Exploring Infinite Possibilities: Inspiring Stories from Four Alumni — Chia-Ching Wang X Chan-Jui Yang X Pei-Kan Tsung X Shih-Ling Cheng

On October 27, 2023, the Department of Economics at National Dong Hwa University invited four outstanding alumni back to campus to give a talk. These four alumni have one thing in common—they have crossed not only industries but also professional fields throughout their careers. Their experiences convey an important message to younger students: graduates of the Department of Economics are by no means limited to careers in the financial industry; there are endless possibilities for career development. Drawing on more than a decade of valuable experience, they shared their career journeys, current industry trends, and employment opportunities with students.

The opening moderator was alumnus Chia-Ching Wang, former Vice President of Google Taiwan, who served as the principal organizer of the event. One of his main objectives in organizing the forum was to facilitate direct recruitment and provide employment opportunities for younger students. In addition, the alumni plan to develop a more comprehensive program in the future to better match employers' recruitment needs with students' employment needs. On this occasion, he joined three other alumni from the same graduating class to organize the first “Mini Job Fair” forum. The event provided students with a wealth of useful information, enabling them to gain a deeper understanding of the needs of different industries and explore potential career paths.

The first alumna to share her experience was Shih-Ling Cheng. She currently works as a dedicated tour leader specializing in Japan for a travel agency. With humor and self-deprecation, Cheng admitted that she was never naturally gifted academically. However, she was highly enthusiastic about student activities and actively participated in the Department Student Association, the department volleyball team, and numerous student clubs. After entering the workforce, Cheng experienced a major change in her life that forced her to mature and grow. She became determined to obtain a Japanese-language tour guide certification. Despite considerable doubt and discouragement from others—even from some of her closest university friends—Cheng remained resolute and devoted herself wholeheartedly to preparing for the examination. Ultimately, she successfully achieved her goal of obtaining the certification she had long dreamed of. Cheng also shared one of the major challenges she faced in her career: Typhoon Soudelor caused flights to be canceled, leaving her entire tour group stranded at Kansai International Airport in Japan for a full day. At a time like this, a tour leader's ability to respond to unexpected situations and communicate effectively becomes critical. She had to ensure the comfort and safety of the group members, attend to their needs, and calm their anxiety so that the entire group could get through the difficult situation together. This experience highlighted how challenging the work of a tour guide and tour leader can be, while also demonstrating that it offers abundant opportunities for learning and personal growth. Finally, she encouraged students to have confidence in themselves and believe in their own abilities. She emphasized the importance of maintaining passion and remaining committed to one's dreams, while encouraging students to embrace challenges in both life and their careers because it is through these challenges that we grow and improve. At the same time, she stressed the importance of distancing oneself from voices of doubt and criticism, believing in one's own value and abilities, and firmly following one's own path.

The next alumnus to share his experience was Chan-Jui Yang, who currently serves as a manager in the Marketing Planning Department of Taiwan Knowledge Bank Co., Ltd. He opened his presentation with the line, “Only after reaching the highest peak can one look down upon all the mountains below,” using mountain climbing as a metaphor for wisdom in life. He emphasized that accumulating experience is like climbing a mountain: the journey is filled with challenges and difficulties, but once you reach the summit, you are able to see scenery that others cannot. Accumulated work experience also helps us make better judgments, avoid unnecessary mistakes, and take fewer detours. Yang emphasized that academic credentials are not everything; in his view, it is more important to clearly understand one's own interests and goals. He encouraged younger students to “choose what you love and love what you choose”—in other words, to courageously pursue what they truly care about. At the same time, he raised another important point: it is necessary to establish a stopping point. When you are young, you can afford to be somewhat adventurous, but waiting until after the age of 30 to bravely pursue your dreams may be too late, because accumulating relevant work experience becomes more difficult after that stage, as does finding a well-paying position. He therefore encouraged students to pursue their dreams courageously while they are still young. He also shared how economic knowledge can be applied to solve practical challenges in the workplace. For example, when a supervisor proposes raising prices, the decision-making process must take multiple factors into consideration, including competitors' strategies, market conditions within the industry, cost-benefit analysis, and customer responses. This is where economic principles can be applied to make informed decisions, demonstrating the practical value of economics across different industries and professions. Yang further analyzed current employment trends, pointing out that many job seekers ultimately work in fields unrelated to their university majors. He emphasized that most people may need to acquire additional professional skills after graduating from university in order to meet the practical demands of the workplace. He also offered a practical suggestion: if you are unsure about what career you truly want to pursue, attend career development seminars or listen to senior students and alumni share their experiences. Through these activities, you can gain a deeper understanding of different professions and discover what you are genuinely passionate about. These suggestions provide students with practical ways to identify their interests and career directions and prepare themselves for their future careers.

The final alumnus to share his experience was Pei-Kan Tsung, co-founder of CyCraft Technology. During university, he developed a second area of expertise and became deeply interested in information related to hacking. He believes that the most important aspect of university education is not simply acquiring specific knowledge, but developing the ability to solve problems—in other words, logical thinking skills. By strengthening their logical reasoning through learning fundamental knowledge at university, students can develop the ability to internalize knowledge and apply or communicate it externally. Such abilities are essential for their future careers. From an entrepreneur's perspective, Tsung also shared his views on recruiting talent. What he looks for are people who actively solve problems rather than those who merely point them out. He emphasized that, at work, simply achieving a goal is not enough; employees also need to follow a complete process of problem solving and subsequent follow-up. He encouraged students to try using OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and stressed the importance of approaching tasks systematically, working from the top down, and maintaining a big-picture perspective. Being able to put these principles into practice can provide tremendous benefits for future career development. He further pointed out that the information security industry will become an important future trend and encouraged students to actively explore this field. He suggested conducting related research projects and developing strong data analysis skills. Finally, Tsung shared that if he could return to his university days, there would be two subjects he would make sure to master. First, he would strengthen his knowledge of statistics because statistical concepts are highly similar to those used in Machine Learning. A solid foundation in statistics would therefore be extremely helpful for learning Machine Learning. Second, he would study another language, especially English. Strong proficiency in a second language can make it much easier to work internationally and expand future career opportunities. Such skills not only enhance personal competitiveness but also enable participation in international projects and collaborations and open up opportunities in different global markets. This was something he came to appreciate deeply while working for an Israeli company, further emphasizing the importance of mastering fundamental knowledge during university.

The alumni shared experiences spanning a wide range of fields, including tourism, marketing, and information security. Drawing on their personal journeys, each of them encouraged younger students to remain confident, persist in pursuing their dreams, and courageously face challenges in both life and their careers. They emphasized that academic credentials are not the only key to success; what matters more is understanding one's own interests and goals and working hard to pursue them. This event provided students with valuable career advice and employment information, encouraging them to move forward courageously in their future careers, pursue their dreams, and achieve their goals.

Recorded and compiled by Yen-Chuang Chung 2023/10/31