About this Site and ME

Spacecraft is an independent publication launched in July 2023 by Vincent Yuan.

This is a space where I share a mix of topics that reflect my interests and experiences:

Technology and data science: A true passion of mine. I regularly explore and research new ideas in my free time, and I often publish my findings—along with code—on my blog or GitHub.
Professional tools and insights: Drawing from my experience in financial services and ongoing self-learning, I share practical knowledge and tools that I find useful in a professional setting.
Personal stories: Life isn’t just about work, so I also post about my travels, photography, and memorable moments along the way.

Who am I?

In short, I am a data scientist in the financial sector, where I specialize in data analysis, machine learning, and advanced analytics for credit card fraud detection and risk control.

But the interesting story is way more than that summary. Here is how it unfolds.

I’ve always been quick to learn new things. Although I earned a graduate degree in environmental engineering, I discovered early on—during my first year of graduate school—that my true passion lay elsewhere. I found myself increasingly drawn to technology, especially as China’s tech industry was undergoing rapid and exciting growth at the time. Driven by this interest, I began teaching myself programming and data science, starting from the basics. I read extensively, worked on small projects to hone my skills, and secured internships at technology companies to gain hands-on experience.

At the same time, I remained committed to completing my environmental engineering degree, which meant balancing a demanding schedule—working during the day while returning to campus at night for classes and research. Those years were incredibly intense but also deeply rewarding. My persistence and dedication paid off: by the time I graduated, I had received multiple job offers and ultimately began my professional career as a data analyst at a financial services company in Shanghai.

My passion for technology has remained strong throughout my career, even after I transitioned into a professional data analyst role. Early on, I realized that many of my peers—especially those with more directly relevant academic backgrounds—were better prepared for the technical demands of the job. This motivated me to continuously sharpen my skills, both during and outside of work hours. One of the main ways I pursued this was by actively researching advanced analytics technologies and applying them to my daily work. While most of my teammates relied primarily on SQL and SAS, I took the initiative to incorporate Python into our workflows to help modernize processes. I also explored natural language processing, developing several models and solutions that ultimately proved to be highly valuable to the team. Over time, colleagues began referring to these contributions as innovative, and I came to appreciate how rewarding it can be—both professionally and personally—to pursue what you’re passionate about while constantly striving to improve.

And also I enjoy sharing these experiences with people that share the same interest, therefore, most of my research and experiments are open sourced in GitHub and also shared in my blog.

Similarly, photography is something I enjoy too, partially because I learned art when I was a kid. Therefore, traveling and taking beautiful photos have been one of my favorite things to do.

My Mission

Reflecting on my career over the past few years, I began as a novice and gradually grew into a senior manager leading a team of professional data scientists to tackle real-world challenges in the financial industry. Along the way, I’ve come to realize that mastering technical or data science skills is not my ultimate goal. Instead, what truly drives me is solving problems through the effective application of technology and data science. This insight became especially clear after I moved to the United States in February 2023.

I noticed a significant shift in the collaboration model here—unlike in some other regions, much of the value in U.S. companies is created through business model innovation, with technology playing a supporting role (though this is understandably different for tech-first products like ChatGPT). This doesn’t mean technology is unimportant; rather, I’ve developed a more open and adaptable mindset about its role.

Currently, my focus is on fraud detection, but I’m open to future opportunities, such as working in credit risk. Thanks to my adaptability, I’m confident the learning curve won’t be steep. I remain committed to continuous learning and expanding my knowledge across domains.

This is something I’ve consistently observed among distinguished and successful professionals: they remain open to new opportunities and refuse to settle into their comfort zones. Many of them actively expand their skill sets across different roles while continuing to perform at a high level. The world rewards them not only for their deep expertise in specific areas but also for their broad networks and valuable resources. I believe this path is equally relevant for those still working to stand out—by discovering what they genuinely enjoy, pushing their skills to the limit, learning from others, and staying positive and open-minded, success becomes a matter of time.