Year 0
In December
I graduated from Carnegie Mellon University
with a degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering
With a mediocre GPA
I was just like many of you
unsure of the life that comes after college
I wasn't even sure if I wanted to code
and uncertain if I wanted to stay in the US
So instead of finding a job in America
I headed to South Korea where my parents were
Year 1
I decided to become a game director
I wanted to make games like Final Fantasy X
my childhood favorite
So I decided to pursue my dream in Japan
The home of JRPGs
But my plan was thwarted by the earthquake and tsunami
that hit Japan in March
Instead in August
I led an outreach team at my church to help the refugees
Here, I met a girl
who would later become
my wife
In October
the situation improved
so I finally flew to Japan
Year 2
I started the year learning Japanese at a language school
After all
Living in a foreign country meant
that I should learn their language
For me, Kanji was the most challenging
Every day
I would write the same Kanji several hundred times
until I could memorize it
Repeating the process for a year
I estimated writing more than 100,000 Kanjis
The hard work paid off
when I acquired JLPT N1 in the same year
It was the highest certificate of Japanese language proficiency
with less than a 25% acceptance rate
I also got my first part-time job
at a ramen restaurant
Washing dishes, making ramen
and serving customers at a thousand yen
or about $10 an hour
wasn't exactly fun
But I would still do it
to improve my spoken Japanese
Year 3
I joined the two-year game development program at a Senmon-Gakkou
a vocational school
I remember being very anxious on my first day
What if I can't read the Kanji?
What if I don't understand what my classmates say?
But whenever I had doubts about myself
I tried to focus on my goal
Six months into school
I created my first game, SPIKE
It was an action-puzzle game
incorporating the concept of Hookshot from Zelda
I won the bronze award at a game development competition
and used the award to get my first coding job
I worked on a mobile game using ActionScript3 for the client
and Java for the server
After realizing that I learn considerably more by working than studying
I quit vocational school midway
The two-year adventure into Japan was fun and exciting
But at the same time
lonely
So I returned home to South Korea
to reunite with my family and plan my next steps
Year 4
I tried to go back to the US
but to no avail
No companies wanted to sponsor a visa
for someone with only 6 months of work experience
I shared this with my friends
including the girl who would later become my wife
She seemed to enjoy the idea
that I would finally stop living abroad
and stay nearby for once
She seemed different suddenly
so I asked her out
and we started dating
We have been together ever since
I applied to hundreds of companies in Korea
just to get rejected every time
I worked as a part-time IT Admin in the interim
making around $1,000 per month
For each rejection I would say
Sorry I didn't make it
My girlfriend would say
It's okay I believe in you
6 months into job searching
I finally got a summer internship at NCSoft
a game giant in South Korea
Despite proving myself technically
I didn't get the return offer
I was back to ground zero
In December
I finally received a full-time offer from ebay Korea
with a salary of 37 million Korean won
or around $33,000 US dollars
The number might look very low
but it was a decent salary for an entry-level in Korea
Nonetheless, I finally became a software engineer
Year 5
I got assigned to my first team
I learned new technologies
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, and React for the frontend
C# and .net for the backend
Having come from a gaming background
I found these web technologies fascinating
I built websites, apps, background workers
dashboards, and many more
I enjoyed the growth and learning
There was nothing more exciting
than watching myself grow and acquire new skills
Year 6
I went on a date with my girlfriend to Sebit Island in Seoul
Here I propose
with a rose in hand
She says yes
We got married
a few months after
Year 7
An Amazon recruiter reached out to me through LinkedIn
She asked whether I was interested in an opportunity in the US
I replied yes and started leetcoding for the first time
The phone screen didn't go well
but to my surprise
I got invited to their onsite
I flew to Seattle from Seoul
just for the onsite interview
I received an offer
$140k including sign-on
Pretty good
I started Day 1 in April
Coming back to the States after 6 years was exciting
But I quickly grew tired of working on the frontend
and the lack of growth at Amazon
I sought support but none could fill the emptiness
After a lot of thought
I decided to grind Leetcode again
Year 8
I applied to companies like Google and Microsoft
Google rejected me
but my interview with Microsoft went very well
The hiring manager at Microsoft asked
Where would I be in 5 years?
I answered
I have no idea exactly where
But wherever that may be
I'll always be at a place
where I'll have become a better, greater person
He loved my answer
and extended an offer
maxed out for my level
I accepted
My journey with Microsoft began
Year 9
I bought a used electronic drum set on ebay for $300
Learning to play drums has always been at the top of my bucket list
I set a goal and practiced every day
Two months in
I started playing for a local church band
I practiced at least 2 hours a day
copying the song's every stroke and movement from YouTube
Repeating such a rigorous routine every other week was demanding
but also rewarding
It was the most fun I had in years
Year 10
COVID-19 hit
and the world was in jeopardy
At first, working from home was challenging
but I quickly adapted to it
I configured my productivity couch setup
The persistent hip and back pains
I had from sitting a long time were gone
I couldn't be happier and more productive
Oh, and I got COVID
Year 11
My wife came up with this funny idea
of starting a YouTube channel
For some reason, she thought I'd be good at it
I laughed at her thinking
What a silly idea
Next week, we started filming the video
A Day in the Life of a Software Engineer Working From Home
It went viral getting 1.5 million views in the first month of release
the channel also got more than 20,000 subscribers in two months
Year 12
My growth at Microsoft had stagnated
I searched for answers
from my manager, the work, and the company
Then I realized how foolish it is to find answers in such
for the truth lies not in those
but LeetCode
I received a few offers
including one from Google
Google had always been my dream company
but after contemplating
I decided to join another
that offered a better growth opportunity
and higher compensation
And here I am
making a video reflection
of my life journey
When I look back
My career journey had more failure than success
Some people see me as a successful software engineer
But with such a late start in career
and first annual salary of around $33k
I wouldn't say my beginning was that rosy
If I had to pick one thing I did well, however
I would choose determination
I would write the same kanji hundreds of times for hours
until I could read and write the entire paragraph in Japanese
I would practice drums for hours
until I could copy the song entirely
Many said it's nearly impossible
to return to the US once you are out
But here I am
I could never imagine myself making a six-figure salary back in college
Who would have known I would end up saying no to Google
In retrospect, I never gave up
No matter where I was
I always strived to be better than who I was yesterday
A better me
a better man
a better husband
Pirate King is said to be the freest person on the ocean
To protect the ones I love
I have to be stronger or I'll lose them all
"Power isn't determined by your size
but the size of your heart and dreams" - Monkey D. Luffy
I still have a long way to go
But like the sun that rises
no matter how dark the night is
the ship will sail
and I will prevail
I will journey on
and become
the Pirate King