Geoscientist to AI Engineer: My Career Change Story

How I went from geoscientist to AI engineer: my career transition into tech, from learning to code to burnout, redundancy and a new role. I’m Promise Ekeh, and this is the real story behind my move from geoscience into AI engineering. It wasn’t a perfectly planned career change. It grew out of curiosity, a machine learning thesis, experience working with geoscience data, and applying for a role even when I didn’t feel ready. I started in oil and gas in Nigeria before studying petroleum geoscience at Imperial College London. Choosing a machine learning thesis with no coding experience gave me a new challenge and the foundation for my next role as a data geoscientist. Later, burnout and a company restructuring forced me to pause, rest and rethink what came next. In this video, I share: • Why I wanted a change from geoscience • How my machine learning thesis helped me start coding • What working as a data geoscientist taught me • The burnout and redundancy that changed my plans • How a referral helped me apply for an AI engineer role • Why your existing experience can become an advantage in tech This is my personal career story, rather than a technical course or a guaranteed roadmap to an AI job. If you’re considering a career transition into tech, I hope it helps you recognise the value of the skills you already have. I also introduce my “compounding skills” framework: how domain knowledge, coding foundations and real-world data experience can build on one another. CHAPTERS 00:00 From geoscientist to AI engineer 01:24 My geoscience background and why I wanted a change 02:39 Exploring a different path at Imperial College 04:05 Learning to code through a machine learning thesis 05:07 Working as a data geoscientist 05:39 Burnout, feeling stuck and redundancy 06:55 Upskilling and applying for an AI engineer role 07:57 How my skills built on each other 09:24 The new direction of this channel 10:13 What skill gives you an advantage? WATCH NEXT Already Working in Tech? Here’s What You’re Missing:    • Already Working in Tech? Here's What You'r...   Stuck in Tech? These 10 Mistakes Are Why:    • Stuck in Tech? These 10 Mistakes Are Why |...   Explore the Data Science Starter Pack:    • Data Science Starter Pack   Subscribe for honest conversations about career transitions, AI in the real world and building your tech skills. What’s your background, and which skill from your past gives you an advantage today? Share it in the comments. #CareerChange #AIEngineer #CareerTransition