3 tips from a Google AI research director

Hello!

We have big news: At the end of last week, Google launched an AI Essentials course that we are very excited about. It’s about 9 hours long and it covers practical skills including using GenAI tools, responsible AI, prompting, and staying informed about the developing technology.

Think of this course as your AI starter pack. With this core cluster of AI skills, you can unlock new layers of productivity, creativity, and efficiency. At that point, your biggest AI challenge will become figuring out what area of your life you want to simplify first—and even then, you’ll be equipped to use your GenAI tools to help you figure it out.

We are particularly fond of using these skills to find more competitive footing in your career. We’ll draw some direct lines between these skills and specific careers in upcoming issues, a continuation of the series we started with product management. In the meantime, enroll in Google’s newest course, practice your foundational AI skills, and start using them to accelerate your growth.

Want to practice your AI skills? Revisit our issues on refining your career goals, enhancing your resume, and preparing for interviews with GenAI. Each issue has specific prompts you can test and iterate on as you explore your tool of choice.

Career tips from a Google employee

As a special treat for the occasion, we connected with Anoop Sinha, an AI research director at Google with over 20 years of industry experience, and learned a bit about his career path and tips for success. Here are three takeaways:

1. Commit to lifelong learning. Anoop has found that the ability to learn and adapt outside of academic settings can be just as important as formal education. Although he credits his formal education as a major contributor to his success so far, he also stays sharp with smaller daily projects, like writing scripts using large language models (LLMs) to auto-generate notes, outlines, and draft ideas.
2. Communication skills are crucial. He knew how central his technical skills would be for his career, but Anoop was surprised by how much he relies on his speaking, presentation, and writing skills.
3. Show your expertise. Anoop heartily recommends building a project portfolio from the very beginning of your career. “Work is more about projects than about classes,” he says.

If you’re curious about the educational pathway to becoming a Google AI research director, Anoop started as a software engineering intern, earned a professional certification early in his career, got hands-on experience working across several data analysis tools, and eventually earned his PhD in computer science.

Remember that his growth occurred over the course of 20 years. If you’re just getting started, learn the technical basics with the Google IT Support Professional Certificate or explore computer science degrees.

Read our full Q&A, and hear more from Anoop in this video about becoming AI-empowered from the Google AI Essentials course.

Have a career question you’d like us to answer next? Share it below. And, as always, we welcome YOUR advice and experience in the comments.