Life in 2024: Year in review

[Thai version here]

As 2024 comes to an end, here’s a quick review of this year’s highlights. Let me summarize it into 5 main points for future reflection.

1. 📈 Growth and a Better Understanding of Life

• At the beginning of the year, I thought life was finally settling down—career, savings, and even relationships (special shoutout to my amazing wife :P). With this stability, I started exploring side projects under the idea: “If I already have enough, what can I do to improve others’ lives?” This mindset led to things like creating a Basic Python & SQL course (more on this later), which I wouldn’t have otherwise initiated.
• However, this sense of stability lasted only half the year. By June–July, I decided to buy a house (more on that later), which turned “enough” into “will this be enough?” financially. Life events also brought unexpected expenses, so back to working hard for more income. 😂
• By reading books and listening to many podcasts over the year, I’ve realized that needs and goals evolve constantly. It’s unnecessary to cling to past needs and goals. Instead, focus on what matters most to you in the present and give it your best.
• P.S. I still hold the “If I already have enough, …” philosophy but at a reduced intensity because life changed. I am looking forward to come back to this idea in the future 😀

2. 🤖 AI is a Must-Have Skill

• In today’s world, AI is like having the smartest chatbot ever. Instead of Googling and opening multiple tabs, I just ask AI, and it summarizes answers from across the web, saving an immense amount of time.

Some personal use cases:

• Drafting, summarizing, and responding to emails.
• Generating graphic ideas (though AI can’t yet design full layouts—let’s see if next year changes that).
• Budget analysis: sorting expenses into categories with percentages.
• Planning events like promotions.
• Turning articles into Facebook captions.
• Code review assistance.
• Creating custom images (great for tweets).
• And much more etc.

The best part? AI tools are super accessible and affordable, with many free options. There’s no reason not to use them. If you haven’t yet tried tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, all offer free versions—give them a shot!

3. 🏡 Buying a Home in Australia

• After much debate, my wife and I decided to buy PPOR (principal place of residence) instead of continuing to rent. For us, if we plan to stay long-term and can handle the mortgage now, it makes sense to buy. In 30 years, if we’re still in Australia, we’ll have a home or an asset for retirement.
• To me, buying property is like purchasing long-term insurance. It provides security, instead of the annual worry of rent hikes or eviction.
• That said, there is no right or wrong choice in choosing to buy or rent. It’s about what suits your circumstances best at the time.

4. 💼 Job Update

• Next year, I’ll be moving to a new team next year! It’s a significant change from my current role, and I’m excited (and nervous) to learn new things. Wish me luck! 🤞

5. 🐰 DataTH

• DataTH remains a cherished side project I’ve worked on since 2016. It’s grown from sharing study knowledge to sharing work insights and encouraging talented Thais in data science & data engineer field, to share their expertise.

DataTH Content

• Vision for DataTH Content team has been the same, and almost certainly that it will continue to be the same: Create accessible, beginner-friendly content on data science and engineering, free for everyone.
• This year’s achivements:
  • 11 blog posts.
  • 5 long-form videos.
  • 6 short videos.
  • 80 Facebook posts.
  • Hosted Thai Data Meetup #1 with great partners—tons of fun!
• Next year’s focus: Expand beginner-friendly content with a Newbie Series.

DataTH School

• Vision: Provide rare-to-find knowledge in Thailand.
• Courses offered this year included:
  • Data engineering courses (we’re one of the only two providers in Thailand).
  • Analytics Engineer and Machine Learning Engineer courses (hardly any competition yet).
  • Career & Interview courses tailored for international markets.
• Highlights:
  • Basic Python & SQL course received amazing feedback, despite being a competitive space.
  • Road to Data Engineer 3.0 this year we completely revamped contents—it was hectic but rewarding!
  • Interview zero to pro for international job seekers. Collaborating with Alice, who’s incredibly energetic, was a delight!

🇹🇼 Special Mention: WordCamp Asia 2024 in Taiwan

• I visited Taiwan for the first time and loved Taipei! It’s a beautiful city with affordable food, and many people speak English (though outside the city, it’s mostly Chinese).
• I also got to be a speaker at WordCamp, presenting in English to a large audience—the first time for me!

🏋️ Final Note: Health

• The gym (AF) is 5-minute walk away from home, which motivated me to increase my workouts from 2 to 3 times a week for 5 months straight. For me, exercise has brought happiness and energy for other activities.

That’s it! Thanks for reading this long review. Let’s tackle 2025 together—it’s just around the corner.

If you made it this far, let me know which part you liked the most. Or, if you have advice on starting in a new team, I’d love to hear it.

Happy New Year 2025! 🎉