So I didn’t actually do anything this New Year’s Eve, thus the recycled photo from a few years ago, except go on a reading binge! I just finished the reading binge and now it’s back to work!

So the question is, what am I doing for work?

Well, I am doing a little bit of IT consulting, and I am still the CTO of Pontinet. But those are going to be side gigs this year. Because my main gig this year will be… teaching maths in high school!

So this is something that’s been in the works since 2024. As I was wrapping up Kyco’s IT infrastructure, I was suffering from some health-related issues, which meant that I didn’t have a lot of energy to focus on what I was going to do next. I was also feeling pretty burnt out and out of ideas. Being out of ideas is not ideal for either research or startups.

In the midst of the haze caused by my illness, my mom, who is a teacher, suggested I look into teaching. So I did a quick search for teaching on Smart Jobs and found a posting for the Turn to Teaching Internship program that was set to expire in one week. Which didn’t give me a lot of time to think. So I applied and went to bed!

Well, I got into the program, and as part of the program, I started a Master of Secondary Teaching degree last year. I didn’t mention anything because I was genuinely unsure of how I would handle teaching.

I worked as a Sessional Academic while doing my PhD. But my experience with tutoring was mixed. Not to mention, I was going to be part of a new faculty, since the School of Education is within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS). I have never been in that faculty. So for all I knew, I was going to crash and burn!

However, I have completed two semesters and have banked 20 of the required 32 study units. I am currently in the middle of a summer semester, which will get me another 2 units. Then this year, I have to complete the remaining 10 units while teaching part-time!

So it's going to be a full-on year, which I am looking forward to because so far, I have been enjoying teaching. If only because this is clearly an area that has been and is being hugely impacted by AI. Also, the upending of the job market will affect students currently in school. Making education a very interesting area to be involved in.

That all said, I might still crash and burn. So I am taking it one step at a time and seeing where it all takes me! Let’s see if I survive the adolescence of 2026!