Short intro

Who I am, my background and short summary of my story. Here I will list the steps I personally took to achieve the goal I had.

How did I do it?

1. Why I chose a “hacky” way to enter this career path. First mover advantage, why getting a degree doesn’t always improve your career prospects. Possibly a rant on the signalling function of formal education and how that is rarely aligned with a relevant practical skill set. Some stats to back it up (best career success predictors). Examples of hacking bureaucracies/social hierarchies from my experience and elsewhere.
2. List of things not to do and common cognitive pitfalls.
3. Networking for nerds - how to do it right.
4. Time management for chronic procrastinators - how to plan a self-guided project. Some notes on psychology of time discounting and need for external reinforcement, with autobiographical examples.

Conclusion

You don’t need a PhD or even a masters to do machine learning. On taking calculated risks and especially calculated exits from one’s comfort zone. Some notes on soul searching and how to choose a career that is also a passion. Reading list.