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In today’s dynamic job market, Machine Learning (ML) has surged in importance, influencing industries from finance to entertainment. With the shift towards Large Language Models (LLMs) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), professionals are exploring new career paths, notably transitioning from Data Scientist to ML / AI Engineer roles. Tools and Frameworks for ML Professionals Survey I reached out to ML Engineers on LinkedIn to get real insights from those actively working in the field.    The survey I conducted was a deliberate effort to bridge the gap between prevailing trends in machine learning (ML), as discerned from job descriptions and AI/ML conferences, and the actual experiences and preferences of professionals in the field. By assessing the disconnect between these established trends and real-world experiences, this research aimed to uncover the nuanced differences, understand the prevailing practices, and identify the evolving needs within the ML landscape. The intention was to gain insight into the practical application of ML tools and frameworks in professional settings, ultimately gauging the alignment between the industry’s expectations and the ground reality of ML careers.   The survey is still open to ML practitioners. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf6fjHo82Yc2dJImrzxrb3gUsFWN7m6uCuh9cAUxVJ1v86qwQ/viewform   Section 1: Participant Demographics The survey revealed an intriguing mix of experience levels across participants: Experience Distribution: The majority stood at mid-level, signifying a seasoned cohort:   Location and Industry: Spanning across diverse geographies like France, Czechia, United Kingdom, USA, Brazil, Germany, Poland, and Denmark, participants hailed from various industries including Financial Services, Fintech, Media & Entertainment, Retail, IT,  Healthcare, and Video Technology. Section 2: Machine Learning Frameworks Survey insights and job descriptions converged on the prominence of PyTorch as the primary ML framework. Both data sources indicated a utilization mix that encompassed scikit-learn, Keras, and TensorFlow alongside PyTorch: Section 3: Data Processing Tools Alignment was evident in the predominant use of Python, especially Pandas, for data preprocessing among both surveyed professionals and job descriptions:   Section 4: Model Deployment and Management An overlap surfaced in the methods and challenges of model deployment. Docker, Kubernetes (K8s), AWS SageMaker, and Kubeflow featured commonly in both the survey and job descriptions. Challenges concerning large model sizes during deployment echoed through both datasets.   Section 5: DevOps tools or practices Inquiring about the most effective DevOps tools or practices for streamlining machine learning model deployment and management revealed various strategies. The responses highlighted the significance of CI pipelines, automated tests, and regression test suites. The GitOps philosophy was mentioned as a facilitator for rapid and replicable deployments. Kubernetes (k8s) emerged as a popular choice, along with tools like Airflow, Git, GitLab, and CI/CD pipelines, underscoring the value of containerization (Docker) and infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform in the ML workflow. Section 6: Computing Approach Edge vs. Cloud Computing: Most prefer cloud-based processing due to easier management, better resource utilization, and less operational complexity. Section 7: Low-Code/No-Code Tools for ML Usage of Low-Code/No-Code Platforms: Only one participant occasionally uses AutoML toolkits for quick model development. Satisfaction and Suggestions: Overall low usage and varying satisfaction levels; lack of support for codifying frustrates users. Overall Summary and Insights PyTorch is a prominent ML framework. AWS and GCP are popular cloud providers. Kubernetes is widely used for deployment. Preference for cloud-based processing over edge computing. Low use and mixed satisfaction with low-code/no-code tools. While job descriptions often emphasize senior-level expertise, the reality reflects that  mid-level practitioners are contributing meaningfully to the ML domain. The survey highlights a gap between job expectations and practical experiences in the ML domain. While job descriptions stress senior-level expertise and specific tools, real-world practice reveals a diverse landscape across different expertise levels. This mismatch shows that although there’s alignment in tools and frameworks, there’s a disparity in seniority levels. Bridging this gap means acknowledging real-world complexities, embracing diverse approaches and tools, and fostering an inclusive environment for ML professionals at all levels to contribute effectively and grow within the field. Join members from 15 countries today! I’ve launched the Data Science Group Mentoring Program—a unique global platform for expansive learning. 🌍 Be part of our next gathering and elevate your Data Science / Machine Learning Journey! Sign up Here This is a personal blog. My opinion on what I share with you is that “All models are wrong, but some are useful”. Improve the accuracy of any model I present and make it useful!

