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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Machine Learning Under the Hood: The Technical Tips, Tricks, and Pitfalls by SAS

4.9
stars
64 ratings

About the Course

Machine learning. Your team needs it, your boss demands it, and your career loves it. After all, LinkedIn places it as one of the top few "Skills Companies Need Most" and as the very top emerging job in the U.S. If you want to participate in the deployment of machine learning (aka predictive analytics), you've got to learn how it works. Even if you work as a business leader rather than a hands-on practitioner – even if you won't crunch the numbers yourself – you need to grasp the underlying mechanics in order to help navigate the overall project. Whether you're an executive, decision maker, or operational manager overseeing how predictive models integrate to drive decisions, the more you know, the better. And yet, looking under the hood will delight you. The science behind machine learning intrigues and surprises, and an intuitive understanding is not hard to come by. With its impact on the world growing so quickly, it's time to demystify the predictive power of data – and how to scientifically tap it. This course will show you how machine learning works. It covers the foundational underpinnings, the way insights are gleaned from data, how we can trust these insights are reliable, and how well predictive models perform – which can be established with pretty straightforward arithmetic. These are things every business professional needs to know, in addition to the quants. And this course continues beyond machine learning standards to also cover cutting-edge, advanced methods, as well as preparing you to circumvent prevalent pitfalls that seldom receive the attention they deserve. The course dives deeply into these topics, and yet remains accessible to non-technical learners and newcomers. With this course, you'll learn what works and what doesn't – the good, the bad, and the fuzzy: – How predictive modeling algorithms work, including decision trees, logistic regression, and neural networks – Treacherous pitfalls such as overfitting, p-hacking, and presuming causation from correlations – How to interpret a predictive model in detail and explain how it works – Advanced methods such as ensembles and uplift modeling (aka persuasion modeling) – How to pick a tool, selecting from the many machine learning software options – How to evaluate a predictive model, reporting on its performance in business terms – How to screen a predictive model for potential bias against protected classes – aka AI ethics IN-DEPTH YET ACCESSIBLE. Brought to you by industry leader Eric Siegel – a winner of teaching awards when he was a professor at Columbia University – this curriculum stands out as one of the most thorough, engaging, and surprisingly accessible on the subject of machine learning. NO HANDS-ON AND NO HEAVY MATH. Rather than a hands-on training, this course serves both business leaders and burgeoning data scientists alike with expansive coverage of the state-of-the-art techniques and the most pernicious pitfalls. There are no exercises involving coding or the use of machine learning software. However, for one of the assessments, you'll perform a hands-on exercise, creating a predictive model by hand in Excel or Google Sheets and visualizing how it improves before your eyes. BUT TECHNICAL LEARNERS SHOULD TAKE ANOTHER LOOK. Before jumping straight into the hands-on, as quants are inclined to do, consider one thing: This curriculum provides complementary know-how that all great techies also need to master. It contextualizes the core technology with a strong conceptual framework and covers topics that are generally omitted from even the most technical of courses, including uplift modeling (aka persuasion modeling) and some particularly treacherous pitfalls. VENDOR-NEUTRAL. This course includes illuminating software demos of machine learning in action using SAS products. However, the curriculum is vendor-neutral and universally-applicable. The contents and learning objectives apply, regardless of which machine learning software tools you end up choosing to work with. PREREQUISITES. Before this course, learners should take the first two of this specialization's three courses, "The Power of Machine Learning" and "Launching Machine Learning."...

Top reviews

DB

Aug 24, 2020

I'll be honest. This course made me feel more capable on the quantitive algorithms than I think any coding class ever could. When it's taught the right way, this stuff is actually intuitive.

AM

May 13, 2023

Taking the 'Machine Learning Rock Star' specialization not only made me understand and appreciate ML concepts a great deal but now my computer and I are planning to start a rock band!"

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1 - 25 of 27 Reviews for Machine Learning Under the Hood: The Technical Tips, Tricks, and Pitfalls

By Calle J

•

Aug 19, 2020

Excellent course!

This is a course that everyone should take. It is engaging and fun. I was always inspired to go to the next lesson and learn more. It has some interesting subjects that most other courses don't address, and it has some surprises and eye-opening moments. Two such things are P-hacking and Uplift Modeling, among many other things. The course also brings up a very important topic for Machine Learning: Ethics.

All of this was taught in a fun and easy understandable way. Thank You for this course. I really enjoyed it.

By Laxman G

•

Sep 19, 2020

If only all cars had, the 'machine' learning capability, taught in this course, under their hood .....,,

we would all be driving the safest, fastest, cleanest, coolest, friendliest, most energy efficient cars.

This is the Bugatti La Voiture Noire of Machine Learning Specialization courses.

