Going into a technical interview without doing hours (and I mean hours) of practice problems is humbling. 🥲

The most sound and obvious advice I can give to anyone working with startup founders is to get a contract before a single minute of your time is spent working. Roles and responsibilities can accelerate quickly and it’s easy to rely too heavily on the promises and positive affirmations.

I’ve worked at a startup in a 0-1 environment which taught me a lot…some lessons I wish I didn’t have to learn, like not being in paid despite putting in the time, energy and effort. It’s a shame how many people are founding companies rooted in integrity yet lack it in their own character.

So far it has proven to be the most difficult time of my career. Trying to self reflect, and pivot from a strong anchor that wants to keep me in the same spaces and roles that defined me up to this point. But, that won’t allow me to grow if I keep choosing convenience and familiarity.

I’m on a new journey. One rooted less in ego or trying to prove myself. It’s about being good and doing good, for people and the planet leveraging all my experiences up to this point.

I’ve been an angel investor for a few years now because of my exposure to startups while being in San Francisco and working in Big Tech!

I was an Analytics Engineer at Netflix for nearly 5 years! It unlocked a lot for me both professionally and personally. I was able to travel internationally multiple times a year and build a solid foundation financially that allows me to acquire $1M net worth.

I had created a supportive and longstanding community on here sharing my wins and losses coming from a non traditional background into data science over the years. That journey led me to San Francisco and ultimately leading a role at Netflix.

I’ve been feeling the need to vocalize my thoughts recently. Certain social media platforms just don’t seem like the “right” place to share certain opinions or experiences. But, Twitter was where I started my documenting my journey into data science, so Blue Sky seems fitting to pick it back up.