I work in AI at Microsoft without a college degree. Before Big Tech, I was a metal singer.

I work in AI at Microsoft without a college degree. Before Big Tech, I was a metal singer.

Matt Jones, left, in Marytr Defiled, and him, right, in a Microsoft headshot.Courtesy of Matt JonesMatt Jones dropped out of high school and skipped college to front the metal band Martyr Defiled.They played around the world, but he said he was often broke and, at one point, homeless.Now at Microsoft, he said he turned his unique perspective from a headwind into a tailwind.This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Matt Jo…