In the past two years in China, my biggest job I have enjoyed is to communicate with students in Chinese colleges and universities. These visits and exchanges give me the opportunity to face-to-face communication with thousands of young students on issues related to their careers and prospects. I was deeply impressed by the cleverness, Studiousness, and advancement of Chinese students.
During the communication with these young students, I found that some problems are of great concern to everyone. Most of the students who have received foreign university scholarships want me to talk about how to spend their learning career in the United States. The students who decide to stay in China are very concerned about how to determine the right direction, it is also the fastest way to achieve success in scientific research and academic studies. There are also students who have just stepped into the university, hoping that I can tell them some learning and human experience. Recently, some students are concerned about the development of the network information industry and want to know how college students in the United States start their own businesses and get rich. Seeing so many eyes that are eager for knowledge and hope, I suddenly had an impulse to write a letter to Chinese students, I want to write out some of my ideas and advice to Chinese students, they will be able to have a perfect personality, a better life, and a more successful career in the future of study, work, or entrepreneurship.
Stick to the principles of integrity and integrity
When I was working at Apple, I had a manager who had just been promoted by me. Due to criticism from my subordinates, I was very frustrated to ask another person to take over from him. I asked him, "What do you think are your strengths ?" "I am confident that I am a very honest person," he said ." I told him: "I promoted you as a manager because you are a fair and selfless person. Management experience and communication skills can be learned in future work, but an upright mind is priceless ." I supported him to continue, and gave him a lot of advice and help in management and communication skills. In the end, he lived up to expectations and became an outstanding management talent.
On the contrary, I have interviewed a job seeker. He is excellent in technology and management. However, in addition to the conversation, he said that if I accept him, he could bring an invention that he had worked in the company. Then he seemed to be aware that there was something wrong with it. He made a statement: the jobs he did after work, and his boss did not know. After this talk, no matter how good he is, I will never hire him. The reason is that he lacks the most basic principles and minimum professional ethics: "Honest" and "credit ". If such a person is hired, who can ensure that he will not work here for a while, what if we regard the achievements here as the so-called "amateur work" and turn them into a "Tribute" to other companies? This shows that a person with incomplete products cannot become a real person who makes a difference.
In the United States, Chinese students are well-known for their diligence and excellence. It was once the most popular group of foreign students in the United States, but it has changed recently. The reason is simple: some Chinese students have obtained a scholarship to take a doctorate to the United States. Once they find a job opportunity, they will immediately apply to leave the school and leave aside the degree and research they promised to complete. This inclement of words and deeds has led some American professors to doubt the integrity of Chinese students. It should be pointed out that there are a few Chinese students with such behaviors, but such a "minority" has already severely damaged the reputation of Chinese students. In addition, some professors in the United States are reluctant to accept letters from some Chinese students because they know that these letters are from their own hands and have no reference. This is also the inevitable result after the integrity is damaged.
I have encountered similar problems at Microsoft Research Institute. An intern once unexpectedly reported a very good study result. However, the results of his research cannot be repeated by others. Later, his boss found that the student selected the experiment data and left only the data that conforms to the best results, instead of the "Not good" data. In my opinion, this student will never achieve a true academic breakthrough or become a truly qualified researcher.
Finally, I want to mention some people who like to be greedy and cheap. They use school or company phone numbers to make private long-distance calls and reimburse taxi tickets. Some people may think that it is no big deal for students to focus on their scores and career. Other details are just a few things. However, the so-called "Trivial matters" around you often become the key to building a person's personality and accumulating credibility. If you are greedy, cheap, or clever, you will only define yourself as an image of a person who is greedy for small profits and has no interest. In the end, you will lose your money. It is worth remembering that China has an old saying "Do not take evil for it.
Living in groups
Compared with most American students, Chinese students lack expression, communication, and team spirit. This may be due to the difference between the cultural background and the education system. Today, when we face a society that is facing a high degree of globalization, it is especially important to live in groups and make better performances and gain more gains.
