It's November 7th, 2025, and I'm sitting with a question that many recent graduates face: what now? With an AI MSc in hand and a world of possibilities ahead, I'm exploring different paths and trying to understand what genuinely excites me versus what I think I should be excited about.
The Paths I'm Considering
Path 1: Join a Leading AI Lab
The Appeal: Working alongside brilliant researchers, contributing to cutting-edge developments, learning from the best.
The Reality Check: Highly competitive, might mean focusing on narrow problems, potentially less autonomy early on.
What I'm Thinking: This could accelerate my learning and give me credibility in the field. But do I want to optimize for learning or for building?
Path 2: Join an Early-Stage Startup
The Appeal: High impact, wearing multiple hats, potential upside, moving fast.
The Reality Check: Risk, long hours, might fold, less structured learning.
What I'm Thinking: The idea of being part of a small team building something from the ground up is exciting. But which startup? And am I ready to bet on a specific vision?
Path 3: Build Something of My Own
The Appeal: Complete autonomy, solving problems I care about, learning by doing, unlimited upside.
The Reality Check: Need to generate income, solo journey can be isolating, high failure rate, imposter syndrome.
What I'm Thinking: Part of me wants to just start building and see what happens. But building what? And is this the right timing?
Path 4: Industry ML Engineering Role
The Appeal: Good compensation, structured environment, real-world applications, clear progression.
The Reality Check: Might be less cutting-edge, could become more about engineering than research, corporate constraints.
What I'm Thinking: This feels like the "safe" option, but safe doesn't mean wrong. Maybe building strong engineering skills is exactly what I need?
Path 5: Continue to PhD
The Appeal: Deep dive into a research area, academic freedom, becoming an expert.
The Reality Check: 4-5 more years, uncertain career outcomes, opportunity cost.
What I'm Thinking: I love research, but do I love it enough to commit to a PhD right now? Or am I just delaying the decision?
What I'm Learning About Myself
Through this exploration, some patterns are emerging:
I want to build things - Not just theorize or research, but create tangible systems that people use.
I need intellectual challenge - Routine implementation work wouldn't satisfy me long-term.
I value autonomy - The idea of having significant control over what I work on matters to me.
I care about impact - I want my work to matter, though I'm still defining what "matter" means.
I need community - Working in complete isolation doesn't appeal to me.
The Reality of 2025
These decisions don't exist in a vacuum. The AI landscape in late 2025 is characterized by:
- Rapid technological advancement creating new opportunities daily
- Increasing scrutiny and regulatory attention
- Questions about AI's role in society becoming mainstream
- A job market that's both competitive and full of openings
- Uncertainty about what skills will remain valuable
My Current Thinking
Rather than choosing one definitive path, I'm considering a hybrid approach:
- Take on contract/part-time work to generate income and build practical skills
- Dedicate time to personal projects to explore ideas and build a portfolio
- Stay connected with research through reading, discussions, potentially contributing to open projects
- Build in public through this blog and sharing work
- Keep conversations open with various opportunities while not committing prematurely
This isn't traditional career advice. It doesn't lead to a clean narrative. But it feels honest to where I am right now.
The Permission to Not Know
Maybe the most important realization is that I don't need to have this figured out today. My path doesn't need to be linear. I can experiment, pivot, and adjust.
The AI field is young enough that unconventional paths are still very much viable. In fact, they might be advantages.
Questions I'm Sitting With
- What problems do I want to spend my time solving?
- What does success look like for me in 1 year? 5 years?
- Am I optimizing for the right things?
- What am I uniquely positioned to contribute?
- What would I regret not trying?
I don't have answers yet. But I'm starting to believe that living the questions might be exactly what this moment requires.
What paths are you exploring? What helps you make decisions amid uncertainty? Share your thoughts - I'd love to hear different perspectives on navigating this phase of life.