A mechanical engineering student graduates just as the COVID-19 pandemic shuts down job opportunities. Undaunted, he bets on a career switch to AI, starts from rock bottom, climbs his way out, and lands his dream job at Tesla as a Data Engineer in just a few months.
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Student’s Journey: From beginner to Tesla Engineer
Back to our story.
As Andy Gehlan was graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo, the COVID-19 pandemic crippled the global economy and job market.
Remote jobs were scarce in the field of mechanical engineering.
Fortunately, Andy had a secret passion. He had watched the rise of AI from the sidelines. He was fascinated!
In June 2020, he decided to invest in his AI career by enrolling in the CVDL Master program at OpenCV University. The program required hard work, commitment, and sacrifice.
In January 2021, over 1400 teams around the world competed for the prestigious OpenCV AI Competition. Over 1,400 teams from around the world competed.
Andy’s submission was a demo of a self-driving solution under $500. He modified his car to drive autonomously around a parking lot.
“In my demo, the car can turn its wheels, follow you around the driveway, and even stop when needed,” he said.
Andy ranked in the top 25 in the North America Region!
The skills he acquired through the courses at OpenCV University, combined with his immense drive to succeed, landed him an AI consulting job that paid more than $100,000 right out of college.
That was just the start. He continued learning from OpenCV University courses. A year later, he landed his dream job at Tesla.
“The Computer Vision course offered by OpenCV University played a crucial role in starting my AI career. I landed a six-figure consulting job in AI right after I graduated.
A year later, I was hired at Tesla as a Data Engineer with double the compensation.
OpenCV University was the best investment in my AI career. “ - Andy Gehlan
Imagine this.
You have just landed your dream AI job. The work is exciting, and the job pays 40% more than your previous programming job. Your boss looks up to you as an AI expert, and your teammates run AI ideas by you to check if they are on the right path.
It was not easy to get here; it took months of hard work and sacrifices. And there was that one decision on July 3, 2025, that snowballed your programming career into a flourishing AI career.
The immense decision was to START working toward your AI dream.
If you pictured yourself as an AI engineer above, I invite you to join the thousands of students who have transformed their careers with the CVDL Master Program.
