated about

  86. Avatar
    Amritbani Sondhi March 18, 2018 at 8:53 pm #

    Thank you so much for putting this out!

  87. Avatar
    Adam March 22, 2018 at 1:39 pm #

    Great analysis. Know your student and/or customer is the first step to teaching or business success. I would just add that there is often a difference between NLP and quantitative data that may make or break finding a tribe. Working on similar datasets seems critical to the experience and ability to give tips to others.

  88. Avatar
    Asher Ahmad April 4, 2018 at 3:48 am #

    I’m in Group 3.
    Fantastic Mr Jason you’re my inspiration to learn machine learning. Efficiently described everything. keep up the work. Thank You 🙂

  89. Avatar
    Dulaj Chathuranga April 13, 2018 at 3:58 pm #

    I am in Group 3, who is determined to self-teaching ML with a weak Math background and interested to go to the Groups 4 & 8. Thanks for doing this great blog, Dr Brownlee.

  90. Avatar
    Rohit Vashisht April 20, 2018 at 3:44 pm #

    Hi Jason,
    I fall in Data tribes..

  91. Avatar
    Jon May 3, 2018 at 1:11 pm #

    Jason,

    As usual great analysis (categorization, right?) on the different tribes. Since I have an intense SWE background I would probably be a 6 or 8.

    Please keep up the good work! It’s evident you’ve spent quite a bit of effort in your tutorials and blogs, and they are making a big difference for me.

    Thank you,

  92. Avatar
    Sagar Jain May 12, 2018 at 4:15 pm #

    I am a software engineer, working on my ways to provide software solution in the finance field. I think I will definitely belong to either 6th or 8th tribe. Your blog is one of the best ways to learn machine learning for people of having full-time jobs without getting overwhelmed by theoretical knowledge…Thanks a lot…Keep it up.

  93. Avatar
    Swapnil Katpally May 20, 2018 at 4:25 am #

    I would like to implement the algorithms with programming. So i am on 6th tribe. Thanks Jason for classification.

  94. Avatar
    Leo June 12, 2018 at 12:26 am #

    Hi Jason,

    I want to do research in the field of AI. I have math and statistics background but not many ML application experience. Should I go straight to the papers and journals or should I try practicing more first?

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee June 12, 2018 at 6:43 am #

      It depends on your goals Leo.

      If you want to add value in business, focus on working through predictive modeling problems and delivering a result.

      • Avatar
        Leandro June 13, 2018 at 2:11 am #

        My interest is to enter tribe 4 Machine Learning Researcher Interested in Impacting the Field

  95. Avatar
    Daxesh June 23, 2018 at 3:05 pm #

    This is so great. This classification helped me to focus on my intrest only. This is highly recommended.

  96. Avatar
    Pranav July 6, 2018 at 11:55 am #

    I’m in the academics group.

  97. Avatar
    Animesh July 13, 2018 at 12:38 am #

    I think I belong to 4 and 5, as I’m an undergraduate instrested in learning Machine learning.

  98. Avatar
    Tiago July 13, 2018 at 6:36 am #

    I’m in group 4 and 5, but with 10 years stopped in this line of research.

  99. Avatar
    Rahul August 2, 2018 at 8:28 pm #

    I belongs to Engineering Tribe

  100. Avatar
    Django August 7, 2018 at 10:42 am #

    Between 5 and “I believe this tool might be useful for future research aims”

  101. Avatar
    SUNNY BARNWAL August 9, 2018 at 3:25 am #

    I belong to group 3

  102. Avatar
    Mukul Jain August 26, 2018 at 11:04 pm #

    Woah, great post. I’m surely belong to group 6 and also little of 8 🙂

  103. Avatar
    Nguyễn Quang Cường August 31, 2018 at 2:35 pm #

    Thanks Jason,

    Your post is very usefull for me, I’m mechatronics engenear, I want to make about robot so I think that I’m belong to group 6, right?
    I want to make robot auto find the fast road to goal, If I only read the books belong to group 6, can I make that robot?

    Thanks

  104. Avatar
    Ishan Garg September 18, 2018 at 7:24 pm #

    I belong to group 6 and 8.

  105. Avatar
    Abhay Chaturvedi September 22, 2018 at 12:44 am #

    Want to get into the 8th

  106. Avatar
    Koundinya Srikonda September 25, 2018 at 5:55 pm #

    Hello Jason,

    Thanks for the lovely blog. It really gave me a good overall picture.
    I’m a software engineer with 8+ years of experience, but got fascinated by Machine Learning/Data Science very recently. I feel like I fall into group 6, but will be happy if you confirm my choice. I’d be glad to get your assistance on how to go about achieving my goals.

