Prerequisites

The Machine Learning Zoomcamp does not require prior ML experience. It does assume general programming literacy.

For general expectations about zoomcamp time commitment, see Before You Start.

Required skills

You need these basics:

  • Strong programming experience in any major language. Python is what the course uses, but if you are proficient in another language you can pick up Python fundamentals as you go.
  • Comfort with the command line, Git, and Docker basics.

You do not need

You do not need these before starting:

  • Prior machine learning experience. The course takes you from beginner to practitioner.
  • Advanced math. Module 1 covers the basic linear algebra you need.
  • Prior cloud experience. The course uses AWS for deployment but introduces it from scratch.
  • A degree.

Time commitment

Plan around this schedule:

  • Module-week pace for the curriculum.
  • Two weeks of project work followed by one week of peer review (per project).
  • Plan for 10 to 15 hours per week.

The earliest you can receive your certificate is after the final project’s peer-review deadline.

Adapting to your background

Use your background to decide where to spend more time:

  • Data engineers transitioning to ML: focus on the modeling modules, you can move faster on deployment.
  • Infrastructure / SRE backgrounds: you can move faster on deployment modules.
  • Career switchers from non-tech fields: rely on study groups and expect to spend extra time on programming basics in module 1.

For dev tools and environment choices, see Environment Setup.