In a recent conversation with the Data Science Group Mentoring community, I was struck by the growing prominence of the MLOps Engineer role. While the responsibilities of Data Scientists and Machine Learning Engineers are somewhat well-defined, the MLOps Engineer position seemed shrouded in a bit of mystery. Intrigued by this emerging role, I decided to delve into the world of MLOps, exploring both its theoretical underpinnings and real-world applications. MLOps, short for Machine Learning Operations, refers to the practice of combining machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) with DevOps principles to effectively deploy, manage, and scale ML models in production. An MLOps team is responsible for streamlining the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle, from development and training to deployment and ongoing maintenance. This includes managing data pipelines, version control for models and data, infrastructure deployment, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) processes, and monitoring model performance in real-world environments. The goal is to ensure that machine learning models operate efficiently, reliably, and at scale in a production environment, aligning with business objectives and maintaining accuracy over time. A Business Analyst for an MLOps/Data Science team plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between business needs and technical solutions. They analyze and understand organizational goals, define data science project requirements, and communicate them effectively to the technical team. Business Analysts collaborate with data scientists, engineers, and other stakeholders to ensure that data science initiatives align with business objectives. They contribute to project planning, help prioritize tasks, and play a key role in translating complex technical insights into actionable business strategies. A Data Scientist in an MLOps/Data Science team is responsible for extracting insights from data using statistical and machine learning techniques. They analyze complex datasets, build predictive models, and contribute to decision-making processes. Data Scientists collaborate with other team members, especially MLOps Engineers, to develop and fine-tune machine learning models. They play a key role in the end-to-end data science process, from problem formulation to model development and sometimes deployment. A Data Engineer designs and manages the infrastructure for efficient data storage, movement, and processing. They create data pipelines, integrate diverse sources, ensure data quality, and collaborate with teams, especially Data Scientists, to support analytics and machine learning projects. A Machine Learning (ML) Engineer in an MLOps/Data Science team is responsible for developing and deploying machine learning models. They work closely with Data Scientists to operationalize models, implementing them into production systems. ML Engineers leverage various techniques such as logistic regression, random forests, and neural networks to build effective predictive tools. They collaborate with MLOps Engineers to ensure seamless deployment, automate model training processes, and monitor performance in real-world applications. Unveiling the MLOps Superhero: Master of Orchestration, Ensuring Machine Learning Success in the Shadows of Operations. Demystifying the MLOps Engineer Role: A Detailed Look at Job Requirements A radar plot of MLOPS skills Decoding MLOps Engineer Job Postings: Unveiling Key Competencies and In-Demand Skills To begin my investigation, I analyzed a sample of LinkedIn job postings for “MLOps Engineer” positions. Using a large language model, I mapped the skills required in these postings to the traditional set of MLOps competencies. This analysis yielded valuable insights into the skills and expertise sought after by employers in this field. Essential tasks undertaken by an MLOps Engineer, as effectively summarized by Neptune.ai : Checking deployment pipelines for machine learning models. Review Code changes and pull requests from the data science team. Triggers CI/CD pipelines after code approvals. Monitors pipelines and ensures all tests pass and model artifacts are generated/stored correctly. Deploys updated models to prod after pipeline completion. Works closely with the software engineering and DevOps team to ensure smooth integration. Containerize models using Docker and deploy on cloud platforms (like AWS/GCP/Azure). Set up monitoring tools to track various metrics like response time, error rates, and resource utilization. Establish alerts and notifications to quickly detect anomalies or deviations from expected behavior. Analyze monitoring data, log, files, and system metrics. Collaborate with the data science team to develop updated pipelines to cover any faults. Documenting and troubleshoots, changes, and optimization. Interviews with MLOps Engineers Bridging the Gap Between Job Postings and Real-world Experiences Next, I sought the perspectives of experienced MLOps Engineers through a series of interviews. These conversations provided me with a firsthand account of their day-to-day responsibilities, challenges, and rewards. The insights gained from these interactions complemented the data gathered from the job postings, painting a comprehensive picture of the MLOps Engineer role.   