1. Lookback into the past
Back in school, when I had to choose a future profession, I wanted to become a doctor. The reason felt simple, I wanted to be physically “perfect”, and who other than a doctor is expert it. I know it sounds childish, I was maybe 10–12 at that time , but it was honest. So, I chose the medical stream in 11th grade. Still, a part of me loved logic and math, so I took Mathematics as an extra subject. Back then I had my personal tower, made of books.
But so came Chemistry into my life, and so were my **3 years wasted **attempting NEET(the entrance exam for MBBS in India). I was good enough for private colleges, but coming from a financially weaker family, I realized medicine wasn’t feasible. That forced me to explore other career options.
2. Self Realization
Soon came the COVID lockdown. But through reference I got to train at my fathers workplace, where I came to know of the career in tech field and their implications. I got trained in using specialized software to create page layout through pipeline modification and little bit of coding in Swift language for big size of data. This was the moment I realized my potential in logical reasoning. Soon after the training and after the lockdown lifting, I was decided to go fully into the field of Tech. I remember a quote I heard on youtube, which is something like:
> Go out, the path find you.
3. The crazy rollercoaster experiment
Instead of abandoning biology entirely, I chose to bet on both the world of tech and med (sounds crazy)
- I enrolled in a paramedical degree (I believed maths has so much left to do in biology).
- Simultaneously, I joined an online Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) program. My choices were driven by constraints, but those three bachelor years were a roller coaster: chaotic, hard, and, honestly, fun. I easily qualified both my degree in first class.
4. Choosing a career track
In my 2nd year AI was just a baby, and so I went in to specialize in MERN Stack, to secure a career in a booming field. I knew the filed was getting more competitive, mostly for a BCA background. Near the end of my degree, anxiety about AI hype and layoffs hit me. As I graduated in both my degrees, I got a job opportunity at a College as Lab Attendant thanks to my paramedic degree, where I somehow also managed to convince the college to let me build their college website from scratch (it was unmanaged and looked very outdated at that time and didn't utilize any backend feature). Seeing my web dev skill I was also asked to unofficially lecture the BCA and B Tech students. It worked nice for me.
4. Moving Forward
Everything was fine and all but something still felts lacking plus AI advancements made me question my skill relevance. I realized doing generic job wont guarantee me job security and the lab attendant job profile also didn't hold much value. Putting up some courage I decided to go in more depth in tech and pick a niche which helps realize my childhood dream at the same time. Now I am currently pursuing MCA AI/ML and plan on doing a PhD in Neuroscience (considering I already have a backing in biology).
To build credibility I have started collecting certificates and practical experience, some of which are:
- AI & Data Science certificates (Oracle)
- Data Engineering Associate (Microsoft)
- Multiple Courses from 365 Data Science
- Context Engineering (Scimba)
- A 2-month internship in AI/ML (Infosys Springboard)
- Built a Project called InterviewMinutes (my skill benchmark so far in ML)
The era is chaotic but the verse from Bhagwat Gita keeps me motivated:
(English Translated)
> You have a right to perform your duty, but never to any fruit of action.
Thank You for giving time to read my first article on Dev.to.
Please find my linkedin profile here:
Deepak Kumar Soni
Click here to try my latest project InterviewMinutes
Lastly but not the least please check out Scrimba's extensive course library. I have been following their AI Path lately, and they provide the best learning experience I have ever had in online mode.
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