  107. Avatar
    Zaheer September 26, 2018 at 4:35 pm #

    Amazing classification. Came across ML through some friends, with 15 years of experience in linux, I belong to group 8. Where should i start if i were to use Python?

  108. Avatar
    Rajat Sharma October 5, 2018 at 3:14 pm #

    Thank you very much for this amazing blog, I love your work a lot. I am an electronics engineering student and I want to learn ML to make some solutions. Could you please tell me my tribe.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee October 6, 2018 at 5:40 am #

      Thanks.

      Perhaps pick a tribe that best aligns with your goals.

  109. Avatar
    Naseem October 21, 2018 at 9:17 pm #

    This Really Helped Me In Deciding My Tribe.
    Machine Learning Student in an Undergraduate or Graduate Class

  110. Avatar
    AhmedGharib October 24, 2018 at 7:12 am #

    Great Great Great Plog!

    I just want to ask, Why didn’t you include those who are interested in the Artistic and creative applications of machine learning ?

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee October 24, 2018 at 2:39 pm #

      Good question. I guess I’m not familiar with the artistic/creative use of algorithms, sorry.

      Are you familiar with that side? How does it work exactly?

  111. Avatar
    Edjo Okonubin November 1, 2018 at 8:27 am #

    Hello Jason, thank you indeed for this very educating and enlightening post. It has cleared a thick fog about my career path in machine learning. I definitely belong to Tribe 7, aspiring to Tribe 9. I am deeply interested in using machine learning techniques and approaches to generate powerful insights that give businesses a superior competitive edge in the market place. That’s my key motivation for becoming a machine learning practitioner. Your blog has been a veritable companion on this journey. Keep up the good work!

  112. Avatar
    Inti November 5, 2018 at 12:10 am #

    I am more close to tribe 8, however I am in pursuit of applying ML or Predictive Analysis in software testing (not web app testing). Any specific pointers that can illuminate my path?

    Thank You

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee November 5, 2018 at 6:14 am #

      Perhaps seek out papers on the topic and get an idea what about the state of the art.

  113. Avatar
    Nina November 8, 2018 at 12:58 am #

    Group 5 for me!

  114. Avatar
    VahidGlngy November 27, 2018 at 5:59 am #

    I am in tribe 6 and 8.
    i am android and ios Developer . and interested in ML .

  115. Avatar
    Ruben December 4, 2018 at 2:36 pm #

    I’m 8 or 10. Excellent Jason.

  116. Avatar
    Stephen Dietz December 6, 2018 at 8:11 am #

    I think I’m 6 or 8. I haven’t dabbled in programming since highschool and it’s been coming back up at my current work that it is something I want to pursue. I just don’t know where to start. I have python but can’t think of where to get started or how to for that matter.

  117. Avatar
    Pratik December 7, 2018 at 7:39 am #

    I fit in 6, have tried tensorflow a little, did some courses also, but the courses didn’t get me excited to continue

  118. Avatar
    Ali December 17, 2018 at 6:22 pm #

    Thanks Mr. Jason, for providing such good articles.
    I believe that I fit in both 6 and 8. I’m going for “Machine Learning in Action” and “Building Machine Learning Systems with Python”.
    I’m already a programmer and need to expand my knowledge. I tried learning AI before but like what you said in your other article, I got overwhelmed with a lot of information (math, algorithms, languages…) and left the course behind.
    But trying to get my hands dirty again and this time, just top-down approach and what I need.
    Thanks again

  119. Avatar
    Alejandro Avella January 23, 2019 at 8:01 am #

    https://bit.ly/2MqmRCD – MIT online course for business people – Tribe 1

    5) General Researcher Interested in Modeling Their Problem is one area that I fit

    Also, I am interested on testing AI systems. For example, how to test ASR, NLU and TTS systems that are based on AI.

  120. Avatar
    Ashish P March 6, 2019 at 4:56 am #

    Hi Jason,
    Thank you for the excellent resources you have created. I am surprised that google did not direct me to you earlier .(I came across you when I was searching for power analysis introductions.)

