Over the past few years, many companies have embraced artificial intelligence (A.I.) and machine learning as the way of the future. That’s been good news for those technologists who’ve mastered the tools and concepts related to A.I. and machine learning; those with the right combination of experience and skills can easily earn six-figure salaries (with accompanying perks and benefits).
As A.I. and machine learning mature as sub-industries, it’s inevitable that more certifications proving technologists' skills will emerge. For example, Google recently launched a TensorFlow Developer Certificate, which—just like it says on the tin—confirms that a developer has mastered the basics of TensorFlow, the open-source library for deep learning software developed by Google.
“This certificate in TensorFlow development is intended as a foundational certificate for students, developers, and data scientists who want to demonstrate practical machine learning skills through building and training of basic models using TensorFlow,” read a note on the TensorFlow Blog. “This level one certificate exam tests a developer’s foundational knowledge of integrating machine learning into tools and applications.”
Those who pass the exam will receive aa certificate and a “badge.” In addition, those certified developers “will also be invited to join our credential network for recruiters seeking entry-level TensorFlow developers,” the blog posting added. “This is only the beginning; as this program scales, we are eager to add certificate programs for more advanced and specialized TensorFlow practitioners.”
Google and TensorFlow aren’t the only entities in the A.I. certification arena. IBM offers an A.I. Engineering Professional Certificate, which focuses on machine learning and deep learning. Microsoft also has a number of A.I.-related certificates, including an Azure A.I. Engineer Associate certificate. And last year, Amazon launched AWS Certified Machine Learning.
Meanwhile, if you’re interested in learning how to use TensorFlow, Udacity and Google are offering a two-month course (just updated in February 2020) designed to help developers utilize TensorFlow to build A.I. applications that scale. The course is part of Udacity’s ‘School of A.I.,’ a cluster of free courses to help those relatively new to A.I. and machine learning learn the fundamentals.
As the COVID-19 pandemic forces many companies to radically adjust their products, workflows, and internal tech stacks, interest in A.I. and machine learning may accelerate; managers are certainly interested in tools and platforms that will allow them to automate work. Even before the virus emerged, Burning Glass, which collects and analyzes millions of job postings from across the country, estimated that jobs involving A.I. would grow 40 percent over the next decade—a number that might only increase under the current circumstances.
