This essay is based on a conversation with Ramani Akkati, a 22-year-old tech employee. The essay has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider verified her identity, records, and employment status.
When I first started college, I was planning to go to medical school, but then I decided to study English Literature because I thought it would be fun and I knew I could get a good GPA.
I was drawn to English because I really liked the analytical aspect of it, criticizing works and analysing poetry, and all of that was very interesting to me.
I currently work for an AI-based predictive analytics company for insurance companies, training processors to extract and template data to create databases, as well as prompt engineering to extract insights from hundreds of pages of medical records and attorney statements.
That’s how I went from studying English to working in technology.
Switching gears
In my third year of college, I realized I didn’t want to spend another decade in the medical school education system, so I started looking into what I could do. What stood out the most to me was data science, machine learning, and AI.
I felt that data science was similar to English literature as it requires drawing parallels between different data points and understanding their correlations and impacts.
I started teaching myself Data Science on Coursera Udemy and took a bunch of online courses. I learned how to code and the ins and outs of AI and Machine Learning. ChatGPT also came out around that time so I used it a lot and did a few projects with ChatGPT which gave me some improvised engineering skills.
I also spoke with a Tesla hiring manager for a senior AI role to get more information on what I should be doing, and she recommended I start with MIT OpenCourseWare, where I watched a lot of videos, did my homework, and practiced quizzes.
How I got into my current job
I applied to a few jobs, mostly just reaching out to hiring managers and directors. Finally, I got my first job at an AI startup by having a phone call with the CEO. I was connected to the CEO, interviewed, and then got the job.
I found my second, current job in a similar way: I reached out to the CEO of a startup and was set up for a quick interview, which led to an internship, which turned into a job.
I was a little nervous about moving into tech and worried that I would have to study for a year or two before I could get a job, but my dad works in tech and he always said that you don’t need much formal education to understand the basics and get a job.
I don’t regret majoring in English.
I don’t regret choosing English Literature as my major, but I do have some regrets about getting lost along the way.
My biggest focus in studying English literature is considering multiple perspectives, which I think is extremely helpful in studying AI and data science because it forces you to think from different angles – something you don’t see a lot of in STEM-based environments, where there tends to be only one right answer.
If you’re considering making a similar switch, I think the most important thing is to understand what you like about your chosen humanities major and how you can apply those skills outside.
Because you can apply what you learn in one field to another, employers will see you as creative, making you more useful in the job market.