    I have Masters in Physics and Bachelors in Electrical engineering. I have worked on verification for very short amount of time, and I did not enjoy it. Due to few pesonal issues I have been out of workforce for last couple of years. I have started machine learning journey because of its potential, work availability and because it excites me !

    I would fall in following order-

    9. Data Analytics + Data explanation and novel exploration & intelligence.Images,sound,natural phenomenon, or any wide variety of data about which would teach me new things about world.
    ( I know tall order ! but since you have created such wonderful and detailed resource, you deserve a detailed answer from someone you are trying to help)

    10. Data Science + Business- Have to make money and make lives of people better !

    11. General Researcher – On last position because its not in current plan, but definitely in future !

    Again, Warmest thanks for your efforts!

  121. Avatar
    Buba March 12, 2019 at 7:37 pm #

    I would like to work on improving search engines and recommendation systems.

  122. Avatar
    Aditya Goyal March 19, 2019 at 2:57 am #

    I’m in none of these tribes. I’m just a high school graduate willing to get into the maze of machine learning without gettting lost.

  123. Avatar
    Fredrick Ughimi March 19, 2019 at 11:24 am #

    Hello Jason,

    Excellent categorization (tribes).

    I fall in the Engineering Tribe, specifically in 6 and 8. More of 8.

    Thank you.

  124. Avatar
    Kumar Sudhir April 4, 2019 at 9:29 pm #

    Hello Jason,

    The content is written in a very good manner. It’s looking like I am in a classroom.
    I think I fall in
    2) Manager interested in delivering a project; and
    6) Programmer interested in implementing the algorithm

    Thanks
    Kumar Sudhir

  125. Avatar
    BALAJI April 10, 2019 at 2:25 pm #

    Hey Jason !

    Really appreciate your work.

    I am a Mechanical Engineer working in a manufacturing firm. I have no prior experience in machine learning but i do have problems which i think would be solved using ML.

    What tribe do i belong to ?

    General Researcher ??

  126. Avatar
    al June 29, 2019 at 3:20 am #

    i think i’m in 6 or 8 tribe.

  127. Avatar
    Dereje Getahun July 7, 2019 at 4:56 am #

    I am in 5

  128. Avatar
    Mihirvh July 14, 2019 at 2:28 am #

    Is it okay if I just start machine learning just for hobbysake ??but I have some interest in the group 1

  129. Avatar
    Arthur Schiro August 12, 2019 at 9:08 am #

    Hi Jason,
    I do not think that I fit into any of the tribes that you listed. I have been trained as a hardware, sensors and signal processing engineer and I would like to pivot into the machine learning direction. I have experience writing code at the very low level (embedded C for microcontrollers) and the high level (matlab for developing algorithms and signal processing coefficients) but I don’t consider myself to be a software developer or programmer. What advice would you give me in choosing a path to get bring machine learning into my toolset?

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee August 12, 2019 at 2:12 pm #

      The tribes are more focused on how you would like to use the techniques.

      You may be interested in using ml in software for example.

  130. Avatar
    Ravi Ponamgi August 17, 2019 at 11:31 pm #

    I belong to “8) Engineer Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services”.

  131. Avatar
    Mo Jo August 25, 2019 at 11:11 am #

    Great article. Explains clearly where to focus on. Greats Kudos

  132. Avatar
    Stellah August 29, 2019 at 1:21 am #

    This is Excellent.Perfect for me in making decisions on which tribes to follow and attend their events.Thank you so much.

  133. Avatar
    Leonid September 2, 2019 at 5:45 pm #

    Hello Jason!

    Please help! I am just starting in programming and machine learning.
    My goals are:
    1)make a Starcraft2 bot with neural networks.
    2)make a trading bot with AI
    3)make a bot that will automatically make protein foldings on fold.it using ML.
    4)get to a point where I can analyze brain signals using my Brainwave headset or other and get ideas of the results for developing models with ML.

    What tribe(s) should I choose?

    Thank you very much for your articles! I’m willing to develop a strong ML, developing and analytical mindset with the intuition into this skills.

    Best Regards to you and your work!!!

    p.s.: right now I’m taking a neural networks course, but the problem is that I don’t know how to implement them outside the class. Making bots, using API’s and implementing that ANN’s is still a big mistery.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee September 3, 2019 at 6:14 am #

      I don’t think the machine learning tribes above are relevant for you. I think you might be better off with a site/material focused on AI instead of ML.

