𝗔𝗻 𝗨𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁

Yesterday, May 17, 2026 we arrived in Sydney, the start of our trip through Australia. In the Uber from the airport, I started talking with Muhammadh Azwardeen, our driver.

He told me he had just finished his Bachelor of Computer Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Swinburne University of Technology, with skills including C++, Python and other technical capabilities. He is now looking for his first serious step in data science and AI — in Australia, but also open to opportunities in other parts of the world.

He asked me for advice. I shared two possible routes: join a larger corporate to learn from mature teams, processes and platforms, or start at a smaller company where you get responsibility faster and learn by doing.

We also had a good discussion about the balance between data science/AI and data management. My view: data science/AI sometimes focuses too much on the science and too little on the data management. Without solid data, context, definitions, quality and governance, even the best models remain fragile.

What struck me was his openness. He listened, challenged, asked questions and was clearly eager to learn.

𝗦𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮, 𝗔𝗜, 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 — 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 — 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝘂𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗵’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗺, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁: Muhammadh Azwardeen

Sometimes a career opportunity starts with a good conversation on the road.