This is the first coop where I have options and I donât know what to do. Iâve been lucky enough that each coop has been in something that I knew I wanted to do or test, and as a result there wasnât much of a question. I think it would be good for me to word vomit here.
In the future, I see myself working on moonshots
Itâs worth it to describe my role in these projects. Realistically, I want to feel responsible for their success, although I know itâs not a quality of a good engineer.
I think itâs okay for me to want this though. Itâs a downstream effect of having ambition. It is well paired with humility in understanding that although you feel responsible, there are many that are.
There are 2 ways that I could be core to a project:
- lead the team to victory, making decisions on the way (technical or not)
- Like Tanay
- be responsible for the core technological advancement that allows for the project to exist
- Like Danny
Being responsible for the core technological advancement means taking an early bet on what technology is useful. The researchers that were fascinated by deep learning 10 years ago are now the ones in this position. This also requires âprep timeâ.
Read âYou donât need to work on hard problemsâ
Leading, on the other hand, is much more unpredictable, but easier to do impromptu. It is the role of the generalist.
In the case of being the technical person, it seems I am tech agnostic. It doesnât matter if I work on crypto or AI, so long as it is the bottleneck for the project.
Some ways to think about it:
- The current bottleneck right now seems to be the intelligence stack, so learn ML really well so I can apply it well.
- Itâs hard to predict future bottlenecks so it is easier to treat tech as a hobby, ready to dive in when needed
- Itâs low EV to bet on a technology rather than your ability to lead and trailblaze. In this way, itâs better to get breadth early on.
Some more axioms:
- I shouldnât care about money for an internship
- I shouldnât care about location for an internship