Namaste! I get a lot of messages on a regular basis. Messages from people all over the world. I am very humbled by their trust in my expertise. Thank you for that! There are many interests. One topic can be generalized to „how to become a Data Scientist?“. Tricky question!
You know, my focus is Deep Learning. I usually assume the position that Data Science is part of Deep Learning. The assumption that Deep Learning is a part of Data Science also has some validity. But I prefer the first one. Also, it is my job to educate. And I do this with trainings, mentoring, prototyping and via a general spread-of-word. I like to talk a lot and share my knowledge. People that know me know that very well 🙂
So… If you want to strengthen your Data Science and Deep Learning skills, what is my advice?
Get to know yourself.
This is the most yogic advice I have in my repertoire. Invest some time into introspection. Learn about yourself. Learn how you tick. What does motivate you? Do you have any patterns in motivation? What really floats your boat? What are your goals? Where do you want to be in a couple of weeks, months, years? And what are the things that usually slow you down? Regularly take some time to answer and work with these and similar questions.
Fail. Fail. Fail. Succeed. Repeat.
Learning is a very challenging road. You are doomed to fail. And that is good. For every good idea, many other ideas have to die. Accept the assumption that learning is productive failing. You learn a lot from a success. But more often you learn more from failures.
Inform yourself, stay informed, inform others
Be sure to stay informed about your field. Make it a habit to read articles and tutorials. Join Facebook-groups. Join mailings-lists. And do not trouble yourself and panic! True there is too much information. No one can manage that amount of data. Often it is enough to skim an article or even just read the first paragraph in order to know what is going on. And do you know what helps you learning? Teach others!
Do prototypes.
A famous Yoga guru named K. Patthabi Jois once said that Yoga is 1% theory and 99% practice. Yes, do read your books. Do your online courses. But make sure that you then roll up your sleeves and do some Data Science or Deep Learning. Apply the things that you have read. Had a fancy idea while reading? Do a prototype and check it out. A good prototype can be implemented in less than half a day.
Favor deep work over being busy.
A scourge of modern days is that people tend to be busy. Busy people are not really productive. Learn about „deep work“. And manage to isolate yourself regularly in order to deepen your skills, knowledge and expertise. And please… Be mindful about being busy. What keeps you busy is usually the same thing that keeps you from being productive.
Some final words.
Data Science and Deep Learning are learnable skills. You only need two things: Steadiness and ease. Sthira sukham asanam (Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras), as the Yogis say. Stay on track, but do not exhaust yourself. There is a lot of time to learn!
Stay in touch.
I hope you liked the article. Why not stay in touch? You will find me at LinkedIn, XING and Facebook. Please add me if you like and feel free to like, comment and share my humble contributions to the world of AI. Thank you!
If you want to become a part of my mission of spreading Artificial Intelligence globally, feel free to become one of my Patrons. Become a Patron!
A quick about me. I am a computer scientist with a love for art, music and yoga. I am a Artificial Intelligence expert with a focus on Deep Learning. As a freelancer I offer training, mentoring and prototyping. If you are interested in working with me, let me know. My email-address is tristan@ai-guru.de - I am looking forward to talking to you!
