Day in the life of
AI Consultant – Jessica La
A typical day at work starts with responding to any emails that have come through. Often, these are client emails as most of my work is on client deliverables. Client deliverable is essentially all roles involved with delivering a project for a client. Therefore, I am responsible for the initial discovery consultation sessions with understanding client needs, to then planning the project from a project management perspective. I then also build out the technical and conversational solution for the chatbot, testing it, training up clients, analyzing the data, and creating reports to stakeholders.
If I’m working on a project, the next part of my day will involve building out the chatbot conversations for the client, or updating any existing conversations. I may look at live projects to see what customers are asking the chatbot in real-time (people will ask chatbots the most random questions!), and analyze how to improve the AI model or conversations. Sometimes these are more consulting-based analysis’, sometimes it is more of a technical build, other times it is more data-centric.
More often than not, I am also helping with testing out the newest upgrades of the AI software platform. Since it’s a start-up, we are always having new features added to the software based on client needs.
And that’s what I do in a day. However, these tasks are typically between meetings and many coffee breaks!
Pros
There are many things I love about my job. Being one of the head consultants for client delivery means that I am always exposed to different industries and solutions. Building conversations for chatbots is also interesting as you create personas that go with each bot. As I work at an IT tech startup, there are always many odd tasks for me to do and help with, which means every day is always different.
Cons
The not so great about the job is also that I am always doing something different. Rarely do I ever get to just focus on one thing as there is always lots going on. But overall, that’s just the nature of high-growth start-ups, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Advice to aspiring AI Consultants
There’s really nothing stopping you. I got my job by simply cold emailing the CEO. I had no degree, no relevant experience, and no technical knowledge at that time. But I was proactive, I was persistent, and I wanted to learn and was willing to do what it took. You’ll get rejected heaps, but don’t let self-limitations such as your age, education, and experience get in the way of pursuing anything you want.
Have a look at how many times I had to follow up to get this job. This happened during the start of the pandemic.
The considerations for a role like this (in the context of start-up) is that you’re not looking to be a specialist. Which is the beauty and curse about it. It’s great because, anyone can do it, you just have to develop/have the very transferrable skill of “figuring things out”. It’s a curse because, well, you do everything, and you have to be open to pivot and adapt to whatever situation you’re needed in.
So if you prefer a predictable daily job where you stick in your lane, then this may not be the best fit for you.
But if you like learning new things, and are especially into AI and tech. This role is great for it, and you are able to help in all areas of the business, from marketing to product and cool projects.
These skills that I learned have also allowed me to develop my passion and start my own blogging business on the side, where I take the skills and apply them to another vehicle.
Speaking of vehicles here’s a pretty cool tyre/wheel retail project I co-built.
I am also a lead for a mental health bot project and organized a video shoot with the psychologist (which was new territory for me!)
The best way to prepare is to just take action. Because truth is, no amount of preparation can prepare you for most jobs – and especially this one. You learn by simply getting that job, starting, and yes, figuring it out!
