Honestly I made my first social media account about 4 months ago just to prove I was a real person after I finished my PhD and was applying for the next steps. I've never been one to post on the internet or engage with social media. I don't really know the etiquette of any other social site so I figured I would reach out here first since it felt familiar.
keeping that in mind I believe you started at the right place as HN is probably more forgiving, especially when it turns out that the person in question is able to strike the right tone to fit in, which I believe you do.
I am in a similar position having created this account once I decided to move to Africa, and I am still trying to figure out how to promote my work. As part of that I try to engage on topics that are related to Africa to slowly develop my standing and share my experience.
(I think it's an unusual path, but it looks legit.)
> I don't really know the etiquette of any other social site so I figured I would reach out here first since it felt familiar.
I think your etiquete is fine, but asking for money always raise suspicion.
I actually spent 2 years in Córdoba Argentina studying medicine before covid threw a wrench in that. That's when I pivoted to come back to the US to pursue an idea for a medical imaging device I thought up.
My PhD was focused on building a proof of concept for a mobile and affordable medical imaging device. Honestly the concept certainly tied back to spending time in rural hospitals in Tanzania (for other people, I wasn't sick) and seeing the lack of imaging and resources in those places.
The lab I'm working in is "mathematical neuro-oncology" and it happens to be in the neurosurgery department of a major US hospital. We're essentially trying to use our computational skills to make progress in brain cancer research so they hired me for my background in computation and imaging and medicine.
It may be a nice submission for HN. (But wait a week or so before posting it.)
[Hi from Buenos Aires!]
I take your point. I have some things I could submit and I'll contribute more hacker related topics soon.