[dhairya]

A couple things that come to mind with this article. My own journey has been quite nonlinear both in terms of roles (business systems analyst -> data analyst -> technical project manager -> data scientist -> AI research scientist) and environments (F100 -> academia -> startups). My undergrad (creative writing and social sciences) would not have predicted my current role (Senior AI researcher focusing on deep learning and NLP) and I still have no idea where I want to end up.

It can be hard to imagine and project your potential. Often our journeys are not linear and we have hard time factoring who we will be in future as sum of our experiences. Often that growth in knowledge and life experiences will be exponential even though to us it may feel linear in the present.

I also find it useful to think about problems instead roles. I've had roles that didn't exist 10 years ago and likewise new problem spaces are always emerging. Problems don't necessarily have to be domain specific or role specific but generally describe the types of challenges you find interesting. Once I identify a problem space I start to think about how I would like to make an impact and how I can currently make an impact. Sometimes the two are the same and other times they are different and require a journey to get there.

But I find the metaphor of problems interesting because it helps align the type of work I do with the things I find interesting at any given point. It also helps narrow the search space for opportunities and ensure what type of career growth is meaningful for you.

[bckr]

It sounds like you have had an amazing adventure so far, and it's really inspiring to see that you've been able to have such a fluid career. Could I contact you to learn more about your adventures? My email is Anthony at yesrobo dot net

[dhairya]

Happy to chat.my contact info is on my profile.