  134. Avatar
    Wayne Kurtz October 8, 2019 at 1:49 pm #

    The most efficient path for me to take to ML Mastery is probably thru tribes 9 & 10 since I have 30+ years experience as a data professional. But I’m inclined to think more like a 5. My problem of choice is to understand the two-way relationship between the ML modeling and data modeling. For example, how does each influence the other, and what scope of knowledge is needed to understand the association, if in fact it even exists.

    Thanks for your guidance.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee October 9, 2019 at 8:06 am #

      Hmm, terminology is hard.

      I think you might be talking about descriptive modeling (what happened) and predictive modeling (what will happen).

      They both can use the same data prep and modeling techniques, although toward different ends, and therefore different methods of evaluation.

  135. Avatar
    Musawar Ahmad October 25, 2019 at 7:49 pm #

    Academic Tribe
    Machine Learning Student in a Undergraduate or Graduate Class

  136. Avatar
    Naseem Ansari November 13, 2019 at 11:17 pm #

    I belong to Academic tribe. In group 3/4. Currently working on a project related to medical diagnosis using chest X-ray

  137. Avatar
    Isha Mehta December 5, 2019 at 6:11 pm #

    Hi Jason,

    great articles. I belong to 1/2/6 tribes. what suggestions do you have for me?

  138. Avatar
    Shreya Sharma December 9, 2019 at 10:16 pm #

    I think I am in group 3 and 8! Thanks for this awesome guide 🙂

  139. Avatar
    Safronov Alex January 14, 2020 at 7:40 am #

    MAN, your site is awesome!! Best one i found so far! So structured and consistent with tones of useful information. Thanks Jason, i almost lost my believe that i can cope with it, but you brought me back a hope.

    Thanks man, keep it up!!!

    I am groups number 1,2, 7 and 8 btw.

  140. Avatar
    Ram January 24, 2020 at 7:03 pm #

    Hi Jason,
    I am the same guy who enjoyed your explanation , and commented in below thread
    [https://machinelearningmastery.com/machine-learning-in-python-step-by-step/#comment-518960]

    Could you please help me find to match my tribe .

    A brief introduction about me , I am having 9+years of experience in PL-SQL Application development in India. I always get fascinated with latest and emerging technologies . Due to raising need of more money in today’s world for a luxurious life , we always try to get updated with demanding technologies, So that we could add more Indian Rupees/Pounds/Dollars in our salary , that’s why opted to devote myself in this stream where not every other person want to dive .
    Hope you are getting my point , please define my tribe . Thanks in advance for your time.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee January 25, 2020 at 8:34 am #

      Perhaps read about the above groups and select one that you think best describes you?

  141. Avatar
    Juan F. D. February 10, 2020 at 9:00 am #

    I thought I belong to 8, but after read most of the comments I believe 9 could be fine too. Cool articles you have in your blog btw! =)

  142. Avatar
    Huy Hoang Ta February 18, 2020 at 6:38 pm #

    I am working as software engineer so I think I belong to group 7 and 8. However, I am currently learning data science and data analysis (group 9 and 10). Do you think I can have a mix between these groups?

  143. Avatar
    Ignatius March 21, 2020 at 11:50 pm #

    Hi Jason,

    Excellent article

    I belong to the data tribe (9&10). ML has been really overwhelming for me. Here you are really narrowing down so that one can digest it bit by bit.

    This is giving back to society. No one can pay you for this.

    Thanks for keeping the site active and updated.

  144. Avatar
    Shayan May 9, 2020 at 4:49 am #

    Very well-written and informative article Jason.
    I am a Mechanical Engineer by day, and a Data Scientist and Machine Learning enthusiast by night. Would you put me in group 8?
    I am taking online courses and trying to add to my knowledge by reading insightful articles such as this one. Do you have any specific advice for my journey to become a ML practitioner?

  145. Avatar
    Rahil May 28, 2020 at 11:14 pm #

    Great, many thanks, Jason.

    I belong to tribe 5. I am using ML to classify my cancer data. I tried SVM and NB.

    I want to have probability prediction not only class prediction to predict also heterogeneous samples. I am new comer and still couldn’t figure out how should I do it. Should I go with fuzzy classification?
    I really appreciate if you give me some hint.

  146. Avatar
    Ali Raza June 22, 2020 at 6:21 am #

    Machine Learning Student in Graduate Class

  147. Avatar
    Shravan July 1, 2020 at 2:54 pm #

    Sir.
    Nice article.

