About Me

Hi,

I am Xinyu. I am hesitant to say my background - it's complicated. I was a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering Department at University of Michigan, but my research is on basic biology. I did a lot of wet experiments. But I decide to leave that life behind...

Starting Feb. 2018, I will be a data scientist at CareEvolution. Back in Summer 2017, I had two options - keeping staying at my intern office, a relatively academic environment, or CareEvolution, a local company in the same industry but yes, industry. I chose the latter for several reasons:

1. By that time, I have done quite a few data science projects, with Michigan Data Science Team and at my intern position. I think I generally know to do most "small-scale" data science projects, but don't have any clue how to integrate it into a real product.  Working in a industry will give me the opportunity to learn and implement the ideas in production. This probably is the major reason I choose the industry position rather than staying at my intern office. 
2. Most data science jobs are in the domain of personalized advertisement, and as someone who thinks (and tries to act) against the contemporary consumerism, I (personally) find those jobs not meaningful to me. When I was interviewed with CareEvolution, I feel that I will have the opportunity to do data science for social good. This aligns with my value. 
3.  The pay is fantastic. Well, at that moment, I did not think this an important factor. But after moving to a one bedroom apartment and set up the furniture, I think it nice to have a better hardware setup. Also, it shows that the company values its employee, which I now think very important.

I have a deep passion of lifelong learning - thanks to all great MOOCs. In my spare time, I take MOOCs, read books, and do algorithm problems.