I studied a Masters of Mechanical Engineering at Bath University, UK. During that time I had the chance to spend a year in industry working for Williams Formula One. A helipad, two wind tunnels and over 600 talented engineers….exciting stuff! I worked as a stress analyst, computationally analyzing components of the race car to minimize their weight, while ensuring the car made it safely to the end of the race. My boss used to joke that if we did a perfect job the entire car would fall apart as it crossed the finish line. In reality we prioritized driver safety and reliability.
After graduating I moved to Vancouver with my powder skis in one hand and downhill bike in the other. I decided to move into software but was looking for a profession that required applied mathematics. The University of British Columbia had just announced their Master of Data Science intensive program, so I quit my engineering job at the time and dove in. Best decision I ever made.
I now work as a Data Scientist for finn.ai, specializing in deep learning for natural language processing. We build digital assistants which banks can provide to their customers. Think Siri or Google Assistant for your bank.