The truth is, my background is quite different to other machine learning people. I did my BS degree in Economics at NOVA SBE and my Master's in Development Economics at ISEG. And then I never got to apply any of it and went to work in data science and machine learning at Feedzai Research, surrounded by engineers, computer scientists and physicists.

Sure, it took a lot of hard work and creativity to be able to complement my knowledge with adequate technical skills. But I built a unique perspective that combines my background with rigorous technical approaches. It allowed me to develop novel ideas and engineer machine learning systems at scale. 

That’s one good example of how non-linear my road has been. I’ve also dabbled in music, in competitive swimming, and in crypto economics more recently. 

I believe that’s why I'm capable of conducting serious research - not in spite of it, but because of it.
Sure, it might be a little counter-intuitive but so was so much of my path here.