The ability to express and communicate is very important. No matter what kind of excellent work you have done, you will not express it, and you will not be able to let more people understand and share it, it is almost equivalent to doing it in white. Therefore, in the learning stage, you cannot only live in one person's world. Instead, you should try to learn to interact and communicate with all kinds of people and actively express your views and opinions on various things, you can even present your speech at public gatherings to improve your expression skills.
Your ability to express is not just your eloquence ". Professor Ambady of Harvard University has recently done a very interesting experiment. He asked two groups of students to evaluate the quality of teaching by several professors. He showed the professor's lecture tapes to a group of students for two seconds and obtained a set of assessment results. Then compare the results with those of the students who have heard the lectures of these professors for several months. The conclusions of the two groups are surprisingly similar. This shows that in the process of expressing your own thoughts, non-verbal expressions are equally important as words, and sometimes play a more significant role. The non-verbal expression mentioned here refers to the appearance, manners, tone, voice, and expression of a person. From these aspects, people can more intuitively and visually judge you as a person and the ability to do things, see your self-confidence and enthusiasm, and thus get a very important "first impression ".
Team spirit is critical to a group, a company, or even a country. Microsoft is famous for its special team spirit in the United States. More than 3000 developers and testers participated in the development of products such as Windows 50 million and wrote lines of code. Without a highly unified team spirit and tacit understanding and division of labor among all participants, this project is impossible.
I have seen the opposite in other companies before. After a project is arranged, everyone knows that the project cannot be completed, but they are unaware and do not tell the boss. Because we can't do it all, and we simply don't try to do things, but we spend more time figuring out how to blame others for the failure of this project. Such a style of work almost dragged the company down.
In order to cultivate team spirit, I suggest that students actively participate in the work of various social groups while studying. In the process of working with others, sharing achievements, and mutual benefit, you can appreciate the importance of team spirit.
In the course of learning, you must never share your thoughts, ideas, and results with others. It is not healthy to worry about others' ideas that come before you, nor will you succeed. There is a saying: "The more you pay, the more you get ". Imagine if your behavior makes people think "yours is mine, mine is mine", when you need help, do you think others will help you? If you often help others generously, will you get more rewards?
Be brave in recognizing others' contributions in the team. If the wisdom and achievements of others are used, the statement should be made. If you get help from others, you should be grateful. This is also the basic embodiment of team spirit.
Be an active person
Thirty years ago, an engineer dreamed of entering the most advanced technology IBM. At that time, IBM defined talent as a person with professional knowledge and hard work. As things develop to today, people's views on talent have gradually changed. At present, many companies are eager to be proactive, enthusiastic, flexible, and confident.
As a college student in contemporary China, you should not just passively wait for others to tell you what to do, but take the initiative to understand what you want to do, plan them, and do everything you can. Think about the most successful people in the world today. How many of them are those told by Wei Nono and others? To deal with your own academic and research projects, you need to devote all your effort to the same sense of responsibility and love as a mother has for your children. If so, there will be no goals that cannot be achieved.
A proactive person should also listen to criticism and opinions from others modestly. In fact, this is also a kind of enterprising embodiment. If you do not accept criticism from others and learn from them, you cannot make more progress. Bill Gates once said to all employees: "customer criticism is more important than making money. From the customer's criticism, we can better learn the lessons of failure and turn it into the motivation for success ."
In addition to accepting criticism from others with an open mind, you should also try to find a mentor that you especially respect. This mentor should be someone other than your teacher who can give you more objective advice. In addition to teaching you with knowledge, this mentor can also give you some advice on other aspects, such as being a human, looking at problems, and coping with emergencies.
When I was in charge of a research department at Apple, I was lucky enough to find such a mentor. At that time, he was a senior vice president responsible for Apple's global operations and production business. He had benefited me a lot in terms of career development. If such a person helps you, you will grow faster than others.
Most Chinese students are implicitly and shy and are not used to self-selling. However, to grasp the Fleeting opportunity, you must learn to persuade others and sell your own ideas to others. You must convince yourself before persuading others. Your passion and talent often reflect your potential. A good self-sales strategy can make things grow.