Here are the top valuable insights I got from interviewing MLOps Engineers on LinkedIn: Jordan Pierre MLOps engineers specialize in operationalizing machine learning applications, managing CI/CD, ML platforms, and infrastructure for efficient model deployment, while Machine Learning Engineers (MLEs) may engage in MLOps tasks, especially in smaller teams, focusing on productionizing proofs of concept and utilizing CI/CD for deployments. In larger teams, dedicated MLOps roles emerge to handle the evolving complexities of scaling machine learning systems. 2 Days Ago Claudio Masolo MLOps Engineers focus on crafting efficient infrastructure for model training and deployment, while ML Engineers concentrate on model building and fine-tuning. Collaborating in pipelines, both roles deploy models from data scientists to staging and production, monitoring the entire process. Despite different names, these roles are often considered synonymous, encompassing the same responsibilities in seamless model deployment and production monitoring. 2 days ago Paweł Cisło MLOps Engineers are pivotal in transitioning machine learning models from concept to deployment, working in tandem with Data Scientists. Their responsibilities include storing ML models, containerizing code, crafting CI pipelines, deploying inference services, and ensuring scalability with infrastructure tools like Kubernetes and Kubeflow. Additionally, they monitor real-time inference endpoints to maintain continuous performance, and provide more accessible and reliable machine learning models for widespread use. MLOps Engineers thus provide a crucial complement to Data Scientists, enabling them to focus on their core expertise in ML model creation and ensuring that these models are not only innovative but also practically deployable. 2 Days Ago Alaeddine Joudari MLOps Engineers bridge the gap between ML Engineers working in

Understanding the Structure and Dynamics of Social Networks through Social Network Analysis and Graph Theory   Social network analysis (SNA) and graph analysis are powerful tools for understanding complex systems and relationships. SNA is a method for studying the structure and dynamics of social networks, while graph analysis is a broader field that applies to any system that can be represented as a graph. Together, these fields offer a range of theories, methods, and tools for exploring and analyzing data about connections and interactions within a system. In this article, we will explore the key concepts and applications of SNA and graph analysis, as well as the top tools and programming languages for working with these types of data. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a field that studies the relationships between individuals or organizations in social networks. It is a branch of sociology, but has also been applied in fields such as anthropology, biology, communication studies, economics, education, geography, information science, organizational studies, political science, psychology, and public health. Graph theory, a branch of mathematics, is the study of graphs, which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. Graphs consist of vertices (also called nodes) that represent the objects and edges that represent the relationships between them. Graph theory is a fundamental tool in SNA, as it provides a framework for representing and analyzing social networks. One of the key concepts in SNA is centrality, which refers to the importance or influence of an individual or organization within a network. There are several ways to measure centrality, including degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and eigenvector centrality. Degree centrality measures the number of connections an individual has, while betweenness centrality measures the extent to which an individual acts as a bridge between other individuals or groups in the network. Eigenvector centrality takes into account the centrality of an individual’s connections, so a person who is connected to highly central individuals will have a higher eigenvector centrality score. Another important concept in SNA is network density, which is the proportion of actual connections in a network to the total number of possible connections. A densely connected network has a high density, while a sparsely connected network has a low density. Network density is an important factor in understanding the strength and resilience of a social network. SNA and graph theory have a wide range of applications, including understanding the spread of diseases, predicting the success of products or ideas, and analyzing the structure and dynamics of organizations. In recent years, SNA has also been used to study online social networks, such as those on social media platforms. Famous SNA maps Some of the most famous SNA maps include: The “Small World Experiment” map, created by Stanley Milgram in the 1960s, which demonstrated the “six degrees of separation” concept, showing that individuals