Machine Learning Contractors
Let Their Experience Help Deliver Your Next Project
The next time you pick up your phone to send someone a text message, it’s likely that your phone is helping you to properly spell the words you are trying to write and predict the sentence you want to make. What you are witnessing is machine learning in action.
What is Machine Learning?
For those who may be unfamiliar with the term, machine learning is the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed. In other words, machine learning is based on the idea that computer systems can learn from data, identify patterns and make decisions with minimal human intervention.
In the example at the start of this article of auto-correct, your phone uses what is called a predictive text algorithm or text predictor. It works by using artificial intelligence to understand the words and sentences you have typed in the past to predict and suggest the words you might use in the next sentence. Overtime machine learning helps your phone get smarter and smarter with the aim that eventually you will have to barely type anything at all to send someone a text.
Machine Learning is Still Learning
While machine learning holds a lot of promise for many different industries, it is still a relatively new technology and has limitations. For example, machine learning is dependent on human input and can only learn as long as humans continuously input data. Whether that’s through typing, talking or clicking, technology that uses machine learning needs data – and a lot of it.
One of the major challenges is that often there isn’t enough data or the data is poor quality. This can hinder the ability of machine learning to reach its full potential. On top of this, some companies also struggle with managing their data and often collect too much of it or not the right one to be useful.
To help resolve or avoid these issues it can be helpful for a company to hire a machine learning specialist or Data Scientist. For some companies it might be necessary to hire a full-time employee who understands machine learning, however in most cases, it will be easier, more economical and faster to simply hire a contractor.
Vast Experience: Data Scientist Contractors
One of the biggest benefits with hiring a data scientist contractor is that they often have a wealth of experience working on similar projects for a variety of different companies and different types of projects. This can help bring a new perspective to your team and provide creative solutions that you may not have thought of before.
In addition to this, it’s often difficult to find a full-time employee with the right skills and experience in machine learning because they are in high demand. Choosing to hire a contractor can be a lot faster because contractors are usually very efficient at what they do. It also gives you the ability to hire them to complete a specific project or work for a select period of time. While the initial costs might seem expensive, it is more cost-efficient, in the long run, to hire a contractor because you don’t have to pay for their training, vacation time, or benefits. They also won’t become a fixed cost on your payroll.
Next Steps
If your company is using machine learning to help improve its service or product, but lacks the required skills and experience that you need, consider hiring a contractor to do the job. Contractors might appear expensive on paper, but their skills, experience, and proficiency are worth their weight in gold and you won’t be disappointed.
We’ve built up decades of expertise in the software contractor space and have processes and systems in place to aid our clients with hiring and keeping the best contractor talent. Contact us today to see how we can share our many years and roster of client success with you and help your next AI project succeed.