Right, sothatwasveryinteresting, because I gottoworkin a lotofdifferentsizecompanies.
The 1st 1 I workedoutwasthiscompanyinSanFrancisco.
Andtheywereabout, I'd say 20 peopleatthetime, maybe 10 engineers.
Sobeingthere, I learned a lotbecause I wastreatedlike a fulltimeengineer, and I got a lotofopportunitytohave a bunchofownershipoverthecode.
Butitwasalsoreallyscarybecause I hadneverdoneaboutdevelopment.
Anditwasprimarily a whatdevelopmentjob.
So I hadtolearn a lotofnewthingsonthejob, anditwas a reallygoodgrowingexperience.
Andotherexperiencesincludeinterningat a verysmallcompanythatwasonlylikethreepeoplebigandtheninterningat, like, a moremediumsizedcompanythatwasmaybe 200 or 300 people.
Okay, that's perfect.
Soyouhad a lotofexperienceworkingatdifferentcompanies.
Okay, so I thinkforthealgorithmspart, um, youknow, forforthosewhoarenotfromthere, anexampleofanalgorithmquestionwouldbesittinglikeYouhave a stringoryouhave a listoryouhaveanarrayandthenyouneedtoreverseit, usingsomethingsomekindoffunction.
Sothatwas a veryinterestingexperience, and I thinkthefirsttimewhentheTokyowasbeforeinterningthere.
Butatthattime, I got a lotofcultureshockbecauseeveryonetherewassuperpolite, unlikeinAmerica, wheresometimespeoplecanbekindofrudeandthere's notipping, whichwasverykindofupputtingatfirst, butitwas a reallynicefutureofJapan I enjoynow, Andthepublictransitthereisactuallyreally, reallygood.
So I'm verypleasantlysurprisedaboutthat.
Um, probablythemost.
I guessembarrassingthing, though, isthattheyusehonorificsinJapan, sotheyuselike, sawnorShawnorwhateversamaandtheybasicallyupendthesephrasestotheendofyourname's indicatesyourstatus.
Yes.
Likesoyouknow, I'm deafness.
And, uh, like, assomeofyoudon't.
So, sonandChinaissortoflikethewordMrinEnglish.
Yes.
So, basically, normallyatthecalls, like, youknow, EthanChaninEnglish, right.
Sopeoplegotveryconfusedwhen I introducedmyselfbecause I'd beintroducingmyself, butusingthosehonorifics, andit's kindofweirdtodothattoyourself.
Allright.
Soareyougoing, MrEthan?
Yeah.
So I guessEthanChang, likeyourwholenameissortoflikeMrVisser E.
Yeah, Exactly.
Yeah.
Um, onda.
Whydidyouchoose?
Oh, youknow, theTokyocampustoworkout.
Yes.
That's anexcellentquestion.
Anditreallystemsbacktoagainstmyexperience.
They'restudyingabroad, becausewhen I studiedabroadthere, I wasjusttryingitoutandseeingif I likeTokyoanditturnsoutthat I reallylovedworkingthereandlivingtherebecause I did a littleshortinternshipthereaswell.
Sothatexperiencereallyconvincedmethat I wanttoworkthere.
So I'm gonnashowittoeveryonehere, youknow, justpartofit.
Soyousaidsomethingalongthelinesoff, so I'm lookingforadviceinmycareer.
Andthenyousaid, I knowthisis a reallylongmessage, sodon't feelpressuredtoreplyinsomewayoranything.
Andthenyousaidchoosingwheretheworkis a hugedecisionforme, so I couldusealltheperspective I cangetonwhat I foundReallyniceaboutthismessagewasthefactthatyousay, youknow, sodon't feelpressuredtoreplyinsomewayoranything.
And I feltlike I wouldsortof, youknow, offthehookon I finallyreallynicebecause I feltlikeyousortofunderstoodwhere I was.