in the United States were connected by an average of six acquaintances. The “Frienemy” map, created by Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler in 2009, which showed the influence of an individual’s social network on their behavior and well-being. The “Diffusion of Innovations” map, created by Everett M. Rogers in 1962, which showed how new ideas and technologies spread through social networks. The “Organizational Network Analysis” map, created by Ronald Burt in 1992, which demonstrated the influence of an individual’s position in a social network on their access to resources and opportunities. The “Dunbar’s number” map, proposed by Robin Dunbar in 1992, which suggests that the maximum number of stable social relationships that an individual can maintain is around 150.   Elements of a Graph: Vertices and Edges   In graph theory, the elements of a graph are the vertices (also called nodes) and edges. Vertices represent the objects in the graph, and can be any type of object, such as people, organizations, or websites. Edges represent the relationships between the objects. They can be directed (one-way) or undirected (two-way), and can represent any type of relationship, such as friendship, collaboration, or influence. In addition to vertices and edges, a graph may also have additional elements, such as weights or labels, which provide additional information about the vertices and edges. For example, a graph of social connections might have weights on the edges to represent the strength of the connection, or labels on the vertices to represent the occupation or location of the person.   Attributes that can be associated with edges in a graph   Some common attributes include: Weight: A numerical value that represents the strength or importance of the edge. This can be used to represent things like the intensity of a friendship or the frequency of communication between two individuals. Direction: An edge can be directed (one-way) or undirected (two-way). A directed edge indicates that the relationship is only present in one direction, while an undirected edge indicates that the relationship is present in both directions. Label: A label is a descriptive term that can be attached to an edge to provide additional information about the relationship it represents. For example, an edge connecting two friends might be labeled “friendship,” while an edge connecting a supervisor and an employee might be labeled “supervision.” Color: In some cases, edges can be colored to provide additional visual information about the relationship. For example, an edge connecting two individuals who are members of the same group might be colored differently than an edge connecting two individuals who are not members of the same group. Length: In some cases, the length of an edge can be used to represent the distance between the two vertices it connects. This is often used in geographic graphs to show the distance between two locations.   Ways to represent a graph   Adjacency Matrix: An adjacency matrix is a two-dimensional matrix that represents the connections between vertices in a graph. Each row and column of the matrix corresponds to a vertex, and the value at the intersection of a row and column indicates whether an edge exists between the two vertices.

Text pre-processing is an essential step in natural language processing (NLP) tasks such as information retrieval, machine translation, and text classification. It involves cleaning and structuring the text data so that it can be more easily analyzed and transformed into a format that machine learning models can understand. Common techniques for text pre-processing are bag of words,  lemmatization/stemming, tokenization, case folding and stop-words-removal. Bag of Words Bag of words is a representation of text data where each word is represented by a number. This representation is created by building a vocabulary of all the unique words in the text data and assigning each word a unique index. Each document (e.g. a sentence or a paragraph) is then represented as a numerical vector where the value of each element corresponds to the frequency of the word at that index in the vocabulary. The bag-of-words model is a simple and effective way to represent text data for many natural language processing tasks, but it does not capture the context or order of the words in the text. It is often used as a pre-processing step for machine learning models that require numerical input data, such as text classification or clustering algorithms. Bag of words is a simple and effective way to represent text data for many NLP tasks, but it does not capture the order or context of the words in the text.   