For example, I once received a very special application for a job. Unlike most job seekers, the applicant's job information includes his self-introduction, his yearning for Microsoft Research Institute, and why he thinks he is the right candidate, in addition, he has published papers, recommended teachers, and topics he hopes to work on at Microsoft. Although his graduation school is not the most famous in China, his self-sales work has worked. I have seen his enthusiasm and seriousness from these files. When I interviewed him, he submitted a more adequate profile. Finally, when I asked him if he had any questions, he asked me: "Do you have any reservations for me ?" At that time, I did have doubts about whether he could enter the new research field, so I further asked him some questions about this. He gave two convincing examples. Finally, we hired the candidate. He is doing very well now.
Challenge yourself and develop your own potential
One day when I was working at Apple, my boss suddenly asked me when I could take over from him? I was surprised to say That I lacked management experience and capabilities like him. However, he said that these experiences can be developed and accumulated, and he hopes that I will be able to do so in two years. With such tips and encouragement, I began to consciously strengthen my learning and practice in this area. Sure enough, I took over his job two years later. I personally think that a person's leadership is very important for his future study, business, or political career. We should consciously cultivate our leadership skills at any time and in any environment. At the same time, I suggest you give yourself some opportunities to demonstrate your abilities in this area. Maybe, like me, you will be surprised that your potential in this area is far beyond your imagination.
Setting goals for yourself is very important. It is unrealistic to set a goal too high, but it cannot be set too low. In the 21st century, the competition has no borders. You should open your mind and stand at a higher starting point and set yourself a more challenging standard to have an accurate direction and broad prospects, do not be a "frog at the bottom ". In addition, it is ridiculous to think that you have achieved good grades and rankings in a school. You must know that there are mountains outside of the mountains, and there are people on the map. In addition, there are different measuring standards in different places. Therefore, do not consider the idea of "better than a better dog" in setting goals.
A first-class person may be the same as a general person in terms of general problems, but the performance on top of first-class problems will be quite different. "Do not do your best to compete with your colleagues. What you should care about more is: you are better than you are now ." You should always set up some challenging but not impossible targets for yourself.
When setting my career goals for the future, do not forget to ask myself: "Is this my favorite major? Are I willing to make full efforts ?" I hope that you will be passionate and imaginative about what you choose to do and have no fear of the various difficulties and obstacles that may arise along the way. When talking about my passion for work, I was deeply touched by a Microsoft researcher. He often drove out on weekends and said he would meet his "girlfriend". Later, I saw him in the office and asked him, "Where is my girlfriend ?" He pointed to the computer with a smile and said, "It's her. "
Bill Gates has made a wonderful explanation of his passion for work. He said, "I wake up every morning, I am very excited and excited to think of the great impact and changes that my work and technologies will bring to human life."
A few months ago, the Beijing Youth Daily held a discussion about who is even greater than Bill Gates and Paul kocha. Since I grew up in the United States, I do not know Paul and his deeds. However, I strongly agree with Paul's famous saying: "The most precious thing for a person is life. Life only belongs to us once. A person's life should be spent like this. When he looks back on the past, he will not regret or be ashamed of being idle ......" Therefore, you should choose a career that you really love, constantly challenge yourself, improve yourself, and make your life wonderful and fulfilling.
Objective and direct communication
Once, a Chinese university professor found me and asked me to help him find a foreign expert to give a keynote speech at the meeting he organized. At the end of the lecture, he added a special sentence, it is better to be a foreigner. "The most authoritative person in this field is a Chinese in Beijing. Why do you need to find a foreigner ?" On the surface, he agreed with me, but he still invited an American to give this speech. The results were very poor. Therefore, we should not fall into a blind Chongyang complex. We should use objective eyes to judge things, rather than determining things by their skin color or place of residence.
