Growing up, my parents always taught me to never miss out on an opportunity. Well, boy were they smart!
In January of 2019, I received an email from a cousin of mine, Jack Hidary, sent an email blast to over 100 relatives inviting us to come take a tour of Google's offices in NYC a month. At this point in my life, I had been working in a family business and we were almost ready to launch a new division which I had been working on for over a year. I knew that I needed to spend as much time as possible making sure the launch is successful and I didn't have time to go on tours. On the other hand, how often can an ordinary person get a semi-personal tour of one of the greatest companies in the world! After losing a night of sleep on this thought, I sent my RSVP and went to work that morning with a clear head.
In January of 2019, I received an email from a cousin of mine, Jack Hidary, sent an email blast to over 100 relatives inviting us to come take a tour of Google's offices in NYC a month. At this point in my life, I had been working in a family business and we were almost ready to launch a new division which I had been working on for over a year. I knew that I needed to spend as much time as possible making sure the launch is successful and I didn't have time to go on tours. On the other hand, how often can an ordinary person get a semi-personal tour of one of the greatest companies in the world! After losing a night of sleep on this thought, I sent my RSVP and went to work that morning with a clear head.
Fast forward to February 4th 2019, the day has finally come. I'll never forget the progression of my attitude that day. At first, I was so excited to go to and I was smiling ear to ear. As the day went on, the grin started to fade along with the excitement, as soon as it was time to leave the office, I was convinced that I would be more productive by staying in the office and getting my work done. I heard my mother in my head telling me to "seize the opportunity" and it gave me the motivation to put my computer to sleep and to go to Google. What she didn't know was that I had my laptop in my briefcase so I can get as much work done as possible throughout the tour.
As I walked out of the elevator, I felt like I was home yet I've never been here before. The combination of forward-thinking, strong work ethic, and priority on innovation, was prevelant all around and I need to be a part of it. After we were given a tour, Jack spoke to all of us explaining the future of technology and how important it is for us to get involved. I have known this for years, but any attempt at studying a field in the tech sector has been thwarted by my parents saying "will you be able to support a family?". Now was my chance to jump in, and I needed Jack to be the one to convince my parents to support me through it.
I spoke to Jack for a bit about AI and Machine Learning and he sensed an interest in me and refused to let it go to waste. Jack said "you should think about taking a bootcamp to learn more about Data." I looked to my right, made eye contact with my parents, and slyly replied "I would love to but it's up to my parents." As soon as my dad heard this, he replied with his template answer "will you be able to support family?". I pointed at Jack who then replied "Data Science is one of the highest paying jobs right now." As my father was trying to think of way to rebuttle, my mother stepped in and asked her favorite cousin "how do we sign him up?" I could not believe what I had just heard. "Was this really happening?" "NOW?"
What followed was one of the most important car rides of my life. My parents were in the front and I was in the back. We were researching the bootcamp available, arguing about how I would leave my job, planning on how we would make sure that my responsibilities in the business would be taken care of, and ended with me thanking them both for supporting me in taking this huge step in my life.
If there is one thing to take out of this story, it is to never pass on an opportunity.
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