Humans Being In China AD/BC

This episode features an interview with a professional developer from a large tech company in the Bay Area, reflecting on their unconventional academic and career path. The individual discusses overcoming academic challenges in high school, unexpectedly majoring in Japanese before switching to computer science, and making bold life choices like moving to the US for a relationship. The overarching...

This episode presents an interview with Pipi, focusing on their educational and career journey. It chronicles their transition from computer science to business school, then to a data science master's program in the U.S., and finally to a role as a data scientist in the financial sector. Pipi shares their experiences with a demanding high school environment focused solely on academic achievement a...

This episode presents an interview of a former auditor who transitioned to a Fund Controller role in a bank, highlighting their career path and reflections on work-life balance. They discusses their academic background, including the shift from physics to economics and mathematics, and their eventual move into accounting. The interview also touches upon their experiences in the auditing industry,...

This document presents an interview with a Portfolio Manager, who shares their journey from a small Chinese county to working in finance in Shanghai. The interview explores their educational path, including their choice of a finance major at a comprehensive university and the pursuit of a master's degree. They detailed their daily life as a Portfolio Manager, discusses the nature of the financial...

This episode explores the unconventional career journey of an interviewee who, despite initial academic challenges and a major that proved difficult for direct employment, earned an Electronic Engineering bachelor's and master's degree. Their early professional experiences included an internship as a product manager at a major internet company, which they found "quite agonizing" due to its "pathol...

This episode presents a fascinating interview with a theoretical physicist, conducted by 宫师姐Chelsea as part of her "Beyond the Gaokao" project to broaden high school students' perspectives on life choices. The interviewee shares his unique journey: from being direct-admitted to Peking University's Yuanpei College through a physics competition, earning a US theoretical physics PhD, to becoming a...

This episode presents an interview with "Y", who transitioned from an electronics major to a successful brand manager in an internet company, discussing her academic and career trajectory. The interview explores her educational choices, from high school to university, and her experiences in the workplace, including her current role as a brand manager and a mother. "Beyond the Gaokao" project's goa...

This episode centers around an interview with Kevin, a product manager at Microsoft in Seattle, highlighting his unconventional journey from studying English literature to a career in data analysis and product management. The interview explores Kevin's high school and university experiences, including his decision to retake his high school exams and his initial misgivings about his English major,...

This episode presents an interview with a Fudan University history graduate, who discusses her educational background, career trajectory, and life philosophies. The interview explores her high school experiences, including intense studying, and her decision-making process for choosing a university and major, emphasizing the challenges of limited options and parental expectations for practical fiel...

This episode presents an interview with a doctoral student in Beijing, who shares her academic journey from high school in Hong Kong to pursuing a Ph. D. in mainland China. The discussion explores her educational experiences in various locations, including her undergraduate studies in mainland China and her master's degree in the United States, highlighting the pressures and challenges she faced a...

This interview presents 宫师姐's interview with "Steak" who reflects on their unconventional educational and career path. "Steak", a dual Math and Philosophy major, describes their journey from an international high school in China to universities in Canada and the U.S., culminating in a product manager role in New York. The discussion highlights their adaptive approach to career and life choices,...

This episode presents an interview with a software engineer named Pika, who reflects on her academic and career journey. The interview, conducted by 宫师姐Chelsea, details Pika's experiences from high school in Shanghai to pursuing higher education in the US, ultimately leading to a career as a software engineer in Boston. Pika discusses her passive decision-making throughout her life, from her co...

This episode presents an interview conducted by 宫师姐Chelsea. The interview, recorded in March 2023, is part of Chelsea's broader goal to interview 50 individuals from diverse backgrounds to create a varied dataset of independent life stories for high school students. The purpose is to expand their imagination about the wider world without imposing subjective interpretations or advice. The interv...

This episode presents an interview with "Da Xuan," an individual who made a significant transition from a science background to liberal arts and is currently pursuing an MBA in New York. The interview chronicles his academic and career journey, including being assigned to a marketing major after initially intending to study international trade, and later shifting from marketing to a product manage...

This episode presents an interview with "Jay," a Chinese software engineer based in the U.S., conducted by "宫师姐Chelsea." Jay recounts his educational and career journey, starting from his high school experience in China, his "2+2" program that involved studying in both Chinese and American universities, and his eventual pivot from engineering to computer science. He discusses the differences be...

This episode continues presenting a self-interview by "Chelsea", a product manager in the tech industry, reflecting on her journey from rural China to NYC. The piece serves as a model interview for a larger project, "Beyond the Gaokao", aimed at providing diverse life stories to high school students, offering insights into career choices and personal growth. It details her rigorous high school lif...

This episode presents a self-interview by "Chelsea", a product manager in the tech industry, reflecting on her journey from rural China to NYC. The piece serves as a model interview for a larger project, "Beyond the Gaokao", aimed at providing diverse life stories to high school students, offering insights into career choices and personal growth. It details her rigorous high school life, her uncon...

"Beyond the Gaokao", 宫师姐Chelsea's project that aims to provide  high school seniors in small towns  in China with insights into diverse life paths beyond their immediate academic focus. The Gaokao , short for “全国普通高等学校招生考试” (National College Entrance Examination), is China's most important standardized test. Held once a year, it plays a decisive role in determining which universitie...

A podcast powered by both AI and a real human soul. Listen to a voice that’s honest, warm—and just happens to be in English. Can AI understand 宫师姐’s writing? You be the judge. Welcome to AI英语磨耳间 —not just a podcast for improving your English listening skills, but a heartfelt transmission from the Chinese-speaking world. In each episode, 宫师姐 transforms her personal Chinese writings into...