Interview with the Mentor: How Did She Successfully Embark on the Path of CS Transcoding from Beihang University to Google in the US?

Date：2023-10-24   Author：admin

In the eyes of many people, the financial prospects for students majoring in computer science can be described as very bright.

However, with the fading of the era's dividends, it has become an established fact that there are fewer and fewer opportunities to study in the United States. The successful paths of the past are hard to replicate, and it seems impossible to reach the top in one step by transcoding.

However, behind all successes, there is a set of traceable rules that can be learned. As a "veteran" who has been in the North American workplace for nearly a decade, Ms.Zhang once summarized a passage for the students of Explore:

To secure a place in the highly competitive field of computer science, it is essential to always keep a heart for learning. When you first enter this industry, you need to keep learning and making progress to establish yourself. When you finally establish yourself in this industry, you still need to keep learning to adapt to the rapid technological changes in this field. If you slack off a little, you might be killed on the beach by those who come later. Not only should you learn, but also be able to accumulate. You must turn all your experiences into your wealth. Only in this way can you have your own advantages to play when you are in your thirties and others' careers encounter bottlenecks.

So, how did she, with a heart that is always learning and improving, make her way from EE to CS, and how did she gradually reach the position of a software engineer at Google? Today, we will share with you the inspiring story of Ms.Zhang's ten years of hard work and dedication.

Ms.Zhang

Explore Partner

Chinese-american/Master of EE from the University of Southern California
Supervisor for EE in Electronic Engineering/CS in Computer Science

I once worked at Google in Silicon Valley as a software development engineer. I once served as a researcher at Oracle's global headquarters, responsible for the research and development of new technologies for Oracle's next-generation high-performance cloud database.

During my master's degree, I interned at the SAP Global Service Center, planned the quality management work of the Customer Development project, supervised the project development process and problems, and comprehensively analyzed the project execution process.

I was mainly responsible for the research of D2D (Device-to-Device) technology under the LTE-A network architecture at the Institute of Computer Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. A hybrid network model of cellular communication and terminal direct communication was established using MATLAB, and the signal interference problem and wireless resource management mechanism in the hybrid network were analyzed.

Help Explore students successfully secure offers from prestigious universities such as Camme, the University of Southern California, Stanford, Berkeley, California, and Los Angeles, California.

01 From Beihang University to the University of Southern California
A bachelor's degree does not have an advantage in the job market.

In 2009, in the academic hall of Beihang University, Ms.Zhang was lost in the imagination of her future blueprint, like a great peng bird longing to fly, flapping its wings and soaring towards the unknown distance. She is a young man with a firm dream, eager to find her future through academia.

But looking around, the senior students in the same department have all taken different paths. Sensitive to data, she keenly made a count: about 5% of them chose to stay at this school and continue to pursue a master's or doctoral degree. They are like shining stars and have become the elites in the academic circle. Fifty percent of the people chose to pursue further studies at other schools, just like migratory wild geese, using their knowledge to seek a broader world.

And 30% of them directly step into society and start working. They are like brave explorers, pursuing their dreams through practice. Fifteen percent of people choose to study abroad to experience different educational environments and cultures.

Image source: Pexels


After talking with senior colleagues from the same department, Ms.Zhang rationally discovered that a bachelor's degree does not have an advantage in the job market. On the one hand, the positions one can apply for are of very low grades. On the other hand, future development is also greatly restricted.

So, after some consideration of her future, she decided to pursue further studies. However, when it comes to choosing between pursuing a postgraduate degree in China and studying abroad, she still falls into hesitation.

Reflecting on the four years she spent at Beihang University, it was an unforgettable period. However, whether considering the people she met around her or her own pursuit of development, she felt that continuing her postgraduate life for another two to three years would no longer bring her much novelty, let alone growth.

In contrast, she is full of curiosity about the educational environment and culture abroad. If she can experience different atmospheres and lives and see more of the outside world, it should also be more helpful for her future.

* Image source: Maynooth University official website


An opportunity quietly emerged ahead of Ms.Zhang. In her senior year, she went to Ireland through the international exchange program of Beihang University. The several months spent there were like a dream, yet real and vivid.

She talked with people from different countries and spoke freely in class. This experience made her have a deeper understanding of the differences between domestic and foreign education systems. From then on, she made up her mind: she still wanted to go abroad for a postgraduate degree.

After making up her mind, she quickly got ready, like a ship forging ahead bravely, setting sail towards the unknown distance. Although deep down in her heart she was well aware that the road ahead would not be easy, she was already well-prepared to face the challenges of the future.

She studied day and night for the exam, constantly seeking successful experiences from senior students around her. Eventually, she broke through the language barrier with extremely high GRE and TOEFL scores and successfully prepared all the application materials.

At that time, Sino-US relations were in a harmonious honeymoon period, which paved the way for her visa application. Everything was going so smoothly, as if the future was already in her hands.

* Image source: USC official website


Indeed, as she had expected, after receiving offers from several prestigious universities, she made her own choice: to continue her master's studies at the University of Southern California (USC) in the United States.

02 From electronic engineering to computer science
The right choice is as important as outstanding achievements.

In 2013, Ms.Zhang went to the United States alone.

The main reason for choosing the University of Southern California is its superior geographical location. She herself is studying in the field of Electronic Engineering (EE), and the University of Southern California is precisely located in California, where the technology industry is booming. It offers a wide range of employment opportunities for students majoring in both EE and CS.

However, deep down in Ms.Zhang's heart, she has never been very interested in the microelectronics field (chip design/circuit design). She sought advice from previous graduates of the University of Southern California and gradually began to realize that the employment and salary prospects for computer Science (CS) were more favorable in the market.

