Technical Program Manager or Machine Learning Engineer?
I have been working as a TPM for many years and I have good feedback about my job. On the other hand, I am finishing my MSc in Data Science and Machine Learning and I am trying to evaluate some possibilities for me. Option 1: continue as a TPM and look for projects focused on DS/ML to use my new knowledge (MSc) Option 2: work to transition to a Machine Learning Engineer job. It is kind of from scratch as I don’t have professional experience on that Assuming that Option 2 is viable, what do you think is the best choice? What criteria do you believe I should use to decide? Job: TPM TC: $ 250k LCOL
Do you actually like doing MLE stuff? I think that’s the main question
Yes, at least from what I learned on the MSc on Data Manipulation, Visualization, Statistical testing, supervised, unsupervised and deep learning, etc. I like it a lot.
I'd suggest Engineer. - More respected generally than TPM - Probably better pay - Open more doors in the future - Get to do the things you learnt in MSc at a deeper level (I am guessing you like the stuff)
Full time or part time degree?
Not sure if I understand the question. I continued working while studying, so I believe it is considered part time. 30+ credits.
TPMs have a lot more of a diverse skill set and can be used anywhere more so than ML. ML is niche. Niche jobs are easier to pass interviews for if you have the skill set for it but harder to find job availability for imo
Work as TPM but try to get ML / AI related projects, teams, etc.