First Story — Me
Starting something new is always exciting and scary. After listening to an inspiring webinar, I decided to start writing down my journey and thoughts and sharing them with others.
A little about me. I am a first-generation immigrant in the United States, with a husband, two teenage kids, two cats, and an aging parent. I am a corporate executive in the exciting data & analytics field. I am also an active community volunteer and organizer. Sometimes, I feel that I am fulfilling the American dream; at other times, I feel lost and hopeless. I will organize my thoughts in the following three areas: Analytics, Leadership, and Life.
I’ve been in the data & analytics field for twenty years. It all started as a necessity to get whatever job I could upon graduation in a really bad economy. It was not by choice, nor was it glorious back then. Ten years ago, I was the first one in my company to be officially moved into the Data Science job family. Ten years later, it is still one of the hottest jobs in the market. What will happen in another ten years?
I’ve been in the leadership role for over a decade, with ups and downs, breakthroughs, and frustrations. The higher you go, the more imperfection that you have to accept. There’s so much out there and there are endless things to learn and work to do. Strategy is all about deciding what not to do. People are always the driver and the decider of the ultimate outcome, even in the era of automation and AI.
Being an immigrant, a parent of teens, and a daughter of aging parents is a humble and challenging experience. It taught me to accept what I can do and live the best out of it. Life is about traveling through the journey, not about pursuing the destination. The world is full of color and mystery. You will never be able to own or experience everything. You can only explore and cherish every little new thing or feeling, either positive or negative. Life is fair. When you get something, you are missing out on others. When you are down, you are given a greater potential to bound back higher.
That’s enough for tonight. Hope you will continue reading in the future.
