Question on machine learning in industry

I would like to gain some insight into what kind of process goes into using machine learning in industry. This question is aimed at those of you who have experience in industry or those who have looked for jobs or might have any insight for whatever reason.

Some background- I am currently a year into a Masters program with a thesis on applying Bayesian Networks in the biomedical field. For the past two years I carried out some research into SVMs as well. I have no intention to continue into a PhD program and would like to get a job after graduating.

My deep knowledge only involves a very narrow slice of the entire machine learning spectrum and I am sure that I would have a hard time trying to find a position related to my research topic without having a PhD. The fields that seem to use machine learning the most (e.g. finance) involve different branches of machine learning that I have no working knowledge of. I have played around with various ML libraries and taken some online courses, but I feel like I have only scratched the surface of what is out there.

Of course this will depend on the nature of the position, but what kind of knowledge is generally expected when applying for positions that use ML in a general sense, but may not directly to relate to what I am most comfortable with? Are positions like this common? Is it possible to get a position in an industry which I have no experience in (like finance)?

Thanks in advance for the input.