Sojusthavinglotsofinteractionswithotherpeopleandthensortof, I guess, experimentingwithhowyoutalktothem.
Sofind, maybe, thatifyoutalkinginthisnicemanearthandthey'llgetmoreresponsivetoyourbemorefriendliertoyouandmaybeit'd be a littlebitstricterthanthelight.
Wasthereanytimewhenusethatsortofskilledtoactuallyget a joborgetsomethinginyourcareer?
Yes, definitely.
I usedahprettymuchineverysinglejobapplicationideo.
Soespeciallywhen I'm tryingtonegotiateforsomethingSoone a recentexampleisthere's thiscompanythat I wasapplyingforandtheysaidthatOh, thedeadline's goingtobeinfourdaysand I couldn't waitthatshortbecause I hadsomeotherdeadlines.
I wouldbereallyfaroutandsomeapplicationsthatdidn't evengetbacktomeyet.
And I saidtomyself, Theyprobablyreallyneedtohiresomeoneforthispositionandtheyprobablythinkthat I'm a verygoodcandidateSo I'lltrytobereasonablewiththemandsaythat I'm reallycommittedtocompletingmyjobsearch.
Isthereanywaywecanbehigher, makeourtimelines, fiteachotherandhave a mutualsortofwindthereThat's reallyimportanttohavebothsideswin, becausewhenyoufinallyachievesomething, it's alwayseasierfortheotherpersontothinkaboutthemselvesaswell.
Soit's goodtohave a sortofmutualfeelingofwegotsomethingdoneandit's reallygood, asopposedtojustyourselforjusttheotherperson, right, soit's notit's notsaying, youknow, I wantthis, Sogiventhisoryouknowyouwantthis, so I'm justgonnagiveyouthis.
It's moreabout, like, youknow, I wantthisthingandyouwantthisthing.
Solet's figureout a wayto, likebothforforbothofustogetwhatwewant, right?
Definitely.
Uh, right.
Um, so I guessyou, youknow, yousortofcultivatedthatscalelikethroughoutuniversityandthroughouthighschool.
So I guessevenrecently, justnowwhen I wastalkingtoyoulikeitforthefirsttime, whenhetoldmethatmycommunicationskillswereexcellentandread a reallygoodimpressiononhim.
I wassurprisedaboutaswellbecauseatthatpoint, I wasn't reallythinkingtoomuchaboutit.
I wasjustlike, it's soingrainedinmethat I shouldbenice, and I shouldbetheotherprisonwithrespect.
There's a lottotalkabout, but I thinkoverallit's just a senseofthecompanyreallycaresforyouis a bigthing.
Mmm, on, uh, whenyoucompareyourexperienceatGoogle, youknowboththemountainviewinTokyoonyourexperienceatdifferentcompaniesbecause, youknow, youhaveworkedatlike a bunchofdifferentcompanies.
Sowhen I wasworkingatthesmallerstartups, especiallythesmalleststartup, I gotownershipofanentireproject, whichwasreallyscaryforme, especiallyatthatstage.
I didn't knowmuch, andif I walkedoutof a midsizedcompany, I didownershipof a prettybigchunkof a prettybigproject.
Itwasn't reallyintimidating, but I wasalsolikesomething.
So I thinkformepersonally, I stillhaven't reallyworkedoutwhetherornot I wanttoworkin a bigcompanyor a smallcompanybecausethereis a lotoftradeoffstocometeach.
What I havelearned, though, iswhatthosetradersare.
Sowhenyouworkfor a biggercompany, youhavemoreoveralljobstability, andthat's reallyimportanttome.
Andyoualsohave a loveinfrastructure.
SoGooglehassomeamazinginternaltoolingthat I can't tellyouaboutwhat's reallycrazy.
Butyougettoworkon a lotbiggerthingswith a lotbiggerimpacttoindividualpeople, andthatisalsoimportanttome, and I stillhaven't sortedoutwhetherornotoneisonepointontheother.