BOW Example   Here is an example of how the bag-of-words model can be used to represent a piece of text: Suppose we have the following sentence: “The cat sleeps on the sofa” To create a bag-of-words representation of this sentence, we first need to build a vocabulary of all the unique words in the text. In this case, the vocabulary would be [“The”, “cat”, “sleeps”, “on”, “the”, “sofa”]. We can then represent the sentence as a numerical vector where each element corresponds to a word in the vocabulary and the value of the element represents the frequency of the word in the sentence. Using this method, the sentence “The cat sleeps on the sofa” would be represented as the following vector: [1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1] Note that the bag-of-words model does not consider the order of the words, only the presence or absence of words in the text. This is why the vector has the same value for all elements. This is just a simple example, but the bag-of-words model can be extended to represent longer pieces of text or a whole corpus of text data. In these cases, the vocabulary would be much larger and the vectors would be much longer. Lemmatization and Stemming   Lemmatization and stemming are techniques used to reduce words to their base form. Lemmatization reduces words to their base form based on their part of speech and meaning, while stemming reduces words to their base form by removing suffixes and prefixes. These techniques are useful for NLP tasks because they can help reduce the dimensionality of the text data by reducing the number of unique words in the vocabulary. This can make it easier for machine learning models to learn patterns in the text data. Tokenization   In natural language processing (NLP), tokenization is the process of breaking a piece of text into smaller units called tokens. These tokens can be words, phrases, or punctuation marks, depending on the specific NLP task. Tokenization is an important step in NLP because it allows the text to be more easily analyzed and processed by machine learning algorithms. For example, tokens can be used to identify the frequency of words in a piece of text, or to build a vocabulary of all the unique words in a corpus of text data. There are many different approaches to tokenization, and the choice of method will depend on the specific NLP task and the characteristics of the text data. Some common methods of tokenization include: Word tokenization: This involves breaking the text into individual words. Sentence tokenization: This involves breaking the text into individual sentences. Word n-gram tokenization: This involves breaking the text into contiguous sequences of n words. Character tokenization: This involves breaking the text into individual characters. However, there are several issues that tokenization can face in NLP: Ambiguity: Tokenization can be difficult when the boundaries between tokens are ambiguous. For example, consider the punctuation in the following sentence: “I saw Dr. Smith at the store.” In this case, it is not clear whether “Dr.” should be treated as a single token or two separate tokens “Dr” and “.”. Out-of-vocabulary words: Tokenization can be challenging when the text contains words that are not in the vocabulary of the tokenizer. These out-of-vocabulary (OOV) words may be misclassified or ignored, which can affect the performance of downstream NLP tasks. Multiple languages: Tokenization can be difficult when the text contains multiple languages, as different languages may have different conventions for tokenization. For example, some languages may use spaces to separate words, while others may use other characters or symbols. Proper nouns: Proper nouns, such as names and place names, can be challenging to tokenize because they may contain multiple tokens that should be treated as a single entity. For example, “New York” should be treated as a single token, but a tokenizer may split it into “New” and “York”.   By addressing these issues, it is possible to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of tokenization in NLP tasks.   Case folding   In natural language processing (NLP), case folding is the process of converting all words in a piece of text to the same case, usually lowercase. This is often done as a pre-processing step to reduce the dimensionality of the text data by reducing the number of unique words. Case folding can be useful in NLP tasks because it can help reduce the number of false negative matches when searching for words or when comparing words in different documents. For example, the words “cat” and “Cat” are considered to be different words without

How Monte Carlo Simulations are Revolutionizing Data Science Monte Carlo simulations are a powerful tool used in data science to model complex systems and predict the likelihood of certain outcomes. These simulations involve generating random samples and using statistical analysis to draw conclusions about the underlying system. One common use of Monte Carlo simulations in data science is predicting investment portfolio performance. By generating random samples of potential returns on different investments, analysts can use Monte Carlo simulations to calculate the expected value of a portfolio and assess the risk involved. Another area where Monte Carlo simulations are widely used is in the field of machine learning. These simulations can evaluate the accuracy of different machine learning models and optimize their performance. For example, analysts might use Monte Carlo simulations to determine the best set of hyperparameters for a particular machine learning algorithm or to evaluate the robustness of a model by testing it on a wide range of inputs. Monte Carlo simulations are also useful for evaluating the impact of different business decisions. For example, a company might use these simulations to assess the potential financial returns of launching a new product, or to evaluate the risks associated with a particular investment. Overall, Monte Carlo simulations are a valuable tool in data science, helping analysts to make more informed decisions by providing a better understanding of the underlying systems and the probability of different outcomes.   