Background

A friend of mine is currently showing interest in changing careers. She is in the IT sector, but her experience focuses mostly in managing teams and doing support.

I talked to her about AI, and that currently Europe is making a significant push to invest in this sector, alongside DevOps and Cybersecurity:

• https://thinkeurope.de/blog/europe-s-fastest-growing-job-markets-and-careers-in-2025
• European Tech Job Market 2026: Statistics, Trends & Where to Hire
• Top 10 In-Demand Jobs in Europe in 2025 – Euro Staffs Career Guide

Books

This person is knowledgeable about IT in general, but she is not a developer. So I would like to recommend a book for beginners, with emphasis on creating a portfolio and getting noticed by recruiters.

From Manning, I see a couple of good options:

• Grokking Machine Learning - Luis G. Serrano could be interesting, but I am not sure if it will teach you enough to create a good portfolio and get a job
• Generative AI in Action - Amit Bahree may be to advanced, and it also only teaches how to use tools created by others, not to create them yourself
• Deep Learning with Python, Second Edition - François Chollet seems promising, but it may be too advanced / theoretical

Which books from Manning would you recommend and why?
Please keep in mind the person in question is a beginner, and is trying to make a career change to get a new job.