I thinkthey'rebothveryimportantthings, butit's a lotlikeofexperienceand a lotofdatathat I'vegotten, soitreallyhelpsmetothinkmoredeeplyabout a decision, right?
So I remember, youknow, whenweweremessagingeachother, yousaidsomethingalongthelinesoffYoureurostrategyisalwaystogetasmuchdataaspossibleandthenmake a decision.
Yeah, tellus a littlebitaboutthat.
Yes.
Sothat's actuallysomething I kindofpickedupfromGooglebecauseGoogleisknownformakingthesetheaterdrivendecisions.
Wealwaysgatherdata, andtheyalwaysactonthatdata.
Anditreallyhelpsmebecause I don't wantmydecisionstobeemotionallychargedtoomuch.
I wanttobemindfulofthelike, Ah, yes, objectivevalueofcertaindecisionsandjustgatheringalloftheheadyoucanLet's youknowwhatsortofdoorseachchoicewillopenupforyouandallowsyoutochoosetheonewiththemostvaluenight.
Sotome, if I finditkindofinterestingthatyoumentionit, um, abouthowGoogleuses a lotofdatatomakingdecisions, Yes, I thinkitworksin a lotofsituations, butatthesametime, I feellikesometimestheyrelytoomuchondataandtheyforgetaboutlikepeople, youknow, behindthedata.
Didyoueverfeellikethat, orisitjustme?
I thinkthat's alsotrue, becausewiththedata, there's also a storybehindthedata.
SoevenIfyou'relookingatrawnumbers, maybethere's a reasonforthosenumbersthatyoucan't reallyquiteconnectusfromlookingat.
Soonethingthat a lotofcompaniesdoisthatwhentheydesignedcertainfeatures, insteadofjustlookingatdata, thelookatdataanddesign a userstoryforthem, whichbasicallysays, as a user, I wantthisfunctionalityoras a userThisshouldhappenformebecause I likeusingthisapp.
Soit's importanttoconsiderbothperspectivesandjustawaythanequallyand I guessweighthemwithrespecttohowmuchyouthinktheyah, justhaveimpactonherdecision, I guess, right?
Yeah, I agreewiththat.
Like, uh, I guesswithmyexample, when I workonmyYouTubegeneral, I liketolookat, youknow, thebitlikewatchtimeorviewsorsharesorwhatever, butwhat I don't getfromdeadeyes, youknow, actuallywhatpeoplearethinkingandyou'reright.
I getthat, likebyMrsPeopledirectlyorlikereceivingemailsincommentsso I feellikethecombination, likehavingbothquantitativeandqualityofdataisimportant.
And a lotofdifferentsituations.
Definitely.
Yes.
Yeah.
S o Doyouhaveanyadviceyouwouldgivetosomeonewhoisjustgettingstartedwithprogramming?
Ah, yes.
Oh, Mybiggestadviceisthatit's notasscaryasitseems, becauseeventhoughthere's a lottolearn.
So, forexample, when I wasfirststartingJava, I sawlikethefunction, thesmallesthelloworldfunctionwas a publicstatic.
Oneofthemwasobviously, that I wasinterestedinlearningmoreaboutcomputerscience.
Butprobablythebiggerreasonbehindthatwasbecause I couldonlyinteract.
GoalTokyoif I didtheMastersbecausetheinternshiprequiresthat I gobacktoschoolafterwardsand I wasgraduating, soitseemedlike a goodchoicejusttotrytheMastersandallstudentthatyouwilltellyourinternshipintheprocess.
Butonce I startedtheMasters, I quicklyfoundthat I wasn't reallysomethingthatwashelpingme, becauseitwas a veryheavyonreadingscientificresearchpapersanddiscussingresearch.
Butthethingsthat I thoughtaboutthisprocesswasone.
I candothisonmyownbecausethepapersarounditforfreeand I canreadthemonmyowntime.
