Applied Machine Learning is a Meritocracy

When making a start in a new field it is common to feel overwhelmed. You may lack confidence or feel as though you are not good enough or that you are lacking some prerequisite. You will explore these issues in this post and learn that such feelings can lead to actions that can consume a lot of time and resources and leave you feeling disappointed in yourself. You will learn that there are many paths through the field of machine learning and that like programming, it is a meritocracy. Feeling like you are not good enough or that you are lacking some skill that you think you must have before you can make a start in machine learning is dangerous thinking.