𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸
I lost $23,000 in my first 6 months.
I moved from being a Deputy CEO to a solo AI developer. My executive background did not prepare me for 18-hour workdays or debugging complex systems.
Only 20% of my leadership skills transferred to my tech startup.
What worked:
- Prioritizing competing demands.
- Managing stakeholders.
- Optimizing infrastructure costs.
What failed:
- High-level strategy and planning.
- Delegating technical tasks.
In my old role, I had teams of experts. Now, I am the expert, the assistant, and the IT support. I spend hours on mundane tasks like setting up Oracle Cloud. I saved $1,200 a month by switching to a better pricing plan, but the learning curve was steep.
I spent $4,500 to build a Groq/Claude routing system. This ensures my AI agents communicate efficiently via Telegram and WhatsApp.
I also faced technical hurdles that cost me time and money. One Oracle Cloud error cost me 3 days of work. I spend about $2,000 a month on debugging and testing.
I tried to hide my struggles at first. I wanted to look competent. I failed.
I only made progress when I admitted I did not know everything. I joined developer communities and attended meetups in Panama. These cost me $500 a month, but the knowledge was worth the price.
If you are an executive moving into AI, prepare for the grit. You cannot lead your way out of a broken line of code.
What is your biggest challenge when changing careers?
Source: https://dev.to/elenarevicheva/career-pivot-reality-check-3ig3
Optional learning community: https://t.me/GyaanSetuAi