Chasing the Sexiest Job
Biology, MBA in marketing, and data and AI leadership? What do they have in common? That’s me. My journey might seem unconventional, but it’s a story of passion, adaptability, and human connection. So, buckle up as we dive into a tale that’s as unexpected as it is exhilarating.
It all started with a fascination for human psychology. As a kid, I was the go-to person for friends with emotional challenges. I dreamed of studying human behavior and changing lives. But in China, psychology wasn’t well respected back then, so I chose biology, thinking it was close enough. After all, the 21st century was predicted to be the century for life sciences. But instead of studying whole human beings, or even pieces of the body or cells, I found myself examining invisible proteins inside cells. Picture this: me, raising yeast every day, making them work so hard they turned red. Yes, I was the yeast whisperer! After a year in the basement lab, I knew I needed a change. I craved sunlight and, you know, actual human interaction.
I decided to pursue an MBA, hoping to pivot my career. Almost all schools rejected me — except one. Lucky me! During the interview, I confidently declared my interest in finance, despite not knowing what an income statement looked like. Ironically, I ended up disliking finance and accounting the most. But I found my true calling in marketing — a human-centric field that reignited my passion for understanding and influencing behavior.
My career took off from there. Starting as a marketing analyst, I leveraged my lab-honed analytical skills and my passion for human behavior. I moved through roles as a manager of marketing analytics, director of data science, and eventually, vice president of artificial intelligence and machine learning. We used data and analysis to understand customers and businesses, built models to predict behavior, and prescribe actions to influence the outcomes. I managed a large group of data scientists and machine learning engineers, who had the sexiest jobs of the 21st century. I was always the first one to be moved to the new job family in the company and my job titles could be a documentary on the industry’s evolution. My career wasn’t meticulously planned; it was driven by passion and adaptability.
Leadership roles brought me the most human-to-human interactions, allowing me to help others become the best versions of themselves. At the peak of my career, ChatGPT took the world by storm, leading to widespread layoffs as companies embraced AI automation. I, too, left my last role after implementing the first enterprise-wide Generative AI solution. Attending the first communication mastery program at NSA Ohio, I realized I didn’t fully understand AI’s implications. As an AI builder, I worried about accuracy and risks. But as users, people leverage any tools available and make judgments based on their domain expertise. After I started actually using all the AI tools, I was fascinated by how much they can achieve and realized that AI will drive the next biggest change in human behaviors.
Now, AI may be transforming the world, but it also creates fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. People and businesses who don’t know how to use AI will be left behind. However, those who embrace the changes while staying true to their values and human-centric approach will survive and thrive in the new AI age. At this juncture, even I’m uncertain about my next step, but I trust my internal compass. I got into a profession that didn’t exist before, and I hope my kids will one day have careers we haven’t even heard of, either. I believe that through this uncertainty, I will discover and move on to the next coolest — or dare I say, sexiest — career. So, follow your intuition, embrace change, and you’ll always have the coolest job. Let’s navigate this journey together, with our humanity as our guide.
