April 1, 2023

For my second interview, I talked to a local software engineer at Wistron named Kelly Fan. She is originally from northern Taiwan and graduated most recently from National Taiwan Ocean University in Keelung, Taiwan, with studies in engineering sciences, information and communication, and motor communications.

Her interest in computer science slowly developed as she was studying and experiencing more of what it was about. When I asked her how Taiwan approaches technology in their society and culture, she told me that Taiwan initially specialized in making computer chips, so that is one of their more well-known technologies. However, with the growth of technology all over the world, Taiwanese people are also interested in both hardware and software. Especially now, people’s perspectives on careers in technology fields have improved and Kelly said it isn’t different in Taiwan; they are also encouraging more people to study relevant fields.

Although Kelly herself hasn’t worked or studied elsewhere, she shared with me a bit about her current workplace’s work culture. Amongst her colleagues and other teams, she described it as being very communicative and harmonious as they work towards a certain goal or project. For herself, she plays the role of being in charge of software in a project team and the other team members will supervise other components. Since companies in general have different working environments, I was curious and asked Kelly if her company focuses more on individuality or teamwork. She explained to me that teamwork is more emphasized in their work at Wistron, with co-workers supporting one another to complete their work.

After discussing her work, I asked Kelly for more general advice on life in a new environment and pursuing a career in technology. Her first piece of advice was something a professor had told her back in college and she felt it helped a lot in her career path. The professor suggested to her that if she wanted to work in technology, it would help to try looking at various related materials in her free time, such as ebooks, magazines, etc. This way, it could help widen her understanding about this growing industry. Working on independent projects on your own was another of her suggestions to explore areas of interest. She said to me that if I’m interested in a certain area, it’s always a good thing to try and expand on skills I might learn in a class assignment. Additionally, she advised me to take advantage of my time in college to learn how to have good teamwork skills since it pays off in the workplace later on.

Kelly also shared with me about how to overcome challenges in life and at work. One of her points that really spoke to me was that in the midst of a challenge, it’s important to know when to ask for help, whether from people or outside information. I felt this advice can be very helpful in various situations and is applicable to anyone, so it was something I particularly gained from our conversation.

To move our conversation in a more lighthearted direction, I asked Kelly about any recommendations for someone visiting Taiwan. Since we were in Taipei, she suggested some more classic areas to visit in northern Taiwan such as Keelung, Tamsui, Jiufen, Yilan, and Jingmen as well as the Taipei Zoo. Within the city of Taipei, she told me going with friends to check out various restaurants can be a fun activity and visiting night markets such as Raohe Night Market and Shuiyuan Night Market (close to NTU!) to try new food. Hiking mountains is also a common activity in Taipei, so she recommended it for anyone who enjoys the outdoors! Taipei itself is surrounded by mountains, one of them being Xiangshan, which is quite famous.

Finally, Kelly chatted with me about how she feels about her life now. She described it as being “剛好”, which can be translated as “just right.” She felt in her work and her relationships, everything is in the right place and feels balanced. With her experiences and knowledge, she told me to not be scared to try new things and to not turn down opportunities or responsibilities that can allow me to learn more.

I really appreciated my conversation with Kelly, and although interviewing someone in Chinese wasn’t easy, it was a great experience! She shared a lot of useful advice with me that I can apply to both my work and life. My next interview will be with Professor Robin Chen from NTU, who also happens to be the supervising professor for my research lab this summer. It’ll be a fun conversation, so look forward to it soon!