Sida Wang’s “12 Years in Tech”

It’s been almost 12 years since I started preparing to switch into computer science back in 2014. Over this time, I’ve grown from being just another junior leaning on mentors, to becoming a backbone in the industry. Looking back, the journey has been filled with ups and downs, sweet and bitter moments, and it leaves me with a lot of emotions.

In fact, I never really chose this field—rather, I was pushed along by the tides of the times. In college, I was placed into Engineering Physics, majoring in Nuclear Engineering and Technology, a subject I had no passion for. I gave up on academia and drifted through those years. What changed my fate was a summer school program in Europe during my junior year, where I studied European art history. I fell in love with Western art and lifestyle, and from then on I began to dream of living and working in the West.

So I chose to take a gap year and switched into computer science, applying to U.S. master’s programs. It wasn’t because I loved computing—it was simply the most straightforward way to stay in the U.S. for work. Thanks to a senior’s recommendation, I received an offer from the CMU Robotics master’s program. Without really knowing what “robotics” even was, I went to the U.S. and have been in the robotics field ever since.

My time studying abroad was both difficult and joyful. I was up early, back late, working tirelessly, but my eyes were full of light and my heart full of dreams. The feeling of chasing a dream was wonderful. Even now, I often retrace the same path from Squirrel Hill to CMU that I used to walk every day a decade ago.

After graduation, I stayed in Pittsburgh and worked at two small companies. It didn’t feel too different from being in school—the bosses were CMU alumni or professors, and coworkers were classmates or other new grads. After work, I kept studying online courses, reading technical books, and catching up on papers. Back then, companies still had gentle cultures: no office politics, no forced overtime, no harsh realities of society. That kind of company is rare in the U.S. today.

To resolve my immigration status, from 2019 to 2024 I worked at two large tech companies for a total of six years. During that time, I went through many personal changes—falling in love, breaking up, losing my grandmother, falling in love again, getting married, struggling with loneliness and depression, then healing. I also witnessed many social changes: shifts in global politics, the pandemic, immigration policy changes, mass layoffs in tech, and endless waiting.

At work, I had supportive managers, patient mentors, my first promotion, my first chance to mentor others, and technical growth. But I also encountered a toxic and abusive manager, which forced me to leave for the sake of my mental health. Towards the end of my big tech years, I often felt a sense of meaninglessness. As just a cog in a huge machine, what real value was I bringing to society? Beyond solving my immigration and financial concerns, what else could this job give me?

Shortly after getting my green card, I left big tech and joined a seed-stage startup recommended by a friend. Among full-time employees, besides the CEO, CTO, and VP, I was the only full-time engineer. The team was small, the atmosphere good, and I finally had a life without office politics again—I could just focus on building technology. In just two months here, I’ve learned embedded systems for the first time, worked with AWS infrastructure, and am about to start perception. I’m proud that I can pick up new skills faster than before. Part of that credit goes to ChatGPT, but I also realized that after more than ten years of “training,” my brain has essentially become a general pre-trained model in computing. Whenever I switch environments or technologies, I can fine-tune myself quickly to decent performance. This ability gives me confidence, and learning new things brings me joy.

In fields like computer science and robotics—still relatively young—12 years of experience makes me a veteran. Recently I updated my LinkedIn and organized all my past projects. Seeing my accumulated journey over the years gives me a sense of solidity. Although I originally studied CS to stay in the U.S. and get a green card, computing has given me far more than that. It has given me confidence and accomplishment. After all, this is my craft, sharpened over 12 years. Even if one day I achieve financial freedom, I doubt I could completely leave it behind—I’d likely continue to explore.

Alongside my career, there have been several unrelated experiences that still shape me and may influence my future choices:

• After my freshman year, I volunteered at a poor primary school in Inner Mongolia. I fell in love with teaching and with children, and I’ve always hoped to teach again, in some form.
• In my senior year, I joined Professor Tianyu Ma’s nuclear medicine lab at Tsinghua. It was the turning point of my otherwise wasted college years. I enjoyed reading papers and coding there, and even published two papers in that year. It remains one of my proudest achievements at Tsinghua.
• In 2022, I was invited back to CMU’s MRSD program to give a talk about career development and how to make the most of the program. I loved engaging with students, answering questions, and staying in touch afterward.
• Earlier this year, I did LLM systems research with two CMU PhD students. Though I was mostly learning from them, returning to pure study and research after so many years away from school made me so happy.

I realize I truly enjoy teaching, interacting with students, and being in academia. I wonder what I can do to feel more fulfilled: pursue a PhD, become a teacher, do tutoring, coach Olympiad teams, or become a career coach? Life is short, and I want to pursue a broader horizon and make my life meaningful.

Looking ahead, I will continue to advance my technical skills and strive to build products that truly matter to society. At the same time, I hope to pursue wider paths, whether in teaching or research, so that I can live life with as few regrets as possible.