[charlysl]

To learn a solid theoretical foundation: Caltech's "Learning from data" [1]. It is one of those rare courses where the professor is so good that he manages to make tricky concepts seem almost trivial (like Paar's "Understanding cryptography").

Look elsewhere if all you want is to learn tools and start practical projects ASAP without really understanding what you are doing. Tools come and go and will serve you for a while, concepts are timeless and will serve you for life. You need both, of course, but I wouldn't skip the theory, specially when such an amazing course is on tap.

[1] https://work.caltech.edu/telecourse.html

[ultrasounder]

Agreed! 100%. What level of math is required for the LFD course?

[charlysl]

Don't worry about the math, one of the great things about this course is that the professor is a magician when it comes to explaining and defanging scary looking math, you'll be fine. Having said that, it's mostly basic matrix and vector algebra, basic probability and basic calculus (all high school level).

[ultrasounder]

Thanks for the words of encouragement! With that said I will watch the lectures, read the book and do the assignments.