Career Path(s):

- Engineering, Science & Technology

- Regulations

 

​Describe your usual work environment:

 

I'm involved in developing artificial intelligence application related to manned and unmanned aviation, conducting flight tests and ensuring operational safety.

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Please provide a brief description of your job:​

 

My role is to integrate various pieces of the puzzle together and ensure cohesive development and harmony in the end product. This includes automation, safety, operational efficiency and profitability.

 

​What made you decide to pursue your chosen career path?​

 

Right from my high school, through college and graduate school, I have been involved in developing solutions for autonomous aircraft (manned and unmanned). So the decision to pursue a career in aviation was not a difficult one at all.

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​What are the three key skills that are required for your job?​

 

This is quite hard to describe, but I will try. The 3 technical skills could be: Flight mechanics, artificial intelligence, airworthiness. 3 soft skills could be: Patience, reliability, and integrity.

 

What would you say is the biggest misconception about your job?​

 

The biggest misconception is that my job has a set of skills that is attached to the job description. I'm fortunate to say that my job involves being involved in regulatory committees, conducting flight tests, writing AI algorithms, a lot of public presence and dissemination, and gaining trust from the partners, public and authorities.

 

​What advice would you give to a school student who is interested in pursuing a career similar to yours?​

 

The advice I would give to an 11-year-old kid is that, focus on the basics. Learn the concepts. Don't beat yourselves up because you're not better than your classmates. Be better than what you were yesterday. Don't let competition define the best of you.

 

Some practical advice:

1. If you have the opportunity, participate in projects in the industry and learn how things are done.

2. Get yourself a Raspberry Pi and start programming various projects (Python, OpenCV, and few other suitable topics of interest).

3. If aviation is your dream, see if you can get into an RC club and start learning to fly a fixed wing RC model. You'll enjoy it more than flying any other multicopter drone. You'll also get to learn to understand a little bit of flight mechanics that way.

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If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me via email. I can always take 15 minutes away to help you find directions, or at least, provide guidance in whatever way possible.

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​If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?​

 

Empathy. We need more empathy.