Lessons from reluctant data engineering

Video and summary of a talk I gave at DataEngBytes Brisbane on what I learned from doing data engineering as part of every data science role I had.

October 25, 2023

The lines between solo consulting and product building are blurry

It turns out that problems like finding a niche and defining the ideal clients are key to any solo business.

September 25, 2023

The Minimalist Entrepreneur is too prescriptive for me

While I found the story of Gumroad interesting, The Minimalist Entrepreneur seems to over-generalise from the founder’s experience.

August 21, 2023

Revisiting Start Small, Stay Small in 2023 (Chapter 2)

A summary of the second chapter of Rob Walling’s Start Small, Stay Small, along with my thoughts & reflections.

August 17, 2023

Revisiting Start Small, Stay Small in 2023 (Chapter 1)

A summary of the first chapter of Rob Walling’s Start Small, Stay Small, along with my thoughts & reflections.

August 16, 2023

Was data science a failure mode of software engineering?

Yes, data science projects have suffered from classic software engineering mistakes, but the field is maturing with the rise of new engineering roles.

June 30, 2023

How hackable are automated coding assessments?

Exploring the hackability of speed-based coding tests, using CodeSignal’s Industry Coding Framework as a case study.

May 26, 2023

Remaining relevant as a small language model

Bing Chat recently quipped that humans are small language models. Here are some of my thoughts on how we small language models can remain relevant (for now).

April 21, 2023

The mission matters: Moving to climate tech as a data scientist

Discussing my recent career move into climate tech as a way of doing more to help mitigate dangerous climate change.

June 6, 2022

My work with Automattic

Back-dated meta-post that gathers my posts on Automattic blogs into a summary of the work I’ve done with the company.

October 7, 2021

Some highlights from 2020

Sharing remote teamwork insights, my climate & sustainability activism, Reef Life Survey publications, and progress on Automattic’s Experimentation Platform.

April 5, 2021

Software commodities are eating interesting data science work

Being a data scientist can sometimes feel like a race against software commodities that replace interesting work. What can one do to remain relevant?

January 11, 2020

A day in the life of a remote data scientist

Video of a talk I gave on remote data science work at the Data Science Sydney meetup.

December 11, 2019

Reflections on remote data science work

Discussing the pluses and minuses of remote work eighteen months after joining Automattic as a data scientist.

November 3, 2018

Advice for aspiring data scientists and other FAQs

Frequently asked questions by visitors to this site, especially around entering the data science field.

October 15, 2017

My 10-step path to becoming a remote data scientist with Automattic

I wanted a well-paid data science-y remote job with an established company that offers a good life balance and makes products I care about. I got it eventually.

July 29, 2017

My PhD work

An overview of my PhD in data science / artificial intelligence. Thesis title: Text Mining and Rating Prediction with Topical User Models.

March 30, 2015