More and more companies are making use of artificial intelligence (AI) to increase their efficiency and improve their bottom line. One area of AI that is most commonly used in these businesses is machine learning. If you are looking for a career in the computer science field, machine learning is a skill you will definitely want to develop.
There are many options available for you to study machine learning. Certificate programs, online classes, and free tutorials are available to help you learn. Let’s review some of the best machine learning courses based on your skill level.
Best Machine Learning Courses for Beginners
If you are just starting out, you will want to choose a class that is geared to beginners. Introductory courses will cover the basics of machine learning, giving you a solid foundation for any future study you may pursue.
Machine Learning A-Z
Udemy’s Machine Learning A-Z online course is a bestseller. Over 800,000 students have enrolled in this course. It has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Taught by data science experts, this online class will teach you how to use Python and R to create machine learning algorithms.
Priced at $139.99, this course includes over 44 hours of lecture material. Sections include data preprocessing, regression, classification, clustering, and association. You will also study reinforcement learning, natural language processing, deep learning, dimensionality reduction, and model selection.
This course doesn’t just teach you the theory of machine learning. It also provides plenty of hands-on exercises that let you practice what you’ve learned. This course is recommended for beginners. You should have at least a high school level knowledge of mathematics to do well in this class.
Data Science: Machine Learning
Offered through edX in partnership with Harvard University, Data Science: Machine Learning is a free introductory course. Taught entirely online, this course should take you about 8 weeks to complete. There is an optional $125 fee that provides a certificate upon completion and unlimited access to the course materials.
In addition to learning the foundations of machine learning, this course will also teach you different machine learning algorithms and principal component analysis. You will practice your skills by building a movie recommendation system.
Best Intermediate-Level Machine Learning Courses
If you already have a basic understanding of machine learning and some knowledge of statistics and mathematics, consider an intermediate-level course. These classes are designed for students who have some computer programming experience.
Machine Learning Specialization
In partnership with the University of Washington, Coursera offers a certificate program with a Machine Learning Specialization. This program consists of four courses including the Foundations of Machine Learning, Regression, Classification, and Clustering & Retrieval.
Coursework is all online and should take you approximately 7 months to complete the program. You will participate in an applied learning project and develop Python programming experience. The course is taught in English and offers subtitles in 10 other languages including Spanish and Arabic.
To be successful in this program, it is recommended that you have some computer programming experience. The classes are designed for software developers. Over 420,000 students have enrolled in this program and it has a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars.
Machine Learning and Finance
For those students who are interested in applying machine learning in the field of finance, edX offers a professional certificate in Machine Learning and Finance. This self-paced, online program takes approximately 4 months to complete and will cost $1,811.
In this program, you will learn both theory and practical applications specific to the world of finance. Coursework includes learning how to use different techniques to learn from data sets. You will also get to apply your skills by constructing machine learning models.
Intro to Machine Learning with PyTorch
As part of their Nanodegree Program, Udacity offers this course on Machine Learning with PyTorch. This is a 3-month course and is offered entirely online. Highly rated at 4.7 out of 5 stars, this popular class is offered at $1,347.
In this course, you will learn about algorithms, data cleaning, and deep learning. You will explore both supervised models and unsupervised learning. Hands-on practice allows you to develop the skills you learn through various exercises and activities.
Students registering for this course should have previous experience using the Python programming language. A knowledge of statistics and an understanding of probability are also recommended.
Best Machine Learning Courses at the Advanced Level
These advanced courses are designed for a computer programmer who has a working knowledge of statistics and probability. If you have extensive experience with coding, programming, and mathematics, these expert courses may be a good fit for you.
Machine Learning and AI
Udemy offers an expert-level course on Machine Learning and AI. Over 20,000 students have completed this course, which is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars. Very reasonably priced at only $34.99, this course includes almost 9 hours of on-demand video.
You will learn the theory behind Support Vector Machines (SVMs) in Python, and how quadratic programming is applied. The course will also teach you how to apply SVMs in medical diagnosis, image recognition, and spam detection.
Prerequisites for this class include knowledge of logistic regression, calculus, geometry, and basic probability. You will also need prior experience with Python and Numpy coding.
Advanced and Applied AI on Microsoft Azure
Future Learn offers the online course Advanced and Applied AI on Microsoft Azure. This class is 15 weeks in duration and costs $39 per month. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial with Future Learn before committing to the full duration of the course.
Using Python and Microsoft Azure, you will further develop your knowledge of machine learning. Topics include cloud portal administration, statistics, and mathematics. You will develop a chatbot and learn to increase its functionality.
Students should have previous experience with the Python programming language. An understanding of mathematics and statistics is also expected.