5 Reasons Why Monte Carlo Simulations are a Must-Have Tool in Data Science   Accuracy: Monte Carlo simulations can be very accurate, especially when a large number of iterations are used. This makes them a reliable tool for predicting the likelihood of certain outcomes. Flexibility: Monte Carlo simulations can be used to model a wide range of systems and situations, making them a versatile tool for data scientists. Ease of use: Many software packages, including Python and R, have built-in functions for generating random samples and performing statistical analysis, making it easy for data scientists to implement Monte Carlo simulations. Robustness: Monte Carlo simulations are resistant to errors and can provide reliable results even when there is uncertainty or incomplete information about the underlying system. Scalability: Monte Carlo simulations can be easily scaled up or down to accommodate different requirements, making them a good choice for large or complex systems. Overall, Monte Carlo simulations are a powerful and versatile tool that can be used to model and predict the behavior of complex systems in a variety of situations.   Unleashing the Power of “What-If” Analysis with Monte Carlo Simulations Monte Carlo simulations can be used for “what-if” analysis, also known as scenario analysis, to evaluate the potential outcomes of different decisions or actions. These simulations involve generating random samples of inputs or variables and using statistical analysis to evaluate the likelihood of different outcomes. For example, a financial analyst might use Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the potential returns of different investment portfolios under a range of market conditions. By generating random samples of market returns and using statistical analysis to calculate the expected value of each portfolio, the analyst can identify the most promising options and assess the risks involved. Similarly, a company might use Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the potential financial impact of launching a new product or entering a new market. By generating random samples of sales projections and other variables, the company can assess the likelihood of different outcomes and make more informed business decisions.   The code Here is an example of a simple Monte Carlo simulation in Python that estimates the value of Pi: import random # Set the number of iterations for the simulation iterations = 10000 # Initialize a counter to track the number of points that fall within the unit circle points_in_circle = 0 # Run the simulation for i in range(iterations): # Generate random x and y values between -1 and 1 x = random.uniform(-1, 1) y = random.uniform(-1, 1) # Check if the point falls within the unit circle (distance from the origin is less than 1) if x*x + y*y < 1: points_in_circle += 1 # Calculate the value of Pi based on the number of points that fell within the unit circle pi = 4 * (points_in_circle / iterations) # Print the result print(pi) Here is an example of a simple Monte Carlo simulation in R that estimates the value of Pi: # Set the number of iterations for the simulation iterations <- 10000 # Initialize a counter to track the number of points that fall within the unit circle points_in_circle <- 0 # Run the simulation for (i in 1:iterations) { # Generate random x and y values between -1 and 1 x <- runif(-1, 1) y <- runif(-1, 1) # Check if the point falls within the unit circle (distance from the origin is less than 1) if (x^2 + y^2 < 1) { points_in_circle <- points_in_circle + 1 } } # Calculate the value of Pi based on the number of points that fell within the unit circle pi <- 4 * (points_in_circle / iterations) # Print the result print(pi) To pay attention! Model validation for a Monte Carlo simulation can be difficult because it requires accurate and complete data about the underlying system, which may not always be available. It can be challenging to identify all of the factors that may be affecting the system and to account for them in the model. The complexity of the system may make it difficult to accurately model and predict the behavior of the system using random sampling and statistical analysis. There may be inherent biases or assumptions in the model that can affect the accuracy of the predictions. The model may not be robust enough to accurately predict the behavior of the system under different conditions or scenarios, especially when a large number of random samples are used. It can be difficult to effectively communicate the results of the model and the implications of different scenarios