I got this question that I would like to address:
Hi Rick, I wanted your input on what do you think of me learning everything I can about AI/ML, Computer Science & Software Engineering & just launching up my own company with the skills I have? I feel like that could be better vs always seeking for a job. I’ve always had the attitude of going into work for myself type of person.
Dante
There are 2 parts here that I believe my thoughts might help others:
- Being an expert in AI/ML and Learning Everything in Computer Science & Software Engineering
- Running a company rather than looking for work
Being an Expert
Let’s address the “expert in AI/ML” – first, AI/ML itself is a specialty with many flavors. I can tell you that even those in one of the flavors work very long days, study hard, doing research and even building to the AI/ML community feel that there’s so much more to learn. It’s continuously evolving. Then, so is Computer Science and Computer Engineering – as they are 2 types of studies. I myself would have trouble in being an expert in all 3 as it can be a full time job to learn just one well, and not be an expert. You’ll also need to have 3-5 years experience to begin to really understand it. Don’t think of this like learning a course in Udemy. Forget the notion that a 30 hour course will make you a master of something.
Think about a mechanic that gets out of school, and still has to apprentice for a long time to be a real mechanic. Yet he’s still considered a mechanic until he’s been doing that for a while. Only, after worked on cards for 5 years or more does he become someone who knows it very well. But another car coming in might surprise him and he has to look at the manual and try to fix that new car. That’s the same thing. However, a mechanic working just on Honda branded cars, and focus on brakes can become an expert.
Computer Science and Computer Engineering are 2 different wide fields. One has to do with knowing how computers and code work, and the other is to build things with computers/code. They are in itself wide fields, yet working for 20 years, I’ve never met someone who claims to be an expert in one vs the other, as it’s always evolving and always something that we don’t know.
Running a company vs Looking for work
When you work for yourself, you can start a company or be a contractor. However, most contractors I know continuously look for contract jobs (the looking for work that you’re avoiding). They do get larger salaries, because companies hire them for shorter periods say a few months or a year, and after that they have to find other contracts. The bigger salary is because companies don’t have to pay you benefits or vacation time/sick time. If you get sick, you don’t make money.
The other option is, starting your own company – and perhaps even hiring staff. The CEO’s I know that own large partnership or services delivery organizations have a vast network of contacts. They use these relationships to get large contracts to hire out their staff. They also have excellent brands and a vast pool of experience and history in executing on service delivery. If you are starting out, you would need to create a brand and have a proven track record. Companies are going to check your references – put you into a legal contract to deliver, and possibly even make you liable for non-delivery or damages. The owner typically works on sales campaign, profit analysis, hour utilization of his/her staff and extending his contacts to find more work for his resource pool of talent.
You can surely do this, but your chances would be better if you are well connected. I’ve known CEO’s that have very little charm, but they are so connected that they can reach out to their network to get some of the hard things done. Others are very visionary, and can inspire others to get all the hard work done as they lead.
1 Bit of Advice
Remember, IT is a vast field that is changing all the time. The laptop I got to write this post was outdated by the time it shipped to me. So is the development languages, the architected solutions, the products we use, etc. IT is evolving and a specialty that is in need today can change tomorrow. We have to maintain the eternal learning attitude to keep ourselves up to date. We have to study like our jobs will be outdated in 2 years. The person that created PERL (Guido van Rossum) doesn’t consider himself an expert on PERL, as he learns new things about it each day.
With that being said, nothing is impossible. I’d say if you practice AI/ML very well, keep in tune with it’s evolution, yes – you can be an expert. Also, with the shift of the workforce to remote and JIT (Just-In-Time) workforce (e.g how Fiverr works), it can definitely be the wave of the future. The industry is moving towards a consumption model of IT (cloud services) and elastic workforce in an OPEX model, and this can be exactly what you’re looking for.
Rick@ITJob.coach
ITJob.Coach 