In a word, "truth is often in the hands of a few people ". The meaning of this sentence is that we should have our own vision and the ability to think independently, which is not necessarily recognized by most people, or what an authority says is right. No matter whether we are learning, doing research, or doing business, we cannot blindly learn from each other and think about why. With objective opinions, you should express them directly. If you do everything like "Tai Chi", it will make people go to the cloud and cause many misunderstandings. One time, a researcher at the Microsoft Research Institute asked me for my opinion on the research direction he selected. I made some analysis and thought that there were many problems in this direction, but if he persists, I am willing to support him and try to do it. As a result, he thought that the meaning of my sentence was actually that he was not allowed to do it, so he chose other directions. When he was on a business trip, the person in charge of administrative affairs told him that you could choose to take a train or plane. He thinks that the executive is actually suggesting that he is taking the train because it is too expensive to fly. In fact, his guesses are all false. Because our communication method is straightforward, but he is "playing Taijiquan ". After that, we have passed a series of Corporate Culture lectures to help employees understand what they want and do not complicate simple problems. At present, there are fewer misunderstandings in the research institute.
The result is a waste of time. Looking forward, for fear of making a mistake, the result is becoming a timid and cautious. What's worse, there are still some people who don't talk to each other in person and talk about it in disorder behind the scenes. This has no benefit to others and themselves. In the end, it can only undermine the unity of the collective. Such a person and style can neither face the society nor walk a new path in scientific research, nor stand out in the fierce business war.
I hope that the students can be honest and open, and dare to say "no". This is a manifestation of respect for their own thoughts and aspirations. Of course, when expressing your opinions, both opposition and criticism should be constructive and highly sincere, rather than criticizing for criticism or debate. I agree by providing constructive positive comments. When we start to discuss the issue, no one should reject the question thousands of miles away. everyone puts their ideas on the desktop and fully reflects their personal views. In this way, a conclusion can be made to accommodate the opinions of most people. Of course, you also need to learn how to express your opinions in proper ways and tone, for example, not to embarrass others in front of many people. In this way, your criticism will work.
Cherish campus study and life
A few days ago, a newspaper posted a message saying that a middle school student dropped out of school to start a Network Company. I think this is not worth advocating. For the vast majority of students, school life is a good opportunity to systematically learn basic theoretical knowledge, learn to think about and solve problems. This knowledge will become the most basic knowledge and skills you need in the future development process. It is like building a tall building. If we don't lay a good foundation, we can't afford to go through the storm.
In the world, the level of research in the United States is undoubtedly world-class. In addition to the United States, you will find that the level of research in the UK is also outstanding. The reason is actually the language problem. The British can read the latest English research reports and materials in the United States and even the world without hindrance. This is of great help for them to grasp the research direction, follow up the latest progress, and publish the research results. Therefore, English learning is very important for our researchers. Only by strengthening the cultivation of such qualities can we adapt to future development. I suggest that you learn English first, then read and write, and be sure to completely solve the problem of English learning in college. When you get older, the cost will be much higher.
In addition to English, mathematics and statistics are also very important basic courses for science and engineering students and cannot be ignored. Mathematics is the crystallization of the wisdom of mankind for thousands of years. You must learn it with your heart and never give it away. Today I regret that I didn't spend more time learning mathematics better. In addition, computer applications, algorithms, and programming are the tools that every engineering student should be familiar with and master. They will be a must for everyone in the future.
The development of science and technology is changing with each passing day. The purpose of studying at school is to master the most basic learning tools and methods. In the future, we will use these tools and methods to learn new things. For example, if I learned C ++ in class, can I learn Java by myself? I learned HTML in class. Can I learn XML myself? Not so much as going to college to learn a major, it is better to learn how to learn, so that you can "learn without a teacher ".
Two years before I graduated from college, my classmates came together and found that the changes were not big. After five years of gathering, most of the changes will be made. Some people are outdated because they no longer learn and can no longer master new things. Naturally, they fall behind the development of society. If we want to never fall behind in this highly competitive society, we have to learn forever.
My boss, Dr. RickRashid, is currently the senior vice president of research at Microsoft. He has been well-known, but he has always maintained a learning and enterprising mind. Now, he still writes about 50,000 lines of programs every year. He believes that the use of the latest technical programming can keep him sensitive to the most cutting-edge computer technology, so that he can keep improving. Today, some doctoral students are working on projects with lower-grade undergraduates and master students, so they are complacent that they do not have to program any more. In fact, this approach is unwise.
