Breaking the Myth: AI Isn’t Only for Tech Graduates

Most people think you need a technical degree to build a career in artificial intelligence. I used to think that too until one experience completely shifted my path.

Who I Am: From Psychology to AI

I’m Marc Dagher, a Psychology graduate from the Lebanese University, and now I work as an AI Engineer at Siren Analytics. When I first considered AI, it felt impossible. How could someone with a psychology background enter such a technical field?

First Steps: My ZAKA Experience

Everything changed when I joined ZAKA’s AI Certification Program. My first hands-on experience with AI came through their real-world projects. I worked on datasets, trained models, wrote algorithms from scratch, and applied AI to diverse use cases. It wasn’t just theory, it was practical, challenging, and exciting work that helped me build a strong technical foundation and a product-focused mindset.

Mentors Who Made a Difference

The instructors at ZAKA were very supportive. They were always there to answer my questions and guide me whenever I felt stuck. And the community? Invaluable. They connected me to opportunities and helped me land multiple interviews after graduation.

The Capstone That Changed Everything

The turning point for me was my capstone project. My team and I built an agentic AI system that extracts users’ personality traits and matches them to suitable careers. Using LLMs and knowledge graphs, we designed something that wasn’t just a project, it was a real-world AI application. That experience was my first deep dive into agentic AI, and it shaped the direction of my career.

From Internships to AI Engineer

After ZAKA, I interned with startups and companies, focusing specifically on AI agents. Today, at Siren Analytics, I develop AI layers inside software products, build AI-driven features, work with NLP, Voice AI, LLMs, and design agentic AI systems. Every skill I use today traces directly back to what I learned at ZAKA.

Why ZAKA Made the Difference

ZAKA gave me hands-on experience, mentorship, a supportive community, and real projects that bridged my transition from psychology to AI engineering. I couldn’t have made this leap without it.

Advice to Future AI Explorers

If you’re curious about AI, want to build real projects, and need support from mentors and a strong community, ZAKA is the place to start.