[D] Skill Creep in ML/DL Roles - is the field getting not just more competitive, but more difficult?

At what point do you think there was an inflection point for technical expertise and credentials requires for mid-top tier ML roles?
Or was there never one? To be specific, would knowing simple scikit-learn algorithms, or basics of decision trees/SVM qualify you for full-fledged roles only in the past or does it still today? At what point did FAANGs boldly state: preferred (required) to have publications at top-tier venues (ICLR, ICML, CVPR, NIPS, etc) in their job postings?

I use …

algorithms basics decision decision trees expertise inflection learn machinelearning roles scikit-learn simple svm technical think trees