Thank you Prof. Eric Siegel, SAS and Coursera.

By Carlos P

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Aug 13, 2020

Another excellent Course! This is a very nice introduction to the Technical side of Machine Learning, the course even includes a hands on exercise based on Excel/Google Sheet which helps to consolidate what has been learnt. Eric makes fairly complex algorithms/ideas easy to understand.

By Diego B

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Aug 25, 2020

I'll be honest. This course made me feel more capable on the quantitive algorithms than I think any coding class ever could. When it's taught the right way, this stuff is actually intuitive.

By S K D

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Aug 14, 2020

Thought provoking and innovative approach to learning Machine Learning aspects in unburdened

manner, beneficial to the beginner and the advanced learner alike.

By Oleg K

•

Aug 25, 2020

What a clear course. I love the word algorithm now. Modeling is elegant and I understand that now.

By Yelyzaveta R

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Aug 15, 2020

Very interesting and well-structured course. I think it will be very useful for all learners

By Christina M

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Aug 24, 2020

A very enjoyable and worthwhile course for ML novices as well as techies.

By Saleh O

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Aug 16, 2020

Great course

By Eugene Q

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Sep 25, 2020

Brilliant! I really enjoyed this course. It helped me to understand more about what to do and how (and what not to do) when implementing ML projects. 5 stars!

By Andrew S

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Mar 3, 2021

This is increasingly essential knowledge for both business leaders who know that data must be tapped for competitive advantage and analytics professionals who need to understand how to help businesses tap that power. Each party needs to know a bit more - not too much, but enough - about the other's world to be effective together and deliver results. Finding that balance of how much tech and data and how much business outcome to put into a course is really difficult and I have not seen anyone strike that balance like Prof. Siegel. In addition to this unique capability Prof. Siegel brings relevant and relatable cases, actual hands on work in an approachable format and keen sense of humor as he lets geek flag fly high. Take this course.

By Mohammad S

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Dec 27, 2020

This is a unique and engaging course that tackles a very interesting yet complex topic. I really enjoyed how Professor Eric demystifies many wrong assumptions about machine learning, how he explains the different business and technical requirements and details and gives and due needed attention to the ethical aspect of ML which is very critical to consider for leading ML projects everywhere.

I came out of this course with great knowledge about the project management aspects to successfully lead ML projects.

I highly recommend this course which is part of 3 courses focusing on the business and technical sides of ML.

By Jay S

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Aug 1, 2021

Eric SiegelOpens in a new tab is very insightful in this 3 course machine learning specialization for data oriented business leaders! Highly recommend this specialization. For business leaders, it will help drive the business impact of ML initiatives and manage ethical pitfalls. For technology experts, it does a great job at setting context and painting a great picture of potential applications of ML before one would dive deep into the algorithms.

By Venkatesh C

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Jul 25, 2021

Very engaging delivery of content by Eric and the ability to dive deep without the intimidating mathematics and programming makes this a great course for learners from all backgrounds. The insights into uplift modelling, machine bias and the types of mistakes to avoid when preparing data or interpreting results was also very useful for managers who are non-technical.

By Adeyinka O

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Oct 4, 2022

Quite some depth and subtly technical, but not outside the understanding of a good business-side executive. All thanks to the data science geek. making the presentation visually simple and easy to comprehend. It is worth all the effort and value for the sacrifices.

By Sourav k D

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May 7, 2023

Very detailed explanation. Thank you to the entire team for the great initiative.

By Priyavrat S

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Mar 18, 2021

Loved this course. Recommend to anyone getting started with ML.

By Sumit S

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Dec 28, 2020

Excellent insights in Part 3 too specially Uplift modelling

By Antonio L

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Apr 28, 2021

Eric is a great instructor!

By Jau-Jie Y

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Jul 11, 2021

Good for bussiness

By Selin N

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Oct 14, 2020

Great

By YUGESH S R

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May 12, 2023

Excellent !! The Machine Learning with SAS course is a comprehensive introduction to the field of machine learning, covering key concepts, algorithms, and techniques used to build predictive models. The course is designed for beginners and intermediate learners who want to develop their skills in machine learning using SAS software

By Alexandros M

•

May 14, 2023

Taking the 'Machine Learning Rock Star' specialization not only made me understand and appreciate ML concepts a great deal but now my computer and I are planning to start a rock band!"

By Yasin A

•

May 16, 2023

one of the greatest courses for ML leaning even better than only tech-oriented courses

By Dmitry B

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Aug 18, 2020

This course covers quite a few core issues that arise when you apply a machine learning algorithm to real-world problems. However, if you are a seasoned practitioner, you may find that the course does not deliver to the promise given in the description. I was expecting gotchas and a-ha moments, but that did not happen.