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.
career
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How hackable are automated coding assessments?
Exploring the hackability of speed-based coding tests, using CodeSignal’s Industry Coding Framework as a case study.
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).
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.
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.
Some highlights from 2020
Sharing remote teamwork insights, my climate & sustainability activism, Reef Life Survey publications, and progress on Automattic’s Experimentation Platform.
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?
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.
Reflections on remote data science work
Discussing the pluses and minuses of remote work eighteen months after joining Automattic as a data scientist.
Advice for aspiring data scientists and other FAQs
Frequently asked questions by visitors to this site, especially around entering the data science field.
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.
My PhD work
An overview of my PhD in data science / artificial intelligence. Thesis title: Text Mining and Rating Prediction with Topical User Models.