Born into a pretty standard household in South Korea, my seemingly trouble-free prospect in life took a sharp turn when we lost everything, including our home following my father’s bankruptcy. After wrestling between desperate searches for school tuition and homeschooling since middle school, we somehow pulled through. With negative income, however, studying abroad was simply unrealistic.
After desperate cold calls to random companies for support, miracles took place one after another to send me to the United States. And with the unstable and unpredictable path I was standing in, I decided that I wanted to study something I never otherwise would— something at the time I thought would be very unlikely to revisit unless I make use of the time I was in college: Computer Science.
Quarter by quarter, I was able to unbelievably sustain myself with the help of different companies and my wonderful friends.
This still was not enough to cover the monstrous ~80k /year expenses just to stay in school, so I had to return to Korea at some point — which is when I started my first job as a freelancer at a web agency.
In all honesty though, after all the reading and proofreading on code, reading books tend not to be my go-to pastime, and even then I like to shuffle through more graphic books.
This still was not enough to cover the monstrous ~80k /year expenses just to stay in school, so I had to return to Korea at some point — which is when I started my first job as a freelancer at a web agency.
After a long season of contemplation, however, I decided that I have to give everything I had to at least try to learn more and complete my degree. This ended up in even more cold calls and applications, which was followed by a funny “university hopping” from the US to Korea, then from Korea to Australia, hunting down grants and affordable credits.
In Australia, I was able to work at a software company with a visa that allowed me to both work and study, unlike the US’s student visa. Here I was able to work at a startup for some time, which in retrospect would technically be my first full-time job as a software engineer.
Upon completion of my degree after multiple tiring hops, I was offered an interview at Amazon in Brisbane, and straight after graduation, I moved to Vancouver to start my current job at Amazon as an SDEII. At the moment I am a software engineer at a team under the Alexa organization and take part in delivering exciting and challenging features that will contribute to shaping future technology.
2.How has the software industry grown open in the last 5 years?
Anyone can effortlessly notice the monstrous growth in the industry throughout their entire lifetime.
I remember my youth when high-speed internet was a luxury, cellphones were barely doing more than a normal telephone, and fat CRT monitors were all we had. Even back then software technology was a wonderful mystery for my young self. The fact that a doughnut-shaped disc had the power to bring me the most enjoyable game was a marvel for me.
I remember my teen when I first saw the iPhone and was simply awestruck. To be able to browse the internet, watch videos, and do most of what I used to do on a huge monitor in a device that fits in my palms was utterly shocking.
Upon completion of my degree after multiple tiring hops, I was offered an interview at Amazon in Brisbane, and straight after graduation, I moved to Vancouver to start my current job at Amazon as an SDEII. At the moment I am a software engineer at a team under the Alexa organization and take part in delivering exciting and challenging features that will contribute to shaping future technology.
2.How has the software industry grown open in the last 5 years?
Anyone can effortlessly notice the monstrous growth in the industry throughout their entire lifetime.
I remember my youth when high-speed internet was a luxury, cellphones were barely doing more than a normal telephone, and fat CRT monitors were all we had. Even back then software technology was a wonderful mystery for my young self. The fact that a doughnut-shaped disc had the power to bring me the most enjoyable game was a marvel for me.
I remember my teen when I first saw the iPhone and was simply awestruck. To be able to browse the internet, watch videos, and do most of what I used to do on a huge monitor in a device that fits in my palms was utterly shocking.
Furthermore, I saw the infinite potential as the App Store started to kick off, and anyone was able to create software that adds a new feature to what we used to carry as a call-and-message device. This probably was one of the most distinct milestones that hinted a new age with overflowing software everywhere.
I remember six years ago — back when I was just about to start the first quarter at my university— how the increasing popularity repeatedly broke its previous record, leaving the major ‘impacted’ which meant not everyone who wanted the degree can get it.
I remember six years ago — back when I was just about to start the first quarter at my university— how the increasing popularity repeatedly broke its previous record, leaving the major ‘impacted’ which meant not everyone who wanted the degree can get it.
As someone with 0 prior experience with Computer Science, this screamed to me that I was jumping into an already enormous industry. Shockingly, what I saw was not the peak but a relatively humble start to what we see today.
Technological advancement has not once lost its momentum for the last five years. In terms of hardware, we didn’t stop at smartphones; every day we find news about new technology. We step into a world tightly bound to pervasive computing, where tech is ubiquitous.
Technological advancement has not once lost its momentum for the last five years. In terms of hardware, we didn’t stop at smartphones; every day we find news about new technology. We step into a world tightly bound to pervasive computing, where tech is ubiquitous.
