Delve 20: A Look back at 2025
"Self-reflection is the school of wisdom." - Baltasar Gracian
Happy 2026 data delvers! As we enter a new year I wanted to take some time to reflect on the past year, share some thoughts about how I think it went, and shed some light on my goals for 2026!
Datadelver Blog
2025 was my most active blogging year yet. I published a total of 14 blog posts including the start of my Modern ML Microservices Series, which received a lot of positive feedback. I'm also particularly pleased with Delve 17: Data Science, An Industry Perspective, which had some of the best LinkedIn engagement with a single blog post I've ever had. I began 2025 with a soft goal of publishing one blog post per month which I'm happy to say I stuck to. Overall, I'd say I enjoyed the variety in the types of posts I made throughout the year and it's something I hope to continue into 2026!
Career
2025 came with a fairly large career shift, pivoting from a large enterprise to a startup and from hybrid to fully remote. The transition is something I'd like to write more about in the future but to suffice to say, it's going well! Some of the biggest takeaways I had from the shift was the amount of preparation it took to land a new role in this space, especially one that is fully remote. I'm very glad I documented much of this preparation in Delve 14: Reflections on a Job Quest!
Travel
I didn't go on any large international trips in 2025 but did a few domestic trips around the country, something I hope to change in 2026!
Personal Pursuits
In terms of personal pursuits I endeavored to continue my study of the Japanese language, working my way through the Genki textbooks. Learning a non-Latin based language has been very challenging but rewarding for me, though my consistency in learning is something I'd like to improve. On the health front I have had better success consistently doing strength training, something I will strive to continue in 2026.
Goals for 2026
Overall my goals for 2026 will probably stay in line with what I have been doing in the previous year. I'd like to maintain my blogging pace, develop my career, and continue my personal pursuits. Where I could see things changing is traveling more internationally, picking up some of my old hobbies like guitar again, or reading more books! Overall I feel pretty good about how 2025 went and am looking forward to 2026!