I'm a 28-year-old AI engineer in Big Tech. Here's my advice for others who want to break into this growing field.

At just 28 years old, Kriti Goyal has made significant strides in the AI field, currently working as a machine learning engineer for a prominent tech company in the United States. Her journey, which began in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India, has been shaped by pivotal moments, including a life-altering video featuring tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, which inspired her to pursue a career in coding. Goyal’s path to success involved securing a master's degree, which she believes has played a crucial role in her career advancement. While she acknowledges the value of higher education, she also emphasizes that it is not the only route into the tech industry. In her role, she contributes to building foundational machine learning models, focusing on writing code that helps software recognize patterns in unseen data. Initially, Goyal interned at her company in India but felt the need to move to the U.S. to be closer to key business decisions that influenced her work. She faced two options: transferring within her company or pursuing a master's degree. Ultimately, she chose the latter for the professional connections and specialized knowledge it offered. Once in the U.S., Goyal leveraged her existing relationships from her internship to secure a machine learning internship, which set the stage for her current full-time position. She actively pitched her projects to other teams, which helped her stand out and demonstrate her capabilities. In her day-to-day role, Goyal divides her time into three main areas: research, collaboration with team members and clients, and hands-on coding. She finds fulfillment in being an individual contributor, focusing on development and problem-solving. Though Goyal believes it is possible to enter the AI sector without advanced degrees, she acknowledges that biases still exist in hiring practices. She suggests that while higher education can be beneficial, particularly for those interested in academia, networking and practical experience can also pave the way for success in the tech world. For those eager to break into AI, Goyal's story serves as a testament to the various paths available in this dynamic field.