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How to Pass the UCSD Machine Learning Engineering & AI Bootcamp Technical Skills Survey
Machine learning is the process of using programming languages together with analytical and data science knowledge to create programs that enable machines to take actions without being specifically directed by a human.
This blog serves to provide more information about our technical skills survey (TSS). The skills survey is a major component in our admissions process, and will help us determine whether you should start the course in our Foundations program or accelerate straight into the Core curriculum.
The Foundations program at the beginning of the course is designed for those who need an introduction to, or a refresher in, Python programming and core machine learning engineering and AI concepts. The Foundations curriculum prepares you to pass the technical skill survey and proceed into the Core curriculum, where you’ll learn more advanced machine learning engineering and AI concepts and practice your new skills with hands-on projects and a capstone of your choice.
Below you’ll find an overview of what is assessed in the survey, and you can review sample topics and mock questions for each of the subject areas tested.
How the skills assessment works
The assessment is designed to be completed in one session, and typically takes about 90 minutes. You will have up to three hours to complete the skills survey. The TSS aims to assess students’ programming abilities and can be attempted in either of the languages including Python, Java, and JavaScript.
For practicing programming, you can refer to the following resources:
The questions may require familiarity with reading and parsing input data from different file formats like JSON and .CSV files. These quick guides on Reading .CSV files and Reading .JSON files could be helpful.
Additionally, revisiting fundamental statistical concepts such as calculating the mean, median, mode, standard deviation, and weighted averages, can prove to be advantageous. Proficiency in these areas empowers individuals to derive meaningful insights from datasets and make informed decisions based on quantitative analysis.
Get familiar with the testing platform
Do this before you take the survey. HackerRank is standard, and it’s the one this bootcamp uses for vetting candidates. Get used to doing programming challenges with its console.
Try out HackerRank’s Statistics and Machine Learning Challenges to get a foretaste of what you’ll encounter in the bootcamp Technical Skills Survey, and practice working with correlation, regression lines, and probability. Try a few easy to medium-level programming challenges to get a sense of how they work. The more familiar you are with your test environment, the better your results will be, and the faster you will get to the actual code rather than being stuck within the environment itself.
Think you might be ready?
We encourage you to apply to the Machine Learning Engineering and AI Bootcamp. As part of the application process, you'll be invited to complete the TSS. The TSS can serve as a benchmark of skills before beginning the course. If you don’t pass on your first try, no stress, you can always start the course in Foundations (at no additional cost) and attempt the skills survey again when you’re ready. Once you’re enrolled in Foundations, you will have up to three attempts to pass the technical skill survey and proceed into the Core curriculum.