"I was always interested in the medical field. Unfortunately, I didn't get into medical school, so I thought traditional Chinese medicine was the best alternative. It offered me a chance to practice as a clinician, but in a different role and setting. During my studies, we had a biostatistics computational module. That's where I realized that programming and computational work can be quite interesting."
"But I didn't fully pursue that interest until a few years later. Months away from my licensing exam in 2020, I took a 16-hour intensive Python programming course, and that really got me interested in programming. When you successfully build something, there's a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction, and I think I caught on to that, which spurred me on."
"In 2022, I went to pursue a part-time degree in computer science while practicing medicine. I got linked up with a medtech AI company, and I thought that was a nice integration of my skills. I was interested in both domains, and that was how I landed my role as an AI engineer in 2024. Adapting to the engineer's mindset The work of a physician and an engineer is very different."
Benjamin Leong transitioned from full-time traditional Chinese medicine practice to an AI-engineer role at a medtech startup in his early 30s, increasing his base salary by about 30%. Early exposure to a biostatistics computational module sparked interest in programming, and a 16-hour intensive Python course in 2020 deepened that interest. He pursued a part-time computer-science degree in 2022 while practicing medicine and connected with a medtech AI company, leading to his 2024 engineering role. He contrasts physician work as people-facing and treatment-oriented with engineering as computer-facing, focused on project planning, version control, DevOps, and long-term goals in a startup.
Read at Business Insider
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