[__dave__]

Nice. I've worked for awhile in backend dev and infrastructure/cloudops, and thought about trying to transition to pentesting to try something new. What did you like about it? What did you not like? What made you decide to leave the domain for ML?

[sillysaurusx]

It's mostly a writing gig. (tptacek disagrees, but that's fine -- we disagree on lots of things.) You don't really make anything, and I liked making things. It was kind of that simple.

But! I also met some of the most interesting and capable people I've worked with. So if you're interested, I encourage you to give it a shot.

As for "why ML," I liked ML and it was full of mystery, which was good enough for me.

[__dave__]

From the outside looking in that's pretty much what I guessed: Lots of report-writing and little if any programming, but a lot of very talented and interesting people.

It seems like with the proliferation of bug-bounty platforms today, there's a fairly clear way to prove yourself and get in the door while picking up a little cash on the side. Heck, maybe just dabbling in bounty programs is enough to scratch the itch.

[maxlamb]

For your switch to ML did you also work on a portfolio of ML projects? If so, what's an example ML project you worked on that you were able to show your future employer?