Post the launch of our all-new Intro to Machine Learning with TensorFlow Nanodegree program, we spoke to one of our graduates from the Intro to Machine Learning with PyTorch Nanodegree program, who is now a Machine Learning Engineer, to check how the program helped him redefine his career.
“Today I work as a machine learning engineer, it’s like a dream come true,” chuckles the very excited Omkar Sahasrabudhe. Omkar moved from being an intern to a Web Developer and now a Machine Learning Engineer in just a little over a year. This is his story.
Tell us something about yourself
Hi, I’m Omkar Sahasrabudhe and I have a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and one year of professional experience as a Junior Software Engineer. I started my professional career as an intern and was later hired as a JavaScript developer (or a Web Development Engineer). As an intern, my primary focus was on JavaScript, Node.js, React.js, and Databases. For the first five to six months after the internship,I was working as a Web Developer (in JavaScript, React, GraphQL, etc). But after completing my Nanodegree program, I was promoted from a Web Development Engineer to a Machine Learning Engineer in the Machine Learning unit.
What did you like the most about the Nanodegree program?
I liked the learning methods that Udacity instructors use. They teach every concept in depth with simple real life examples and their practical implementations. Having a mentor also made learning easy.I also really liked the problem statements shared as part of the projects and the review of every project submitted. The reviewers offered explanations for any mistakes in my code. So, I was able to practice writing clean and easily understandable code.
Do you think you could have graduated from the Nanodegree program without a mentor? What is the most amazing thing about having a mentor during your study online?
In my opinion, a mentor is the most important aspect of any Nanodegree program. I will say, my mentor was #1 on my speed dial throughout my Nanodegree program. Actually, Udacity has an entire support team dedicated to helping students. But, when it came to any roadblocks in learning,I found that I needed someone that I could contact immediately to help clear my doubts and answer my questions.
You moved from being a web development engineer to a machine learning engineer after graduating from the Nanodegree program. Tell us something about the job and how the journey has been so far.
I only have one year of experience and for five to six months months of that time Iwas a Web Development Engineer. my Nanodegree program, I’ve been working as a Machine Learning Engineer. So for me, it is the start of a journey. But during the past year I’ve learned some lessons and enjoyed some memorable moments like completing the Nanodegree program and starting my position as a Jr. Machine Learning Engineer. Up until now I have worked as a Machine Learning Engineer in the pharma domain.
There was one project where we had to generate analytical reports (charts, etc) from a given data set. We were working on information (feature) extraction. The reports were in pdf format and the most painful thing was extracting information with their stylings. Also, the format, size, and the length of the document was not standard. These are the types of problems I have experience working on. I am enjoying the work I am doing, but my dreams aren’t fulfilled yet. So much of the journey is still to come.
What do you have to say about the projects you did as a part of the program? Do you think they were helpful in landing a job?
The projects I worked on during my Nanodegree program were awesome. They thoroughly tested my knowledge of each and every part of the course. The projects built my confidence and allowed me to confidently implement what I learned at work. Independent project development, with proper review from experts, gave me the confidence I needed to write code.
You said that it was sometimes difficult to manage work and learning. How did you manage both?
Yes, it was difficult to manage work and learning. When I joined the projectome of the technologies like GraphQLand Prisma were new to me. So, learning from the team and learning the new programs,along with the work itself, was a time management struggle.
I don’t have fixed working hours. Some days I would be so exhausted after work that it was difficult to study for even just one hour. my job routine I didn’t learn anything during the first month of my course. And I had decided to complete the course in three months. So I made a time table to manage work and my learning. I started to wake up early in the morning around 5:30 or 6 a.m. and I would.devote my mornings and weekends to Udacity.
I love traveling, especially trekking. But for those three months I focused solely on completing my Nanodegree program and didn’t go on a single trek. It was an amazing experience and totally worth it. I hope it will not be my last! Thanks again Udacity for making my dream a reality.
Congrats on your success, Omkar. We wish you good luck!
Read more about our recently launched Intro to Machine Learning with TensorFlow Nanodegree program here.