Andtwo, it's notreallysomething I'm passionateabout, because I guess I haven't reallyfound a specificareaofcomputersciencethat I'm really, reallypassionateabout, so I kindofspreadmyselfinandlookforthingstobefashionabout.
But I found I wasn't reallyresonatingwithme.
So I foundthatmaybewhat I ampassionateabouthisduelingproductsandbuildingthingsthatpeoplewillfindusefulandhelpful.
Andsothat's why I wanttogotointerestyoufirst.
Becausethatwillletmeyouwant a passionateaboutandmaybefind a secondarylikeintellectualpassion.
Andthey'rethinking, Youknow, let's saytheystudiedcomputerscienceorsomething, andthenthey'rethinkingtothemrails, Should I get a jobafterthis, orshould I get a master's degreeafterthis?
Howwouldyoulike, advisethemtomake a decisionforthat?
Right?
Sothat's aninterestingquestion.
I thinkmyadvicewouldbeAreyougenuinelyinterestedin, likemoreacademicprogress?
Likeareyoureallyintellectuallyinterestedin a certainverydeeptopicthatyouthinkwouldbehardtolearnaboutyourself?
Whatwouldbeeasiertolearnaboutin a sortofgroupenvironment?
Andthatisreallywhatmasters, And I guessCrowder's goesforusdeveloping a deepunderstandingof a veryspecifictopicareaandbecomingintheresearchexpertsinit.
Soifyouwanttodothatandthat's foryou, thengoforit.
Butifyou'remoreonthesideoffbuildingthingslikeme.
Then I thinkmaybegoingforindustryopportunitieswouldbebetterfirst.
Andkeepinmindthatneitherdecisionispermanent.
Sodon't feeltoostressedaboutdeciding.
Becauseifyoudecidetotake a jobfirst, thenmaybealongthewayyou'llbelike, I reallylikethespecificfieldofcomputerscience.
Andthenoddsareworkingtoreallybecomereallycome a companythatreallycaresaboutyourintellectualgrowth.
Theotherquestiontheyhaveisthose g p A mattertobeaninternatGoogle.
Thatis a goodquestion.
And I'm notthebestpersontoanswerthatbecause I haveananomalousLeeHigh G p A.
Because I spent a lotoftimeatschoolbeingstudious, so I can't reallyanswerthatquestionwell, but I'veheardfromotherpeoplethatitmatters, butnottothedegreeyouthinkBecauseifyoucanshowthatyou'reveryhardworkingandveryopentolearningyourthings, thentheywilltakeyou.
I'm kindofcurious.
Howdidyougetthehigh G p A.
Um, yes, it's justsortofinmynatureisthebestway I canexplainit, becauseeversince I wasinmiddleschoolandhighschool, I'd constantlybe a topperformerinmyclass, andthatwasjustsortof a thingthatcametomeandwaspartofmypersonality.
I guessso.
It's kindofhardformetodescribeexactlyhow, butit's a combinationofbeingsurroundedbyothersmartpeopleaswellandhavingtosortofthethedrivetosucceedandthedrivetobetteryourself.
I appliedand I finallyjustgotrejectedandthateventhoughitwaskindofdemoralizingforme, I decidedthat I wouldkeeppressingonandkeeptryingtogetthisinternship.
Somyprojects, um I thinkitwasinoneofthelinks, but I cantasteitinchatreallyquickly.
Justonesecond.
Sothisismyprofilecase, Entra.
Andifyouscrolldown a littlebitof a sectioncalledProjectsandthere's someprojectsthereNo, SamAndalsojust, like, getupingeneral.
Yeah.
AndthenDerekKongsays I'm 15.
Howcan I become a highpaidGoogleemployeremployeeemployee, I guess.
Yeah.
So I guess, um, thegeneraladvice I haveforthatisjusttobededicated, passionate, andreallypushyourselftolearnasmuchasyoucanhavethatsortofgrowthmindsetwhereyouwanttolearn