Disclaimer: The views expressed by our interviewees are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of GradSimple. We only edit these responses for clarity. All opinions remain those of the interviewee.
- Name: Do-Hyung K.
- Year Of Graduation: 2023
- College/University: University of British Columbia
- Major: Commerce (Real Estate, Sauder School of Business)
What do you do for a living?
I am a production manager at K2 Korea. I oversee and manage production lines for D38999 S3 connectors, which are mainly used for military/aerospace applications. In simple terms: components for tanks, helicopters, missiles, submarines, etc.
Can you tell me about your job search experience after graduation?
I began my job search about 5-6 months before graduating, which I felt was relatively late compared to my peers. Being a people person, I was interested in sales and my initial goal was to become a realtor or work as a real estate developer since that’s what I majored in. I put in a lot of effort, but the results were disappointing – something many readers can probably relate to. Like everyone else, I spent a lot of time refining my resume, writing cover letters, and scouring job postings daily. I also attended networking events to connect with professionals in the real estate industry. Eventually, I received a few interview offers from real estate companies, but I declined them all. Strange, right?
Something held me back from attending those interviews, possibly the final project I worked on in my last year of school. The more I delved into it, the more I realized that real estate was not the career path I wanted. After this realization, I paused my job search and spent my last two months in Vancouver figuring out my next steps while working as a busser at The Old Spaghetti Factory downtown.
Before attending UBC, I had always wanted to become an engineer, but my struggles with math led me to choose commerce instead. However, my interest in technology and manufacturing persisted, so I decided to explore opportunities in those fields. I began applying to technology and manufacturing companies in South Korea, and fortunately, I landed a job that required minimal technical knowledge but a high level of English fluency. Surprisingly, my current job aligns well with my real estate background, as I use Excel and design floor plans for assembly lines. I’m quite happy with where I am working now.
Why did you choose your major? Would you still pick this major now, if you could go back in time?
I’ve always wanted to become an engineer but I lacked aptitude for math. So I chose my second option, commerce. Within commerce, I chose a real estate concentration because no matter what kind of assets you hold, real estate is actually quite useful (you can live in it if you own it, not like stocks or bitcoins) and profitable. If I were to choose my major again, though, I think I would have chosen either finance or marketing.
If I asked you 3 years ago, what would you think you’d be doing right now (in life/career)?
I think I would have said I wanted to become a realtor or developer, but you can see how that ended up.
What’s your biggest struggle right now?
I’m in a field that I have no knowledge about, at all. I always feel that there is still so much to learn. In our firm, there are people who have been in the industry for more than 25 years and I worry that I’m viewed as a kid who doesn’t know much (I really hope that they don’t see me like that). I wish to gain more expertise.
If money was not a factor, what would you be working on or spending more time on?
If money was not a factor, I would probably be working more on studying math/physics. I’ve always wanted to pursue my career in that direction, although it is quite difficult at this point. I want to learn more about how things work in the universe and understand complex concepts of science and technology. Not saying I am going to be Elon Musk, just saying that I want to learn.
If we traveled 3 years into the future of your life, what would you hope we’d see?
I want to make the company so much bigger, and I want to be an expert in this connector business. This is a business that has a high boundary of entry so I want to be someone who is very important in the market, although it’s rather small. I’d rather be the head of a snake instead of the tail of a dragon.
What advice and/or learnings would you give to current students or recent grads?
To students: Don’t drink too much.
To recent grads: Think before you speak.
And to any readers who are residing in South Korea or planning to visit, contact me through Instagram!
Connect With Do-Hyung:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/papahyung
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kdhkdh/