  148. Avatar
    Shravan July 1, 2020 at 5:09 pm #

    Sir.
    Nice article
    https://www.edge.org/annual-question/what-do-you-think-about-machines-that-think

    Sir recently i read a article .It says something radical .Someone might be interested to read it and it adds value to community.could yu publish this in blog .
    Shravan

  149. Avatar
    Ramesh Ravula July 20, 2020 at 9:57 pm #

    I belong to academic and engineering tribes.

  150. Avatar
    Izzy August 2, 2020 at 9:29 pm #

    I’m coming into this as a hobbyist and not necessarily looking to get employment. I’m exploring how I can use datasets to get better answers for my other interests like trading and fantasy sports.
    What tribe would I fall into?

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee August 3, 2020 at 5:47 am #

      Thanks. Perhaps:

      8) Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services

  151. Avatar
    Amao August 16, 2020 at 4:20 am #

    Thanks Jason,

    Finally, i feel someone understood my frustration… I simply want to understand machine learning to a level that i can apply it to my own dataset and problem…

    Thank you for taking the time to explain the “Tribes”

  152. Avatar
    Hari August 26, 2020 at 12:50 pm #

    Hi Jason,

    Great article. Thank you.

    Data Product Owners/Managers – which tribe do they belong to?

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee August 26, 2020 at 1:44 pm #

      Thanks!

      Good question, perhaps business or engineering tribes?

  153. Avatar
    zauron August 29, 2020 at 1:42 am #

    Thanks Jason,

    I’m interested on “8) Engineer Interested In Developing Smarter Software And Services”

    Great classification, very useful, I think in some companies are giving wrong tasks to some profiles, especially, between data and engineering profiles.

  154. Avatar
    Madeeha September 14, 2020 at 5:55 am #

    I m interested in 3 and 4..kindly help me

  155. Avatar
    Tariq Kadir October 24, 2020 at 5:32 am #

    Great posting Jason! Re-connecting.

  156. Avatar
    duncan s November 14, 2020 at 4:20 pm #

    Am interested in machine learning for stock market trading, i belong to group 9

  157. Avatar
    Ali November 24, 2020 at 9:05 am #

    Thanks for the great post,
    I just returned back to your site after a long time (I might have the excuses that you described in the other article).

    I read this article and found myself interested in tribe 8 (Machine Learning Engineer) but I have a lack of knowledge in ML. So I went with tribe 6 because I found the suggested books good. I want to read them.

    Should I start https://machinelearningmastery.com/process-for-working-through-machine-learning-problems/ after finishing those books?

  158. Avatar
    Osama November 29, 2020 at 12:49 am #

    Thanks for great explanation.

    What the best tribe matches our path?
    What the best learning plan, and resources ?
    (Please, read sentences below)

    We’re computer engineering students of the last year, want to develop a speaker recognition system as our graduation project.
    The application and its challenges are slightly clear for us, in addition, we have some prerequisites of audio signal-related background.

    But we have no prior experience in ML.

    BTW, the goal is to implement a more accurate production system starting from what latest researches and experiments had resulted.
    So, we may adopt a certain method/approach/solution trying to enhance it, or developing a hybrid model, that combines the only strength points of other existing model.

  159. Avatar
    Brent J January 23, 2021 at 7:04 am #

    I’m # 1…..I think. I’m a biochemist with an MBA and I’m looking to leverage machine learning and “data science” in general to make data-driven business decisions. I’m interested in using my new skills in a new role or a familiar role that values DS/ML and provides me a competitive advantage.

  160. Avatar
    JC Chouinard February 24, 2021 at 10:31 am #

    As an SEO, I am interested in fields somewhere between data science tribes and web developers (engineering) tribes. Also, one-off modelling is super useful even if not reliable model, apply machine learning can help identify issues faster. Thanks for that Jason

  161. Avatar
    Quentin March 24, 2021 at 11:12 pm #

    Amazing Jason ! Thanks for clarifying that. It is true that knowing what to learn and defining precise learning goals is a true challenge. What would advice on how to build a killer learning plan that we be confident it is flexible to make absolutely future-proof in the areas that we desire? Thanks!

  162. Avatar
    Ian March 26, 2021 at 11:34 pm #

    I am in group 10 with a desire to be a part of group 9. I have to say that this is the first time I feel like machine learning is presented in a digestible way for someone like me who has no formal training and has spent much more time implementing code and software to process and understand data. Thanks for creating this incredible resource, Jason!

