Best Machine Learning Hands-on Courses using Python on Udemy for Beginners and Professionals

Amlan Mohanty
6 min readJan 4, 2021
Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash

Have you heard of Machine Learning? Are you keen to start Machine Learning and looking for some courses which can jump start your ML journey? If yes, then you have come looking at the right place. Fall back on your chair and allow me to tell you about some of the best ML courses available on Udemy- one of the best e-learning platforms in 2020.

Why Udemy?

Finding and choosing the best courses online for learning Machine Learning is hard, especially when there are so many courses to choose from. If you have done some research, you must have already come across some famous ML courses like the one by Stanford University (taught by Andrew Ng). You probably must be thinking the reason behind suggesting Udemy courses when there are already so many efficient courses and materials available on the Internet. Let me tell you something. Udemy is one of the top platforms which provides one of the best online courses on a wide range of subjects at a lower and affordable price as compared to its competitors. Value for money! Udemy also provides certification at the end of each course, which is recognized in the market and can be added to your LinkedIn profile. It has some very efficient Machine Learning courses, which not only give an insight into the theory, but also prepare us for the industry by teaching in a hands-on style.

Let’s begin!

This article will suggest the top Udemy courses available on Machine Learning, which also provide hands-on experience, to budding Machine Learning Engineers and Data Scientists and even professionals who want to brush up their knowledge or want to change their career to this field. The top courses are chosen based on their popularity, efficiency,reviews, keeping in mind some other important questions like, whether the technology used and codes provided are up to date and whether Q/A assistance is provided in time. The pros and cons of each course, along with its basic overview will be provided on the basis of user and expert reviews.

1). Machine Learning A-Z™: Hands-On Python & R In Data Science

Created by the SuperDataScience Team of Kirill Eremenko and Hadelin de Ponteves, this is one of the bestselling courses on Machine Learning available in Udemy. This course is a sure shot choice when you are starting off your ML journey as it clears your basic understanding first and then takes you to an intermediate level. It dives deep into the topics like Data Preprocessing, Regression, Classification, Decision Trees, Clustering, PCA, etc. , providing enough knowledge of theory along with providing hands on code examples and snippets in both Python and R languages. Currently, more than around 7 lakh students have put their trust on this course.

Popularity/Students enrolled: 7,31,526 students

Rating: 4.5 (1,38,269 reviews)

Pros:

· Detailed explanation of every topic.

· Code-along explanation and examples with teaching.

· Teaches by providing real world industry examples.

· Up to date code.

· Uses both R and Python to teach ML.

· Bestselling course of Udemy.

Cons:

· Q/A Support is relatively slow and many reviewers have complained about their query not being solved.

· Some reviewers complained that in depth knowledge of algorithms and the maths behind it was not explained properly, even though high school maths is mentioned as one of the pre-requisites for taking this course.

· Little to no homework and assignments provided.

· Beginners had a relatively hard time going through the course.

2). Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp

This bootcamp by Jose Portilla is another very popular ML course on Udemy which teaches us Python for Data Visualization and Exploratory Data Analysis and guides us to write effective ML programs using this knowledge. Along with deep understanding of ML algorithms, it also provides an insight into Deep Learning, Neural Networks, Big Data and Spark. All this with code along examples of basic projects and a Data Capstone project to test your readiness for the subject and add to your resume.

Popularity/Students enrolled: 4,16,057 students

Rating: 4.6 (93,029 reviews)

Pros:

· Complete bootcamp for ML and Data Science providing insightful and hands on knowledge about Exploratory Data Analysis, ML algorithms, Deep Learning, Neural Networks, Big Data and Spark.

· Basic projects at the end of each section and a Data Capstone project.

· Fast Q/A support and a Discord server where all the students can interact and discuss among each other.

· Well structured course.

Cons:

· Not much focus is given on teaching theory.

· Reviewers complained that some of the instructions provided in the course are out dated.

· Capstone project for data analysis but no capstone project for ML.

· Reviewers complained that some concepts like Linear Regression are not well explained.

3). Machine Learning, Data Science and Deep Learning with Python

Clearly evident from its name, this course covers a lot of territory. ML, Data Science and Deep Learning all at a time! This course by Sundog Education and Frank Kane is one of the best courses on Udemy for getting wholesome knowledge of this domain. Perfect mix of theory and practical, industry based hands-on application followed by a final project at the end to challenge your skills and display in your portfolio.

Popularity/Students enrolled: 1,40,119 students

Rating: 4.5 (23,709 reviews)

Pros:

· Focus on hands-on application and practical understanding.

· Final project to apply the learnt techniques and tools.

· Notes provided for future reference.

· Theoretical+Practical industry based knowledge.

· Coverage on Machine Learning+Data Science+Deep Learning.

· Sessions on Apache Spark, Experimental Design and Model deployment.

Cons:

· Targeted for beginners.

· Reviewers complained about line to line explanation of code not being provided.

4). Complete Machine Learning & Data Science Bootcamp 2021

This is a complete bootcamp for ML and Data Science and takes you through the journey from a beginner in the field to someone who has enough knowledge and skills in this domain. Andrew Neagoie and Daniel Bourke have built a well structured course providing overall knowledge about the domain. Practical approach of teaching and many handy projects along the way to build your portfolio. One of the best thing is their community called ZeroToMastery which is very helpful and interactive. They allow you to find buddies who are starting the course just like you to discuss your doubts and share your journey with.

Popularity/Students enrolled: 35,434 students

Rating: 4.6 (5,881 reviews)

Pros:

· Well organized and structured course.

· Practical hands-on technique with theory knowledge.

· Many projects along the course.

· Interactive and fast Q/A support.

· Access to Discord server and LinkedIn group of ZeroToMastery community.

· Teaches us out of the course tools needed for our career like presentation of ML models, building portfolio, future planning for ML and DS career,etc.

Cons:

· Exercises and assignments could be more challenging.

· Few reviewers felt that some of the Deep Learning parts were explained in a hasty manner.

5). A-Z Machine Learning using Azure Machine Learning (AzureML)

Jitesh Khurkhuriya and Python, Data Science & Machine Learning A-Z Team have created this bestselling Udemy course which teaches us ML applications using Azure Machine Learning Studio. Good course work and teaching along with hands-on, practical approach. Teaches how to build and deploy ML models.

Popularity/Students enrolled: 18,105 students

Rating: 4.5 (3,127 reviews)

Pros:

· Bestselling course of Udemy.

· Good combination of theory as well as practical teaching of ML using Azure Machine Learning.

· Teaches how to build and deploy ML models using Azure Machine Learning Studio.

Cons:

· Could have covered some more relevant topics.

· Explanations and examples could have been better as per the reviews of the users.

Let’s look at a brief representation of what we have gone through in this article so far!

Best ML Courses on Udemy, Source: Author’s original work

Conclusion

Knowledge is like the vast oceans and the never ending sky. This article tries to advise you to try some of these top courses if you’re just starting to learn Machine Learning. Yet, I would suggest the readers not to limit their source of knowledge to these courses only! Internet is a huge place and there are thousands of resources to learn from. Scrounge the whole web, find out good resources, learn yourself, and teach others.

Happy Learning!

PS: This article was last updated on 05 January,2021.

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