I was an 80’s kid. The time of shoulder pads, the Walkman, and 8-bit video games.
I was born into an immigrant family a year after they landed in Canada to start a new life. Like most immigrants my parents wanted a better life for me and my big sis and were willing to risk it all with literally nothing in their pockets.
My mum worked at a hotel cleaning rooms, it wasn’t a glorious job but one that required little English and a ton of work ethic. When my mum had interviewed for the position she brought me along, a toddler in a stroller because there was no one to watch over me. My mum’s then boss was reluctant to hire my mum, but in the end she did – the start of my mum’s 20+ year ‘career’ at a starting wage of $3.25/hr.
My dad was a chef, not a fancy Michelin stared chef, but a good one nonetheless. Working at Chinese restaurants close to home for cash, under the table. It was hard work and wasn’t a well paying job, but a skill that kept my dad employed for his working career.
My mum would work days and my dad would work nights – allowing a parent to always be present in the household. Growing up in this environment allowed me experiences typical kids attending daycare would never have. In the day I would follow my dad everywhere to run errands, leaving me with indelible memories that would shape who I am today. I fondly remember attending in class sessions at the local driving school, taught in Cantonese as my dad was earning his driver’s license. These memories and experiences would ignite my passion for cars. On another occasion I would follow my dad to the local hardware store where he’d pick up a new set of rubber washers then teach me how to fix a leaky faucet back at home. These memories taught me that anything can be achieved given time, patience, and persistence.
In the evenings my mum would be the chef of the household while my dad was away at work. I didn’t have much interest in cooking at the time but I did have much interest in eating her delicious meals, and I still do to this day. That said, mum taught me how to be tidy, how to vacuum, do the laundry, how to hang our clothes out to dry, and to keep a clean house. Most importantly she taught me how to be a good human being, to give, to be kind, to love, to respect, and to accept.
We lived in a small house in the center of the city which cost my parents roughly $20,000 on a mortgage with an interest rate of nearly 20%. My dad drove a 1987 Volkswagen Jetta which cost nearly as much as the house – at $17,000. My father took great pride in this vehicle.
Let’s fast forward….
Academic Life
As with everyone I rode the vicissitudes of life as I progressed through the stages of childhood, adolescence, through to adulthood and even to this day. I was an average student through my elementary and high school years but made it through. I attended university locally, lived with my parents throughout my studies and took out student loans at the beginning of each semester. After 5 long years I earned a bachelors degree in applied science – electrical engineering.
Work Life
I graduated at the cusp of the financial crisis in April of 2007, and finding a job was not easy. I attended countless job fairs, revised and reformatted my resume multiple times, printed hundreds of business cards. I finally caught my break through a referral. One of my closest friends growing up landed a job at one of the largest telecommunication equipment manufactures in the country, a few months into his tenure he referred me to an invite only job fair in which I met my future boss. It wasn’t as straight forward as it seems though, I interviewed for an engineering position but another candidate was selected instead. It was only a few months later when they had another opening that they had extended an offer to me. I was elated.
Fast forward 1.5 years later, at the height of the financial crisis the company went bankrupt and the entire employee base was laid off. My personal, first hand exposure and experience with ‘too big to fail’. So I did what anyone would, I bought an Xbox along with Rock Band and spent my time rocking out on unemployment insurance.
So…Back to square one. I attended countless job fairs, revised and reformatted my resume multiple times, printed hundreds of business cards. I found my next break through another referral, my big sis. She worked at one of the largest telecommunications companies in the country, more importantly they were one of the rare companies who were still hiring during the economic downturn. I nailed the interview but took a pay cut to join the company. We’ll chat about that decision in another post but I was elated. I spent the next 5 years honing my skills, both as an individual contributor and project lead. During my tenure I was promoted to a senior position, one of the fastest progressions in company history. When I was nearing my 5th year of tenure I was contacted by a headhunter from a FAANG company. I was intrigued.
I completed and passed the take home assignment and was asked to travel to a major city close by for the interview. When I had replied to the recruiter with my interest they had notified me that they were already full for the event. So I returned to my past life. A few weeks later they had reached out again to say someone had backed out and an opening was available. I made the 2.5 hour drive to the hotel where the hiring event was hosted, went through an interview loop of 6 – each an hour in duration and drove back home that evening.
My Life Changed Forever.
I was offered a junior position at double my salary at the time but I had to relocate across country lines, to the opposite coast. I spent six and half years at the FAANG company, being promoted from Junior, to Intermediate, to Senior to Manger in my tenure. A quick progression. I left for another challenge, at another company to oversee and manage at an organizational level for a short stint, then left that company to become a senior director at another, a company focused on clean energy. I do truly hope we can combat climate change.
Here’s where the story is still being written. Join and follow me on my journey.
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