Humans Being In China AD/BC

This episode presents an interview with a former Google Brain scientist and current UCSB professor, offering a retrospective on her career and life journey. The interview details her unconventional path, beginning with a disappointing college entrance exam result and a series of accidental choices in her academic and professional fields. Despite an initial lack of interest in her chosen discipline...

This episode presents an interview with S, a woman who successfully navigates a career in financial product sales in New York while actively pursuing her passion for theatrical performance. The discussion explores her academic and professional journey, beginning with her decision to study abroad in high school, her college experience in New York balancing a "safe" economics and political...

This episode features an interview with a Product Manager in Silicon Valley , who shares her journey from pursuing journalism to a career in product management within the tech industry. The discussion highlights her academic and professional experiences, including the challenges of studying journalism as a non-native English speaker in the US and her evolving perspective on the impact of her work....

The episode feature an interview with an unnamed interviewee about his academic and career trajectory. The interviewee discusses his journey from chemistry to mathematics and then to economics, ultimately becoming a trader in finance. A central theme is his belief that randomness, rather than deliberate choice, significantly influenced his life path, leading him to reflect on his decisions and the...

This episode presents an interview features a "小师弟" (junior alumnus) who shares his academic and career progression from a science student in high school to a quantitative analyst at a hedge fund in New York. He discusses his decisions to pursue finance, then add a math major based on interest and future career goals, leading to a master's in financial mathematics in the U.S. The...

This episode presents an interview with "77", a woman who transitioned from a tech career at a major company to becoming a self-employed insurance broker leading a team of over a hundred people. The discussion explores her unconventional career path, her reasons for leaving traditional employment, and her journey of self-discovery that led her to embrace a sales role despite her introverted nature...

This episode presents a personal narrative from an individual identified as "Koala Bear," an 80s-born hardware engineer from rural Shandong now owning property in Beijing. The interview recounts his journey from a severely imbalanced high school student to achieving a master's degree and securing a job in the capital city, highlighting the pivotal role of postgraduate studies in alte...

This episode presents Garfield, a 2010 science graduate in Wuxi, found high school fulfillment in late-night talks with close friends. Her university finance path moved from initial insecurity to self-confidence via self-discipline. Inspired by Netflix's data analysis, she chose business data analysis, becoming an early analyst. While working for a crypto startup in 2017, she shifted to Produc...

This episode presents P's story, a software engineer in New Jersey , who developed an early and genuine interest in programming and making games . Influenced by his "old-school" software engineer father's advice for a "soft-hard combination," P initially chose Electronics Information Engineering (Communication) at university. He re-engaged with programming by joining a RoboCup robot soccer laborat...

This episode presents an  interview with a game developer , identified by the alias "Wings," who  recounts his journey  from a middle school dream of game development to a successful career spanning 13 years in the industry. The discussion covers his  academic choices , particularly his pursuit of a software engineering degree at a top-tier science and technology university, and his  exp...

This episode presents an  interview with a professional referred to as "Old Peng" , conducted by 宫师姐Chelsea, about his educational and career path. Old Peng discusses his  experience in Chinese high school and his university enrollment through a subject adjustment , shifting from mechanical engineering to business administration. He shares details about his  university life, pursuing...

This episode features an  interview with "Old Zhong,"  a former science student who became a successful law firm partner in a second or third-tier city in China, earning over a million RMB after tax annually. Old Zhong  recounts his challenging academic journey , including a highly competitive high school experience and a difficult university major in electronics and information where he...

This episode presents an  interview with a software engineer in New York, identified as "Dazhuang, (Big)"  who discusses their academic and career journey from a high-achieving high school student in China to a programmer in the US. The interview, conducted by "宫师姐Chelsea ," highlights Dazhuang's experiences with  university selection based on exam scores rather than int...

This episode presents a software engineer who  graduated high school in Sichuan, China, during the 2008 earthquake . The interview chronicles her  unplanned educational and career path , starting with an initial interest in computer science that led to an information management degree, a marketing internship, and eventually a master's in computer science in the U.S. Her story highlights  adapt...

This episode presents a deep dive of an  interview with P, a software engineer , focusing on their  unconventional academic and career path . It details their journey beginning with  information science competitions in elementary school , which led to  skipping their final year of high school to attend university early . The interview explores P's  decision to discontinue competitive programming i...

This episode presents a software engineer referred to as "和尚(Monk)." It covers the interviewee's journey from a  high school athlete balancing sports and academics  to pursuing a  computer science degree  due to an interest in technology and Google's work environment in 2009. It details her challenging university experience, a  PhD dropout  for a job opportunity, and her reflec...

This episode presents an  interview with Fish , a product leader at a startup, as part of a series aiming to  broaden high school students' perspectives  on career and life choices. The interview  traces Fish's unconventional path  from a "free-range" high school experience and a less-than-ideal college entrance exam score to a successful career in tech product management. He ref...

The episode presents an interview with an individual identified as  D, focusing on D's  academic and professional journey . D's journey traces their path from a stressful high school experience in Shenzhen, where they faced challenges during her gaokao , to becoming one of the first students at Guangzhou University City, then pursuing a Master's in the U.S. in Information Management, a...

This episode presents an  interview with an anonymous "sharer", who discusses their  unconventional career path . It highlights their journey from  initially pursuing architecture to later switching to accounting , then  marketing , and ultimately landing a  strategy role in a top consulting firm specializing in digital healthcare . The interview also touches upon their  personal life, c...

This episode presents excerpts from an interview with a former top student from a small town in China, whose name is not specifically stated. They discusses their academic and career journey from  Tsinghua University's architecture program to their current doctoral studies in cultural heritage preservation and work at the Metropolitan Museum . The interview  explores their experiences with academi...

This episode presents an interview with C, a product manager at Google, who reflected on their unconventional educational and career path. They discussed the  decision to forgo the Gaokao  (Chinese college entrance exam) for a  fully-funded scholarship to a U.S. liberal arts college , where they were challenged to study diverse subjects like art history. C also recounted  declining admission to Ha...

This episode presents an interview with G, an oncology radiation resident in New York , works 70-80 hours weekly , balancing patient care and clinical research. G's path included an intense high school in Hubei , a five-year medical degree in China , and a US Master's as a strategic "stepping stone" to prepare for the crucial US medical licensing exams . G finds the US medical profession highly re...

This episode features an insightful interview with a software engineer whose journey offers a "chill" perspective on career and life. In high school, they experienced "much smaller" pressure in Shanghai, even sneaking out to internet cafes at night. Their microelectronics major, chosen because its name "sounded cool," proved "very very bitter". They pivoted to Computer Engineering in the U.S. and...

This episode presents an  interview with 乐小事 , a Beijing native who shares their  academic and professional journey . They recounts their experiences from a top high school to selecting a  science and engineering major  in an coastal city, later pursuing a  marketing master's degree in the U.S. , and eventually returning to China to work in  overseas operations at ByteDance . They offers  insig...

This episode presents an  interview with AJ , a hedge fund investment manager, discussing their  unconventional career path  from biotechnology to finance. AJ reflects on their  high school experience in Henan , the  pressures of the Gaokao (college entrance exam) , and his rationale for  choosing his college major and subsequent graduate degrees  in accounting and financial engineering in the U.S...