  163. Avatar
    Marc April 2, 2021 at 7:32 am #

    Hello,

    I am group 6 but my goal is to become group 9 or 10.

    Marc

  164. Avatar
    Jon May 11, 2021 at 3:13 am #

    I am a Mechanical / Automotive Engineer, managing teams of people using data analytics to develop racing cars. I reckon I am tribes 2, 8 & 10.

  165. Avatar
    Martins May 13, 2021 at 2:40 am #

    Jason
    I have gone through some of your articles and I am convinced you are a prophet in the machine learning and programming field. Thank you for being a great light.

    My question is can you recommend a blog, or article with the same depth, structure, and insight as yours in other fields of programming like web development.

    I feel I belong in the engineering Tribe, —-having a wide interest in subjects and delivering project category.

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee May 13, 2021 at 6:05 am #

      Thanks for your kind words!

      No, sorry. I don’t know about other similar blogs.

  166. Avatar
    Lumi A June 25, 2021 at 12:54 pm #

    I love your blog and appreciate your process of explanation.

    I don’t think I belong to any of the described tribes.

    Not a Business tribe: I have general interest but I’ve already started trying. Also not a Manager delivering projects.

    Not in the Academic tribe: I went to school for Architecture, my program didn’t stress

    Not in the Data Tribe: I’d say I’m mentally closest to data professionals because I love to be able to develop insights and use them to create predictions. But I’ve never worked as a Data Scientist or Analyst ever.

    I’m a former Visual Effects Artist (Film and TV) who’s looking to change/pivot his career into Machine Learning.

    Is there a tribe for a Design/Art professional who enjoys the process of iterating and re-iterating?

    The prototypical nature of ML is what I enjoy the most. There’s no right answer and even if there is, in production it will change due to new data and/or the model losing its efficiency. There are so many parallels to between Design Thinking and ML.

    While I’m directly not in any of the tribes above, I feel like I relate a little to each of them. As someone with his hand on the pulse of the ML world: do hear from Designers/Artists coming into this world? (It feels like an extremely lonely world out there to be an analytically minded artist)

    I absolutely enjoy your website and the resources you continue to provide. I recommended it to my mum, who is trying to learn to code and possibly get into ML. Thanks for doing this!!

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee June 26, 2021 at 4:52 am #

      Thanks!

      The tribes are just a general guide, perhaps you can devise a new tribe that is a good fit for you.

  167. Avatar
    Natalia July 15, 2021 at 8:48 pm #

    Jason, I am a newbie to ML, just finished the course on DS, and yet have so many questions left while trying to do my first project on Kaggle. I am absolutely in love with your blog! You answer any question I may have as I am trying to progress through my research. Your kind guidance as well as the resources you have suggested in this post are invaluable. Thank you!
    And I belong to the mixed group too.

  168. Avatar
    Vahid July 19, 2021 at 1:37 pm #

    I am a mechanical engineering who is keen on ML
    Actually, it seems I don’t fit in any tribe!!

  169. Avatar
    Jason A August 5, 2021 at 2:47 pm #

    I am in the healthcare sector. Before the pandemic hit last year, we were interested in doing a ML project related to reducing patient stay in the hospital. But I am looking to change into Healthcare Informatics. Would that make me a member of tribe 1 or an aspiring member of tribe 10?

    • Avatar
      Jason Brownlee August 6, 2021 at 4:54 am #

      Perhaps both. It’s just a guide to help you think through the different ways you can contribute.

  170. Avatar
    Thomas August 26, 2021 at 12:32 am #

    Where does someone who wants to learn about A.I becoming self aware go?

    • Avatar
      Adrian Tam August 27, 2021 at 5:38 am #

      A.I. is a much broader topic. What do you consider as A.I. here?

  171. Avatar
    Sudarshan T August 26, 2021 at 1:46 am #

    I am a mechanical engineer got to know about machine learning a while ago and since then wanted to learn it. What tribe do you think I would come under?

  172. Avatar
    Jacques Musonda September 6, 2021 at 9:49 pm #

    Thank you Jason for this interesting blog.
    I belong to tribes 7 and 9.

  173. Avatar
    Wojciech November 5, 2021 at 6:42 am #

    Interesting post, I think I’m in tribe 8.

  174. Avatar
    Wayne Camard February 3, 2022 at 5:16 am #

    It looks like this post was written–and the recommendations made–in around 2015. Do you consider they are still the best options for each tribe, or are there newer books that would be better?

