This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Max Buckley, a 38-year-old senior software engineer at Google, based in Zurich, Switzerland. His identity and employment has been verified by Business Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I’m a senior software engineer at Google in Zurich, where I’ve worked since 2013.
Most people don’t go from business to a more technical background, but my bachelor’s degree was in business studies, and I joined Google out of undergrad as a financial analyst intern.
Over several years, I pivoted from financial analysis to business analysis, then to trust and safety, and onto an engineering team in 2016. I joined several other software engineering teams, and then eventually joined Google Cloud AI, where I worked on one of the cloud AI products for a few years.
Then I joined an internal LLM innovation team within Google’s core infrastructure group, which we later turned into an LLM information retrieval applied research team, where I am today, leading the team.
To make multiple shifts like this, you need to upskill and explore other areas. Here’s how I did it:
I completed roughly 40 online open courses
As soon as I joined Google, I decided my North Star was to become a data scientist. Initially, I had a lot of success broadening my skillset with online courses like Coursera, edX, or Stanford. I used them to explore finance, then statistics, then spent most of my time in the computer science and data science space.
All in all, I completed roughly 40 online open courses, most of them through Coursera.
Some of the courses I took include:
- Neural Networks and Deep Learning
- Structuring Machine Learning Projects
- Algorithmic Toolbox
- Sequence Models
The courses were spread out from 2013 to 2021, and I took them on evenings and weekends. I didn’t have much time for video games, but I still made time to go to the gym, eat, sleep, and spend time with my girlfriend.
I wasn’t super structured in my approach to taking courses. I didn’t say “I must do five hours a day,” or anything like that. I took them as I felt the need to do one or to learn more about a particular topic. I didn’t burn out from it.
The most measurably impactful courses I completed were the first two Coursera courses: Data Analysis and Computing for Data Analysis. I did them right before I interviewed for my internship at Google and the interviewer happened to have done the same course, so we had this instant rapport.
I returned to school for multiple degrees
I also did more formal part-time study.
I finished my Bachelor of Business Studies in 2013. Then at Google, I got a part-time postgraduate certificate in statistics, which took a year. Then I did a part-time master’s degree in Business Analytics, which took two years. Then I pursued a part-time master’s degree in software engineering, which took close to five years. Most recently, I did a diploma in Advanced Studies In Data Science, which took another two years.
I did a bunch of summer school certificates, which is when you spend a week doing PhD-level courses.
I don’t regret taking the long road
My message to others who want to transition is don’t be discouraged. When I first wanted to join Google, several hiring managers weren’t interested because I didn’t have a computer science undergraduate degree. Similarly, when I applied for a Master’s in Business Analytics, I was initially declined because I didn’t have a technical undergraduate degree and two semesters of programming experience, even though I was programming at Google. There were hurdles that I had to work around.
I always wanted to study computer science, but my dad told me it’s better to learn something different because I’ll probably end up in it anyway. In hindsight, he was right.
Studying computer science would have certainly expedited my career track, but I’m in a place where it’s no longer a hindrance, and I’m familiar with a bunch of business theories, like Porter’s Five Forces. They’re not always useful, but every once in a while, it comes up in conversation.
The constant here is that my background includes continuous learning. When recruiters or hiring managers see my profile, they see that I’m not someone who gets complacent.
Did you make a career pivot? We want to hear from you. Reach out to the reporter via email at aaltchek@insider.com or through the secure-messaging app Signal at aalt.19.
