Meet Dylan Antelme, AI Apprentice

Dylan is a student in Flatiron’s Accelerated AI Engineering Immersive program and an AI Apprentice at Agreeable Data, a data consulting firm delivering reliable data solutions to companies. He is currently working on auditing databases, building diagnostic systems, and making sure the data the company depends on is accurate and trustworthy.

In his interview, he shares the value of hands-on experience over credentials alone, how the apprenticeship turned an ambiguous post-graduation moment into a clear direction, and what excites him about turning the infrastructure he is building today into a finished product that users can access.

Current Job Title: AI Apprentice

Current Employer: Agreeable Data

Past Employers: Revature

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dylan-antelme

Technical/Professional Skills: C/C++, Python, Assembly, JavaScript, Java, and Scala

• Can you tell us a little about yourself? (Your name, background/experience, your Flatiron program, etc.)
• I was born in South Africa, and when I came to the States at nine, I had this idea that I could do anything. When I first came here, there were a lot of opportunities. I could see many different paths I could take. Initially, I wanted to go into aerospace engineering. But as I grew up, I got interested in video games, and then I eventually started working with Minecraft servers and I hosted my own. So, that kind of got me into coding.And then when I went to college, I initially tried to do accounting because my dad's an accountant. But I ended up switching to computer science and that's how I got my degree in computer science. From a young age, I've always been interested in software and coding. As I was looking for a job after graduating, I saw the Flatiron AI apprentice track, and that's when I applied for it and got in. That's my background, that's how I got here, and it's been exciting.
• Can you tell us about Agreeable Data and what your role is there?
  • Agreeable Data is a data science company. They work with a lot of startups, help with data collection, and the data side of things. What I'm doing when I work there is scraping, and more recently, I've been working with the database where we keep all the data. I'm focused on fixing tables and working with the data to get diagnostic insights.When we were at Flatiron, we started the project, and now that we have moved to Agreeable Data, we have shifted into more analytical and statistic-based auditing of the data. That's what I've been focusing on recently, making sure the data is correct and that we have the right information in the database so we're not working with bad data. The goal is to ensure that we can trust the database and the data within it, without having incorrect or erroneous information.
• What types of projects are you working on, and how did Flatiron prepare you for this role?
  • I just started there two weeks ago. We're continuing the project that I started at Flatiron, which is a data science project. I think the data science portion has definitely helped a lot just kind of understanding the technology and tools that are available. It gives me more confidence in knowing that what I’m doing is the right thing and helps me identify different ways to approach certain things. So, I definitely think it has helped in that sense.
• What skills have proven most valuable since starting your apprenticeship?
  • I think the the skill that has been the most valuable is understanding when to restart, when to take a step back, and when to reevaluate an issue. That's something I developed in college, especially while working in teams. You often run into these issues where everyone's struggling, and sometimes you just need to take a step back and look. I think that skill has been especially helpful at the beginning of this current project. We were trying to hard engineer a scraper to work for everything, but I decided to take a step back, evaluate the the issue, and come up with a solution that I think works well enough for our goal. So, I think that that's definitely a skill that has been very useful.
• Are there any other tips or recommendations you would give someone who's interviewing for apprenticeships?
  • I'd say some advice I'd give is just to make sure you never give up. Right now, especially in the computer science job market, things can feel challenging. With AI and a lot of hiring freezes, I think it's easy to feel led astray.But it's always important to know that you've gotten where you are because you're intelligent and capable. I don't think it's a good idea to just give up and throw it away. I think sometimes it's good to reevaluate your situation and pivot, but never give up on what your goals are. I think that's one of those things that can easily be lost where everyone's saying, "Software engineering is dead,” or “Computer science is over. There won’t be any jobs in a year." I think it's important to have a north star, a guiding light that keeps you focused on where you want to go.
• What does it mean to you to be adding real value to an organization at this stage of your journey?
  • Many different ways and in this case, it makes me feel like I'm taking the next step after college. Once you get your degree, the first step can feel ambiguous. Do you pursue internships? Do you try to build your own company or create your own app? There are so many different paths you can take.I think this apprenticeship is the first step for me in adding real value and building my career. It cements that first step and shows me that there are opportunities to continue growing and moving forward from here.
• What are you most excited to learn or accomplish in the coming months?
  • The things I'm most excited to learn are more on the technical side, such as understanding how we're going to continue to use this data and how we're going to leverage it into an actual finished project that is accessible to users.Right now, it's mostly just backend side. We're building the infrastructure, building the diagnostics, and making sure we have a lot of data. But where do we go after that? That's something I'm excited explore.In the coming months, I'm sure we'll start tackling those things as well as other projects that may not just focus on data science but also areas like software engineering, where we're building an entire website or application. I think that would be a great learning experience and something I'm excited about.