Moving on, quitting my job, entering new chapter
I have officially notified my manager about me leaving NBC Universal in a month.
One morning in December of last year I saw an ad on Facebook about a new graduate program opening at University at Washington that immediately drew my attention. In the evening of the same day I escaped company Christmas party to attend the kick off for this new program where I was only reassured that this program is exactly what I want to do in the next phase of my life.
My wife and I previously talked about graduate school and after a lot of research I really couldn’t decide on any of them. Nothing drew a resounding “yes” from me. Doing any part time graduate programs or “online” programs did not seem appealing at all. I wanted to do something exciting and hands on. Something that would do more than deepen the skills I already have, a program where I can widen my worldview in a structured fashion.
The new program at UW, MSTI (Masters of Science in Technology Innovation), became an answer to my prayers. This 15 month full-time program focuses on design, technology and entrepreneurship, preparing leaders in emerging technologies. If you know me a bit, I have been tinkering with electronics since my childhood. I have designed and sold countless online properties and helped companies from big to small establish strong web presence. So this program combines my deepest passions in a way that is marketable and will serve as a foundation for my further career.
I believe the future will be full of sensors and connected devices. We already have robots making coffee, doing the dishes and laundry for us and embedding more automation into our lives is not going to stop. The next wave of valuable innovation will come from AI on a chip and from sensors and systems that integrate those AI chips. There will be a growing need of professionals that know how to work with sensors, hardware and software to bring new products solving big problems. In a sense I want to become a fuller-stack developer and that is what this program is supposed to help me with.
I had an amazing time working at NBC Universal and am grateful for so many opportunities that I was given there. From attending hackathons to working on Elections-related projects and all kinds of innovative web technologies, I learned a lot and worked with very smart and ambitious people. The time that I spent at NBC Universal in Seattle office will always be precious in my memory.
In the next three months I will be setting up streams of passive / semi-passive income to offset the price of my education and to compensate the loss of full time job income. This is a big challenge but I have a starting point. The Raspberry Pi Zero Camera Cables are selling well and soon I will launch Neosegment Platform that might catch potential interest and result in sales. I will then set up blogs and websites with affiliate links and document progress and experience that I’ll be getting at MSTI. Follow me on Twitter at @msurguy or sign up for the mail list in the sidebar to keep up to date on my new adventure!
