Yesterday I told my team at Facebook I was leaving. It’s been an amazing 2 years as a Data Analyst working on Safety issues for the company. The chance to tackle the dark underbelly of the internet, prevent harm and help people when harm has occurred was something that I never thought I would work on in my career. But I did and had the chance to work with passionate, talented people who care deeply about others and the needs of the most vulnerable users. For all it’s flaws (real or perceived), FB’s internal culture is something truly special and its commitment to (and investment in) Safety is unparalleled in the tech industry and deserves massive praise. My time working in this area and on these issues was a gift and will be an experience I will carry with me for a long time to come.
So what’s next? After a lot of reflection and discussion with my wife, family and friends I decided that it was time to commit 100% to bringing my ML knowledge and skills to the next level. So I’m taking 3-4 months out from January 2019 to deepen my knowledge and broaden my portfolio. Right now my thinking is that Personal Projects, contributions to Open Source and Kaggle competitions will be my 3 main focus areas. Although that can always change. Contributing back to the open source community that has given me so much is sometime I am especially looking forward to.
In the words of a FB colleague (and former YouTuber), LETS GO!
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