We see wearables, VR, drones, and many more that grow and take a big part of the public market instead of remaining a lab project, and new forms of hardware and human-technology interaction calls for more advanced, unprecedented software.
Tech has now become even more a part of an average person’s lifestyle, and softwares have been evolving to be self-learning, adapting, and custom-fit for individual user needs.
Tech has now become even more a part of an average person’s lifestyle, and softwares have been evolving to be self-learning, adapting, and custom-fit for individual user needs.
Unlike a decade ago where the user was expected to learn how to use a software, we now observe that the tables have turned where softwares learn the user’s behavioural pattern to provide the best-personalized experience with extreme ease of use.
3.How has the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning impacted the job?
Alexa, the organization I am a part of in its entirety, is a growing product of machine learning and artificial intelligence— in essence, we exist to deliver the benefits of the excellent application of AI and machine learning to our everyday users.
3.How has the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning impacted the job?
Alexa, the organization I am a part of in its entirety, is a growing product of machine learning and artificial intelligence— in essence, we exist to deliver the benefits of the excellent application of AI and machine learning to our everyday users.
We pioneer new frontiers of technology and experience to make the most of what we know and learn more from there on to most effectively harness the technology we have to make human life easier, more efficient, and more fun.
While the concept of artificial intelligence and machine learning are not entirely new, the applications of such technology in our case is almost immediately customer-facing, which constantly reminds me that architectural complexity and behind-the-scenes rocket science is not the only thing that we engineers are interested in.
With more personalized, more custom-fit experiences available through the use of the technologies, thinking in a user’s boots has become increasingly important for us — to provide the right features at the right time, place, and occasion.
The advent of machine learning and artificial intelligence is the foundation of how our service can exist, but the technology merely gives us a huge dump of potentially meaningful network and data. It is up to us to analyze what meaningful feature we can make out of it and package it into a service of practical use.
The advent of machine learning and artificial intelligence is the foundation of how our service can exist, but the technology merely gives us a huge dump of potentially meaningful network and data. It is up to us to analyze what meaningful feature we can make out of it and package it into a service of practical use.
The ongoing development in the technologies open up newer ways to make use of the service and will be the key to rolling out services that are more practical, more personalized, and easier to use.
I myself haven’t turned off a physical light switch with my own fingers for quite some time now, and contrary to my initial belief that this will be a needless gimmick, smart home technology and Alexa skills have become a very deeply linked part of my daily lifestyle. There’s only more to come, and it’s truly exciting to be not only a customer but an active contributor to what is to come.
4.Your opinion on why the gaming industry will become huge?
The video game industry has already been a multi-billion dollar industry since decades ago, and we are looking at an industry worth over $150 billion today. Existing familiar gaming platforms like PC and gaming consoles still thrive— I see marked-up prices for the new PS5 on my social media feed every single day.
I myself haven’t turned off a physical light switch with my own fingers for quite some time now, and contrary to my initial belief that this will be a needless gimmick, smart home technology and Alexa skills have become a very deeply linked part of my daily lifestyle. There’s only more to come, and it’s truly exciting to be not only a customer but an active contributor to what is to come.
4.Your opinion on why the gaming industry will become huge?
The video game industry has already been a multi-billion dollar industry since decades ago, and we are looking at an industry worth over $150 billion today. Existing familiar gaming platforms like PC and gaming consoles still thrive— I see marked-up prices for the new PS5 on my social media feed every single day.
Additionally, With more casual games easily available for play, especially on mobile devices, gaming has become an available pastime for a much wider demographic. Gaming, like any other sports, has been and is more than ever before a popular hobby for both competitive and casual players, and the independence from the user’s location make it easier for people apart to interact and share a fun experience together.
Also, Creative approaches for a new experience are being taken. We have seen previous platforms already making use of motion sensing with cameras or gyroscopes to better tether the user to the gaming experience beyond a joystick-and-buttons control.
Also, Creative approaches for a new experience are being taken. We have seen previous platforms already making use of motion sensing with cameras or gyroscopes to better tether the user to the gaming experience beyond a joystick-and-buttons control.
AR and VR technology are already used for newer gaming experiences, and although not as popular, voice-based gaming with different AI assistants is available as well. I’m sure new technology with new ways of integration will definitely make its way into gaming as well in the future— it’s a field with an excellent synergy between culture and technology.
Additionally, the availability of competitive play in certain popular games naturally forms a sports culture. And just like any other sports, they have grown into a multi-billion dollar industry with competitions and championship millions are interested in.