* Image source: USC official website


Therefore, after starting her studies at school, she took a large number of courses related to CS and also actively sought internship opportunities in software design to pave the way for her future career change.

Although Ms.Zhang failed to win the favor of a major American company during her internship, she still managed to find a software internship opportunity at a well-known foreign enterprise in China, thanks to her master's degree from USC.

This summer internship experience also added a lot of points for her to find a full-time job in the software field later. Thanks to this internship experience, her technical skills and knowledge have been fully demonstrated and showcased, and her confidence in transferring to the CS field has also increased significantly.

Soon, the job-hunting season for master's students arrived, and Ms.Zhang began to prepare for job hunting together with many students majoring in CS.

At that time, the software industry was booming, and graduates were all at ease. Among the CS major students of the same year, as long as their skills were decent, they could all smoothly find full-time jobs at big companies like Facebook, Linkedin, and Google.

Ms.Zhang, who is not from a CS major, still lags far behind her classmates in Coding skills. As a result, she was not as adept at finding related jobs as others. However, due to her GPA of 4.0 during her master's degree, she still successfully received an interview invitation from Oracle.

This is attributed to her preliminary research. Before submitting her application, she was well aware that this company places great emphasis on GPA when recruiting fresh graduates. Therefore, it can be said that it was her correct choice and outstanding academic performance that led her to the gates of Oracle.

During the interview process, she performed with ease and confidence, and her ability and confidence impressed the interviewers. As a result, several groups wanted to recruit her.

* Image source: Oracle official website


But after discussing with a USC senior who has been working at Oracle for two years, the advice she received was to choose the Database core group.

Because the technology involved in this group is the cornerstone of the software industry, it can bring her a broader perspective. She also believes that working at Database is hardcore and challenging, which can bring her more knowledge and faster growth.

So, from this moment of choice, Ms.Zhang embarked on her career.

03 From Oracle to Google
The transformation from a Green student to a software expert

At Oracle, Ms.Zhang is like finding a small universe full of twinkling stars. She continuously leverages her professional skills and constantly delves into technology and knowledge. Here, she not only realized the value of teamwork, but her work achievements were also recognized by her colleagues.

Oracle, due to its stable and mature products, does not have any strict delivery pressure, and colleagues are as friendly as friends. So, the work here is very pleasant. Ms.Zhang's performance also enabled her to be smoothly promoted to Senior Staff of Engineer within just two years.

However, despite basking in the warm sunlight, she still discovered the hidden crisis.

In the Bay Area, the common salary inversion phenomenon in the industry occurred to her. Although her technical skills were recognized, her salary increase at Oracle was not high.

Due to inflation, the Package of fresh graduates will also increase accordingly. Coupled with the fact that major companies have raised their recruitment offers, people who have worked in the same company for two years will earn an annual salary that is not much different from that of those who have just graduated and joined the company, and may even be on par with or even lower.

To increase your annual salary, it is only possible to change jobs and get a larger offer. So, Ms.Zhang began to plan her next move. She understood that if she wanted to break this situation, she had to take action. She began to actively seek opportunities, looking for companies and positions that were more challenging and offered higher salaries.

* Image source: Shared by the supervisor. Please do not reproduce


Coincidentally, she left for Google as a Manager at Oracle at that time.

This made her eager to give it a try as well. With over two years of professional accumulation and technical knowledge, she began to actively submit her resume. This time, she targeted those big companies, such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google, and kept extending olive branches to these global enterprises.

The waiting process was not easy, but with her tenacious willpower and strong confidence, along with the Manager's recommendation, she successfully obtained interview opportunities from several large companies. After several rounds of professional interviews, she finally received an offer from Google, laying a solid foundation for the next stage of her career.

Indeed, every software company has its own unique working style and team atmosphere, just as each product group also has its own unique code style.

When Ms.Zhang was at Oracle, the teams she was in were relatively stable with a moderate work pace. However, some teams were very busy, with high personnel turnover and frequent reorganizations.

In her view, to meet all her demands for career development, she had to choose teams with a fast work pace and many opportunities. Therefore, she accepted Google's Offer.

At Google, she once again successfully integrated into the new team with her professional knowledge and skills. She also deliberately chose a group related to the technology she was working on at Oracle, so that she could continuously accumulate technical proficiency in a specific field.

* Image source: Shared by the supervisor. Please do not reproduce


These two working experiences have both played an indispensable role in Ms.Zhang's growth. Her technical skills have been greatly enhanced, and she has completed the transformation from a fresh and inexperienced graduate to an expert in the field of databases.

Now she is not only capable of independently undertaking projects and leading teams to complete complex tasks, but also has achieved remarkable economic returns. After joining Google, her salary increase far exceeded the average level in the Bay Area. In a very short time, she saved up enough for the down payment and successfully bought her own home in the Bay Area.

This achievement made her even more convinced that every choice and effort was worthwhile.

Written at the end
With a goal in mind, there is a direction for sailing.

Just as a voyager on a long journey needs to draw a detailed nautical chart in advance, everyone needs to plan and prepare early on the journey of life. This is both a kind of wisdom and a capability.

It is very important to plan your career reasonably and understand your own needs. Whether it's applying for studying abroad, seeking a job in life, or deciding to change careers, we all need to have a clear and definite plan for our future.

* Image source: Shared by the supervisor. Please do not reproduce

In this highly competitive society, only those with clear goals and adequate preparation can stand out in the fierce competition.

Therefore, let each of us become a navigator, plan and prepare early, and use wisdom and courage to steer the ship of life to meet the challenges of the future!