I work on AI at Amazon. My biggest career regret is waiting years to build a reputation outside the company.
Amazon senior applied scientist Abhinav Bohra reflects on his career, noting that his biggest regret was failing to build a professional reputation outside of his employer earlier. He emphasizes that internal company success does not automatically translate to industry-wide recognition or career mobility.
Why it matters
The essay highlights the importance of personal branding and public research contributions for professionals in the competitive AI and tech sectors.
Abhinav Bohra, a senior applied scientist at Amazon, said he wishes he'd started building a professional reputation outside the company earlier. Abhinav Bohra Abhinav Bohra's biggest career regret: letting his work stay behind Amazon's walls. He developed a list of rules for himself to follow as he built greater professional visibility. Going public opened doors — but added an AI "learning tax" to his nights and weekends. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Abhinav Bohra, a senior applied scientist at Amazon. He's in his 30s and lives in Seattle. The following has been edited for length and clarity. For most of my career, everything I built lived and died inside Amazon . I joined Amazon in 2019 as a data scientist and eventually became a senior applied scientist in 2024.
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