“Your PhD Could Serve as the Most Potent Intellectual Exercise, Fuelling Your Entire Career’s Journey”

In our interview with Ahmed Salhin, he shares his journey from modelling investor behaviour to developing machine learning (ML) solutions. Ahmed valued the analytical aspects of his PhD and focused his career plans on deployable machine learning. He acquired broader software skills through collaborations and experience. A rewarding aspect of Ahmed’s work is uncovering meaningful insights through data science, as well as the constant learning inherent in this rapidly evolving field. However, he notes that dealing with messy, uncooperative data can be frustrating. Ahmed credits his PhD with instilling the advanced technical skills necessary to work through these challenges and develop effective machine learning solutions. To help determine if data science is a good career fit, he suggests reflecting on one’s curiosity, passion for problem-solving, collaborative spirit, and communication abilities. Ahmed advises preparing for post-PhD life early, expanding your network, and embracing the PhD journey.