University Friends Shape my Perception of the World
Thanks for taking your time to read my story.
This post will go through my five-year journey at the university. Section 0 will be the introduction to me. Section 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are all about my university friends and experiences.
0. Why I chose Computer Science - It just happened!
I honestly didn’t know why I majored in Computer Science (CS). Information Technology (IT) wasn’t in a good relationship with me during high school. With the help of my friend, I somehow passed the information technology subject with a flying score, which seemed a miracle. That was a period of time I only learned without committing myself to it. As a result, I, among over 1200 pupils from my school, was the only one who failed the final IT test. At that time, Word, Excel and Powerpoint were completely alien to me. The thing was not interesting to share about actually, but it came off as surprising when I chose Computer Science as a major at university. You may ask how dare I make such a dumb decision. Explaining the reason is out of the scope of this blog, you may find it in this article: No Passion, Only Decision
1. First-year student - A top student hit rock bottom!
Fast forward to my first semester at HCM University of Technology, my course load filled with Calculus, Linear Algebra, Physics, Fundamentals of programming seemed quite simple and easy, as all subjects were similar to but a little bit advanced stuff I had learned in high school. I was among a few students who got scholarships for achieving high GPAs, so my ego boosted up a lot. In the second semester, my course load that was filled with Digital system design, Discrete mathematics, Data structure & algorithm, Web programming was extremely intense. I got up early, and stayed up late to do projects, none of which were finished. I barely passed all classes at that time, period! It was time for me to be down to the earth and I found my true friends.
The second half of the first year there was my first crisis. I was fortunate to have Nam as a friend who gave me a hand by spending his invaluable time, around10 hours within 2 days, to guide me through a data structure project. In other classes, I was like a burden to my study group. Though I never wanted to bring the whole team down and I tried whatever it took to get out of the slump, I still failed. That was the time I wanted to give up on friends, to beat myself up for choosing the major that had never been for me. My mindset for “hard work will eventually pay off” seemed to be weakening toward the end of the semester. However, my team was there to bear the weight of my incompetency and never left me alone. Actually, they didn’t need my help, they carried me through adversity.
2. Second-year student - Hard times find true friends!
As soon as the second year started, I started to change my thoughts and behaviors to adapt to the competitive environment as a university class by running in the morning for 20’ before class. The results were out of expectation. I was always on top of things and earned back my confidence. I was the emergent leader of some of the projects, and helped other members of my team to finish the assignments.
The point is my friends and I can all bring up the happiness together. We all make mistakes, add pain to others because we are not perfect and we are not trying to be perfect. For that reason, we are like puzzles trying to match one another. The feeling of friends would be better off without me is no longer in my head, as I acknowledge I need them as they do.
To say thank you is definitely not enough, so I just want you to know that
“My friends whoever have been through hardship with me deserve my best attention when I’m on top”
I said and I will do, believe in me as you did.
3. Third-year student - Out of comfort zone!
Studying abroad the following year in Canada offered me more experience and challenges on the other half of the globe. Here I majored in IT and minored in business. I made a lot of friends across departments like business, hospitality, and IT of course. This year was like I was playing low key as English was not my strength and I had to keep up with my counterparts. The only way to improve was to push oneself outside and start to communicate with people. It was right though, and I ended up being a dishwasher for the first time ever in a local restaurant in Vancouver. Hadn’t it been for my friend, J. who told me to find a job, my English would never be on another level. Even though we have every different viewpoint when dealing with problems, we always listen and understand one another. It all may boil down to the fact we come from different backgrounds only.
4. Fourth-year student - Transitioning to data science field!
Technically, this was the critical point in my life to define who I’ll be. I had 3 options in my career path to pursue, namely software engineer, ethical hacker, and data scientist.
If becoming a software engineer, the role is quite interesting but also means I have to stay in front of the computer all day long to generate quality code. Becoming an ethical hacker is a tricky choice and a dream job I longed for since I was a child. Despite gaining some knowledge of networking, penetration testing, SQL injection, the desire was not strong enough to keep me on the path.
Last is to become a data scientist, which is my least expectation. Because, firstly most companies are hiring “senior” data scientists, so it is so hard to land an internship and entry-level data science job. Secondly, a decent amount of data science jobs have been automated by software, which comes from personal experience, not intended to debate. Thirdly, regarding the salary amount, 3 choices are having similar compensation from my perspective, so it is not a factor. I was not following the hype of artificial intelligence as well, though Data Science is considered the sexist career in the 21st century. Statistically speaking, software engineering seems more promising especially during Covid 19, yet I choose to become a data scientist. Because with a background in IT and having a huge love for the Business aspect, I strive for improving user experience through deriving insights out of datasets and delivering them(insights) to less technical colleagues and/or stakeholders to drive attention and engagements. In the long run, I, with the intersection of skills in both ways, will be a great asset to the industry. Better salary and long-term growth prospects mean nothing if the data field doesn’t click with me.
In this blog, I’m so grateful for my professor from FDU, who was always behind and backed me up when I failed, guided me in the right direction and shared his experience and his compassion for what I had been through the last 3 internships. I would have been really devastated without his help back in those days, and my words couldn’t be expressing the whole feeling.
5. Fifth-year student - A long road ahead!
As a data analyst, I started out as a software engineer. The last year prior to graduation steered my view of the industry in such a dramatic way, was probably the most memorable time I would never forget. Back in 2020, I received 2 internship offers. One is a position for a Mechanical engineer, the other is for a marketing coordinator position, I picked the latter. I guess the first choice would be easier for me, as I’m an engineer, whereas the second is much harder as I, at that time, have no idea of the marketing or business. Fast forward to the end of the internship, I had learned a lot from my amazing team at Popcorn such as collaboration, knowledge sharing, marketing. But I fell short, and fell into depression for not being selected into a full-time position at the company. The reason given was they didn’t have a position for my specialization. Whatever the reason, if I had better communication skills, I would have a job already.
Getting to know Kati was one of the best things that happened to me in 2020, not for the fact she is an interesting person, but because she was there to witness most of my up-and-down moments. First, she supported me through adversity, namely communication skill was what I didn’t have. She helped realize my weakness and together walked with me throughout a terrible period. Second, she was present and listened to my stories. Having two-way conversations with her gave me a new perspective of how a business person approaches a problem, while she expressed empathy for my technical background. Third, she kept me humble. She was supportive when I had done something amazing at my workplace, while reminding me of who I’m, as an intern only. Fourth, she blamed me on almost everything for lacking common senses. I know honesty is not always an easy thing, but she did and I’ve been a better version of myself. I feel like her being open with me in many ways really improves our relationship. Fifth, she led by example. We fought together through a project where she showed her professional experience and characteristics of being a leader. She was tremendously organized, dependable, knowledgeable. And I have nothing but wonderful things to say about working with her. I can say with confidence that her qualities made my experience through the project so memorable and allowed me to define the type of leader I aspired to be. The project was so stressful to me and an absolute pleasure to have a chance of working with her. Sometimes, it’s like I meet someone, and I just click. Nevertheless, she might not experience the same manner as I did, it’s OK.
If I have to describe my last year at university in one word, it would be “growing up”, I met lots of new seniors at my workplace and a new friend, and got to share amazing times with them. I explored so many ideas, challenges from my major to my work. I guess I got concrete proof of my professional experience and got one step closer to becoming a data scientist. It is sad that 2020 is over, yet I’m glad that it happened and the journey ahead will be brighter.