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael February 4, 2022 at 10:24 am #

      Hi Wayne…I believe this post is still very much relevant.

  175. Avatar
    Sara OK May 5, 2022 at 11:38 am #

    Thank you indeed, I am definitely in tribe 3 and have long term goal of becoming tribe 4.

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael May 6, 2022 at 6:57 am #

      Thank you for the feedback Sara!

  176. Avatar
    Bhavya May 14, 2022 at 7:56 pm #

    Tribe 8! I came across your website to implement ensemble techniques and I liked your posts! Now, I want to go through all the posts you have on your website from the start and learn!

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael May 15, 2022 at 10:56 am #

      Thank you for the feedback and support Bhavya!

  177. Avatar
    SURAJ July 17, 2022 at 12:08 am #

    I’m confused in 3, 6 and 8. It’s been 1 month I have been into ML. How can I get a more clear idea about my tribe?

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael July 17, 2022 at 11:19 am #

      Hi SURAJ…Please clarify some of your goals with machine learning so that we may better assist you.

  178. Avatar
    Tasmia August 23, 2022 at 8:54 pm #

    hello, here how can I join a tribe? 3 to be specific

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael August 24, 2022 at 6:50 am #

      Hi Tasmia…Of the tribe descriptions provided in the tutorial, which environments seem most appealing to your learning style?

  179. Avatar
    Naman September 9, 2022 at 5:46 pm #

    Aside from your ML expertise, you are an awesome teacher Jason! I really appreciate this website and the learning methods you espouse are really helpful for learning not just ML, but any other technical topic.

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael September 10, 2022 at 7:33 am #

      Thank you Naman for your feedback and support! We greatly appreciate it!

  180. Avatar
    Rinku January 12, 2023 at 9:52 pm #

    I am in Data Scientist group in Data Tribe.

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael January 13, 2023 at 6:29 am #

      Thank you for your feedback Rinku! We wish you the best on your machine learning journey!

  181. Avatar
    Komal April 14, 2023 at 2:52 pm #

    What an amazing…crisp … To the point article. No useless gyaan or fancy words. Awesome piece worth bookmarking.

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael April 15, 2023 at 6:24 am #

      Thank you Komal for your feedback and support! We greatly appreciate it!

  182. Avatar
    Omer April 14, 2023 at 8:09 pm #

    Written in 2015, do you think that this article needs an update?

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael April 15, 2023 at 6:23 am #

      Hi Omer…The content is still very relavent today.

  183. Avatar
    Kiran Bagale April 16, 2023 at 12:03 am #

    target group 5
    now in 3

  184. Avatar
    Chan David April 18, 2023 at 11:52 pm #

    How to join the group if I am interested to join?
    Thank you.

  185. Avatar
    Søren Fyhn August 12, 2023 at 6:21 pm #

    Great collection of resources, thanks!

    In general, this site is just a very resourceful site for me and my machine learning journey. I work as a data analyst and I use this site to prepare myself for diving into linear regression and classification for starters.

    These days I am actually writing notes about the foundational statistics using the Get Started section and plan to expand as I learn more.

    This site beats all online courses I have tried in terms of giving you the required information in a clear manner, without all the noise about ‘how to study, what to do with your life after course completion’ and so on. I think some may know what I mean.

    I will be happy to share a link to my notes in a public github repo if anyone is interested – and if it’s OK for Jason and the team? I am of course citing this site when required in the notes.

    • Avatar
      Søren Fyhn August 16, 2023 at 6:44 am #

      I don’t think we receive email notifications when new replies are added and I will not be monitoring this thread. Just fyi for anyone who might have been interested at a later stage.

  186. Avatar
    Tí cháo December 21, 2023 at 8:12 pm #

    I’ve positioned my tribe based on my ultimate goal which is “Using AI technologies, software engineering techniques to build cool intelligent applications”. Thus, Tribe 8 appears to be likely the most matched tribe.

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael December 22, 2023 at 10:36 am #

      Great to know Ti chao! Let us know if we can ever help with any questions regarding our content.

  187. Avatar
    Balaji December 22, 2023 at 3:50 pm #

    I feel like I would fit in group 3, 6 & 8.

    • Avatar
      James Carmichael December 23, 2023 at 9:27 am #

      Thank you for your reply Balaji! Such an important part of a machine learning journey!

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