My Artificial Intelligence Journey

From struggling through university courses to building a successful freelance business, here’s how I turned frustration into opportunity and founded Datalumina to help others do the same.

Part 1 — Studying Artificial Intelligence

It began in 2013 when I, decided to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Artificial Intelligence. At that time, not having written a single line of code, I quickly became overwhelmed by everything there was to learn about data science and artificial intelligence. I was frustrated by the way the material was taught, constantly thinking, "Isn’t there an easier way to explain this?"

Part 2 — Frustration > Excitement

Despite the frustration, I persisted. The challenges continued up to the fourth and final year, right through to the last course before my Bachelor’s thesis. It was then that I was introduced to machine learning and natural language processing. During this period, I also discovered that you can write Python code in an IDE and save files instead of opening up new text files and terminal sessions each time (yes, it took me four years to figure that out).

Part 3 — Bachelor > Master

Despite having doubts about whether I truly wanted a career in the field. I decided to pursue a Master's degree in AI, but the familiar sense of frustration with university courses soon resurfaced. I considered most lectures a waste of time and felt as though I was there solely for the qualification. Nevertheless, I persisted and ultimately graduated.

Part 4 — Student > Data Freelancer

After graduating, I faced the reality of the job market and was disappointed by the offered salaries. I already had a successful side hustle as a freelance videographer and began questioning a traditional career path. An opportunity to work as a freelance data scientist confirmed my decision to pursue a non-traditional route — the rest is history. I've never looked back and soon found ways to consistently secure freelance clients as a data professional. Over the years, I've continually refined how I run my business, find leads, build my personal brand, close deals, and increase my revenue.

Part 5 — Datalumina®

In 2022 I registered Datalumina, which was the natural evolution of the sole property registered under my own name. Now next to helping my clients with consulting and development projects, I also started creating content on YouTube, aiming to share the insights I've learned over the years. The concept was successful, and the channel gained traction. Although the channel's focus was on technical data skills, viewers also started to ask questions about my freelance journey. That is when the idea for Data Freelancer was born. Fast-forward to 2024, and we have now helped dozens of data professionals to get started with freelancing.