Every time I visit Tsinghua and other schools, the most frequently asked questions are about students working. In my opinion, working is a good thing for students in general and a way to broaden their horizons. For example, if you work in a research institution, you can learn the latest technology. If you work in a product department, you can learn the development technology and skills. If you work in a marketing department, you can understand the business operation. I think every student should have experience working, but do not do some "useless work ". First of all, we must understand that working in a job is only a supplement to students' lives. learning is the most important thing. The purpose of working is to broaden your horizons, rather than to go to work early. If you spend more time studying translation books and database input, you can make more money in the future. The money will far exceed the current income for working.
In addition, some students are encouraged by the current drop-out entrepreneurship trend, dropping out of school to become China's Bill Gates and Michael Dell. In my opinion, except in very special cases, I do not recommend that students drop out of school to start a business. There are only a few entrepreneurs who drop out of school and start a business. At present, most of the students have entrepreneurial ideas but lack entrepreneurial experience, so the possibility of failure is very high. If you want to succeed, I suggest you read the book first. If you want to learn from your entrepreneurial experience, you can use your vacation time to start a company while working and learning.
Bill Gates also said: "If you are thinking about setting up a new company, you should first clearly know that creating a company requires a huge amount of energy and requires a huge risk. I don't think you need to start a company just like me. You should consider joining other companies and learning their work and entrepreneurial methods in this company ."
What kind of doctor's hat do you want to wear?
When I went to Carnegie Mellon University for a doctorate in computer science, the head of the department told me that when you got your doctorate, you should be the world's first expert in your research field. This sentence is not difficult for me, but it also makes me eager to try. In this way, after five years of hard work, he naturally expected the results.
A person planning to pursue a doctorate should set a high goal for himself. If you are not ambitious, do not lie to yourself. Maybe you can do business or do other jobs, and you will have more achievements. After the goal is established, I suggest you design a three-year learning and research plan for yourself. First, you need to thoroughly understand the work and achievements of others in related fields. Then I propose my own ideas and opinions to do my practical work. In addition, we need to keep track of the latest research progress in this field. Only in this way can we grasp the direction, avoid repetitive work, and focus on the most valuable research direction.
In academic circles, it is widely believed that "masters are excellent ". It can be seen how powerful the mentor is in your growth path. Therefore, you should take the initiative to find the best teacher in the field you are studying. In addition to your teacher, you should also seek advice from all the experts around you. Do not forget to often seek advice from "the most knowledgeable Teacher" on the Internet! Currently, almost all papers, research results, and advanced ideas can be found online. I also encourage you to email directly to consult some world-recognized experts and professors. In my experience, most of these emails will reply to you soon.
I work seven days a week at my PhD and work 16 hours a day. A large number of statistical results and analysis reports almost collapsed. At that time, other researchers in the field used different traditional methods. My teacher supported me but did not recognize my research direction. I have been skeptical more than once about whether my actions can be successful. But one day, the result I made at three o'clock in the middle of the night made me feel the taste of success. Later, the research was progressing by leaps and bounds, and my mentor began to adopt my research methods. My doctoral thesis made my research one of the most influential tasks at that time in natural language research.
Reading a doctor is not an easy task. Instead, you must work in a down-to-earth manner. Not to be tempted by some fleeting fame and fortune, but to invest 200% yuan. Maybe you will get tired, regret, and lose your way, but remember that the success and breakthrough you are looking for are also being done. I believe that the value of research will not be high if everything goes well and everyone can get the work and results. In a sense, if a person wants to work in research for a lifetime, then, from the work habits, research methods, and ways of thinking he formed during his doctoral degree, he can basically determine the outlines of his future work. Therefore, you must be a "caring person", make full use of your school time, and lay a good foundation for your future.
The above points are some of my feelings when I interact with my classmates. I hope these suggestions and ideas will inspire you and help you with your current learning. This letter may be unacceptable to everyone because of different opinions and aspirations. However, as long as one of the one hundred students reading this letter benefited from it, this letter is more valuable than any of my studies. I sincerely hope that in the new century, Chinese students, both in China and abroad, are more mature and have a higher chance of success.
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