[extasia]

My answer would be quite specific to what exactly you're trying to achieve.

Id be wary of just hacking away without understanding at least the fundamentals of ML + NLP or you'll find yourself lost pretty quick.

I'm a former SWE turned NLP researcher, so i was recently in your position:)

[gmreads]

Curious why and how you did the transition? Rapid progress in this space I don't think SWE is a viable career for next 20 years.

[extasia]

I felt that my software work in the gambling industry wasn't aligned with my ethical beliefs (also family member with gamba addiction..)

I really enjoyed the research I did in my undergraduate degree (Physics) and so when my partner suggested I apply to the doctoral training program (it's called a CDT in England) it was sort of a no brainer to shoot my shot - the project sounded interesting and the course was designed for those coming from industry.

tl;dr opportunity came up and I jumped ship from SWE to ML research.