u/Mbkim3

My journey breaking into AI/ML so far (and lessons learned)

​Hey everyone, apologies for the long thread

​Just wanted to share a bit of my tech journey over the last year or two, mostly to connect with fellow devs and maybe encourage anyone currently in the trenches.

​I’m currently wrapping up my IT degree at JKUAT in kenya and looking back, it’s been a wild ride of hackathons, late-night debugging and building things I'm actually proud of. I started out diving deep into Python did the ALX track and eventually found my niche in AI and Computer Vision.

​A couple of highlights that kept me sane and motivated:

​*Building actual projects* I built WakeApp (a YOLOv8-based driver drowsiness detection system) and InsightRecruiter (an NLP/RAG tool to help job seekers match resumes with descriptions). Moving from tutorial hell to actual deployment was a game-changer.

​*Getting out of my comfort zone* As a natural introvert forcing myself to attend local events like the GDG JKUAT Buildathon, GitHub Copilot Dev Days and even a couple of intense weekend hackathons completely changed how I view the local community.

​*Balancing the grind* I realized quickly that staring at a screen 24/7 wasn't working, so hitting trails like Mt. Longonot and Ngong Hills with tech communities really helped clear the mental fog.

​I’m currently diving into things like the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, IoT and cloud.

​For anyone still in school or just starting out build real projects, go to those local tech meetups even if you feel awkward and take care of your mental health.

​Would love to connect with other devs, ML engineers or techies. What are you guys currently working on?

Also if you are a mentor i would truly love to pick your brain and guidance on how to break through this field😫