My path has been non-linear in the best way: Bioinformatics → Fintech / Data Science → AI Engineering.
The Beginning: Bioinformatics in Lebanon
I began in Lebanon at LAU, studying Bioinformatics. I loved the field, and I also ran into a common challenge locally: access to high-quality datasets is limited. That reality played a big role in pushing me toward freelancing, where I could work on real problems across different industries and build practical experience quickly — something I'd highly recommend to Lebanese tech graduates.
One lesson stood out early: university gives the foundation, while strong engineering skills come from consistent practice outside the curriculum—building projects, debugging, reading documentation, and repeating the cycle until things become second nature.
Moving to Fintech
In fintech, I spent a lot of time in applied ML and analytics where I had to translate what I learned in academia into real business systems. I moved from biomedical to financial data, and from theory to practice— working with messy data, real constraints, and real outcomes.
That experience taught me how to:
- Adapt quickly to new domains
- Learn new terminology and business context
- Communicate clearly with non-technical stakeholders
- Turn knowledge into real products
Current Chapter: AI Engineering
More recently, I've been working with a phenomenal team at Marr Labs on LLMs and modern AI tooling, which pushed me deeper into system design and Agentic frameworks—building workflows that are measurable and reliable.
One thing became very clear: a good team compresses your learning curve. Great feedback loops, shared standards, and constant knowledge-sharing make adapting to new domains way faster. I'm genuinely excited about where this field is heading—the pace is unreal, and it keeps reminding me that learning never really stops.
Key Takeaways
Across every shift I made, I learned that titles and tools change, but the fundamentals don't:
- Keep a strong work ethic
- Learn fast
- Stay curious
- Communicate effectively
Your Turn
If you've switched domains at some point (industry or field), what helped you adapt the fastest? I'd love to hear your experience.