I have been concerned about my future for two years while studying abroad in the United States. The first cause of concern was an occupation. I was concerned about what I am good at and what I am interested in. The next cause of concern was location. I was concerned about where to find employment: in Korea or the United States. I know that the United States also has a very competitive society. However, through my indirect experience, I think the United States is relatively less competitive and more open or free.  Obviously, there are lots of other pros and cons. If I work in Korea, I will have no problem with language, but I will have to deal with the outline of society that blocks differences which can lead to progress. I felt this by listening to stories from my parent’s workplaces.  On the other hand, I will have a language problem, yet have the opaque outline if I work in America. I felt this by listening to my host family’s workplace stories who are Koreans.
 
Currently, both Korea and America have an unemployment crisis, and I can easily know this by listening to the people around me. Of course, to live without concern about money while doing what I want to do is idealistic, but it is really just the “ideal.” It is very tragic that our goal is now set to finding employment, but I think it is very normal at this point in time. What is the best choice when we synthetically consider all factors? I think an advantage that we, Korean international students, have is the wide variety of choices, including the location (country) of occupation. Then, what kind of choice will the Korean international students make? I conducted a survey asking where they want to live or will live in the future through the Facebook page America Korean, international student group.
 
The results of the survey revealed that 227 people out of 340 said they will stay in the United States and 80 said they will live in Korea (there are more sections than what is shown in the picture). This decision must have been made with consideration of lots of different factors. People who made this decision should have thought about it synthetically: weighing which one is better than the other, whether it is Korea or America, or they are obligated to do so. However, there is an unchanging truth in either choice: they must get a job. I am aware of the very obvious pros and cons; however, I do not know about other detailed information, because I did not personally experience workplace life in either Korea or America.
 
So, to know what the workplace is like in America, I interviewed Mrs. Kim, Intel operation manager who is a Korean. I believe that knowing a variety of occupation will help a person like me who does not know what to do in the future. So first, I asked about her occupation.
 
What exactly are the tasks of an operation manager?
The tasks that were delivered by an Operations Manager include but not limited to the following;
 
● Planning – Forecast and plan the resources (headcount, capital, spending) per project that needs to be executed over both long term and short term based on the priority set by the business group
● Execution – Allocate/track the heads and spending per the plan that was agreed to execute the projects. If necessary, re-allocation per change in project direction needed to be delivered.
● Collaboration – Work closely with Finance and the directors to make sure that project timing and plan can be mapped out accurately.
● Hiring- One of the most important roles for this job was to track/hire resources required for the projects.
 
I believe that you would have had to cooperate with team members and lead team members. How did you lead them?
I like to call it mentoring. Teamwork comes from good mentorship. One of the values that I liked always was “Great Place to Work.” This can only be achieved by having the people like to work with each other in the right environment. The environment needs to be safe, comfortable; and integrity and respect to each other need to co-exist. To do this, the roles of the managers and leaders are very important. Treat each other with respect and achieve good output or results is the successful model that I called teamwork.
 
I also wanted to know if she experienced difficulties because of her nationality, which might be a slope that we need to get over.
 
Were there any difficult circumstances that you faced because of your race and nationality? If so, how did you overcome that?
For being an Asian woman in the industry, I can’t say I didn’t have any experience where I felt I was being treated unfairly from time to time by few individuals. However, overall, I felt the majority of the people and the company as a whole provided equal opportunity regardless of the ethnic background or gender. If I feel I was being treated unfairly because of my gender or ethnic background, not because of my performance or quality of the work, I will talk to the individual who treated me that way and tell him/her that I feel that way. Most of the time, the misunderstanding would be solved, or the individual will apologize for making me feel that way and corrects his/her behavior. At least, that was my experience.
 
I did a little survey through an online community of Korean international students, and I found out that 227 out of about 340 people will stay in America and 80 people will go back to Korea. I believe that most of them who will live in America will need to get a job. As Koreans, is there something that we need to be aware of or be prepared to get a job and live a satisfying life?
It all depends on what stage of life you are at. If you are a student, obviously, you need to study hard to get good academic results. If possible, I would recommend getting a summer internship in the field that you are interested in. I had several high school interns at Intel in the lab, and most of them were seeking what they wanted to learn, and I highly valued those young engineers. If you are preparing to get a full-time job after college, I would recommend that you keep up-to-date your CV (resume) for employers and actively participate in all job fairs and hiring events. When the interview is scheduled, meet with someone who can mentor and give you tips on how to have good interviews. If the technical interview is scheduled, obviously, you need to prepare well enough so that you can talk confidently.
 
Do you have any advice for those who are thinking to get a job in America?
Study hard, constantly seek for opportunities to get your CVs in for interviews, take part in as many hiring events as possible, have mentorship sessions, and never give up.
 
Through the interview, I was able to learn more details about how to get a job and what the workplace is like. Also, I learned about the job of an Operations Manager. Even though I only focused on the United States, this interview helped me to have some ideas about my future. I have not made my final decision yet, but I still have time to do that. My circumstances will eventually lead me somewhere. Therefore, I will put my efforts on the things that I need to do as a student and wait for the time to come.
 
 








SangJun Park 박상준
10th grade
Brother Rice high school
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