Additionally, the availability of competitive play in certain popular games naturally forms a sports culture. And just like any other sports, they have grown into a multi-billion dollar industry with competitions and championship millions are interested in.
Professional gamers are treated more and more like professional sports players, and the industry grows in a very similar way popular sports like football and basketball do.
In today’s world where there are motions to promote eSports into official Olympics sports, I doubt that this industry will ever die down. Newer technology will diversify, and the accessible nature of gaming will intensify the global attraction it has.
5.Your advice to future software engineers.
It’s been a year since I’ve finished my degree, so I’m not too sure what my short tenure and experience will be worth, but to be humbly candid with my experience so far, I can comment on what I felt through the earlier phases of my career:
- Somewhat like how writers tend to get a ‘writer’s block’, I see myself still go through phases in early steps of a new project where I’m just too lost to even know where to begin. Starting is what’s difficult, but even with no idea diving into it is the way to go. You’ll only know what to research, what to study, and what to try once you fiddle with code. Fight the overwhelming pre-work burden, and take a step first.
- Knowing how to implement an algorithm and being able to produce clean, elegant code that is in perfect harmony with the rest of a much larger architecture are two different things. Unfortunately, I don’t think there are any shortcuts to achieve this, as I believe this is something that requires experience and a long history of trial and error. Be patient, and always be willing to learn.
- Knowing how something works inside your head and being able to produce code out of it are two very different things as well. Don’t underestimate a task or a problem because you ’think’ you know the solution inside your head.
- Tech changes rapidly, and every day we see something new. Studying and researching is a lifestyle, and to be a good engineer we’ll never stop.
- Enjoy what you do. We are blessed because software engineering is such a versatile tool— it’s like learning a language or an instrument. If you have a hobby that you’re heavily interested in or some other field of work, there likely will be a point where they intersect. It’s up to you how much you want to isolate hobby and work, but even enjoyable work is a double-edged sword with risks of extreme stress and burnout. Find a way to enjoy the work.
6.Which is your favourite book and why?
I tend to like books that throw questions I can deeply think about, whether it’s a bold question thrown against intrinsic human values such as morality, ethics, and the incentive behind what motivates us, or a symbolic criticism to the raw nature of our values. Some books I’ve enjoyed reading are:
In today’s world where there are motions to promote eSports into official Olympics sports, I doubt that this industry will ever die down. Newer technology will diversify, and the accessible nature of gaming will intensify the global attraction it has.
5.Your advice to future software engineers.
It’s been a year since I’ve finished my degree, so I’m not too sure what my short tenure and experience will be worth, but to be humbly candid with my experience so far, I can comment on what I felt through the earlier phases of my career:
- Somewhat like how writers tend to get a ‘writer’s block’, I see myself still go through phases in early steps of a new project where I’m just too lost to even know where to begin. Starting is what’s difficult, but even with no idea diving into it is the way to go. You’ll only know what to research, what to study, and what to try once you fiddle with code. Fight the overwhelming pre-work burden, and take a step first.
- Knowing how to implement an algorithm and being able to produce clean, elegant code that is in perfect harmony with the rest of a much larger architecture are two different things. Unfortunately, I don’t think there are any shortcuts to achieve this, as I believe this is something that requires experience and a long history of trial and error. Be patient, and always be willing to learn.
- Knowing how something works inside your head and being able to produce code out of it are two very different things as well. Don’t underestimate a task or a problem because you ’think’ you know the solution inside your head.
- Tech changes rapidly, and every day we see something new. Studying and researching is a lifestyle, and to be a good engineer we’ll never stop.
- Enjoy what you do. We are blessed because software engineering is such a versatile tool— it’s like learning a language or an instrument. If you have a hobby that you’re heavily interested in or some other field of work, there likely will be a point where they intersect. It’s up to you how much you want to isolate hobby and work, but even enjoyable work is a double-edged sword with risks of extreme stress and burnout. Find a way to enjoy the work.
6.Which is your favourite book and why?
I tend to like books that throw questions I can deeply think about, whether it’s a bold question thrown against intrinsic human values such as morality, ethics, and the incentive behind what motivates us, or a symbolic criticism to the raw nature of our values. Some books I’ve enjoyed reading are:
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Justice, or other books/lectures by Michael Sandel
- The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis
- Freakonomics by Steven J.Dubner and Steven Levitt
Since I like to cook, I like looking at cookbooks or plating collages. I don’t know too much, but I also like to shuffle through design books and architecture portfolios.
- Ju An Kang (Software Development Engineer II at Amazon)
Interviewed by Pratibha Sahani
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