SCUPI

Lanxuan Zhao (Chris), a 2019 graduate of SCUPI majoring in Industrial Engineering, the first 3+1 dual-degree program student, and a graduate student in Industrial Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, now works at Nostrum Energy company.

01 Be proactive and do as much as you can

When she first arrived abroad, Lanxuan faced an intense adjustment period. Even though she had three years of experience in an English language learning environment at the Institute, the language barrier was still a challenge when she faced people from all over the world, with different races, who spoke English with various accents. In addition to the discomfort caused by the change in language environment, Lanxuan also faced academic pressures during her senior year: homework, exams, senior projects, and choosing schools for further education.

During her year at the University of Pittsburgh, Lanxuan almost had a redundant life: school, library, and dormitory. Although monotonous, Lanxuan arranged her study life in a well-balanced manner. Finally, with excellent grades and overall performance, she successfully applied for admission to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, on her own.

While studying at Sichuan University – Pittsburgh Institute, she was impressed by Prof. Lu Daping’s teaching, which indirectly motivated Lanxuan to continue applying for Industrial Engineering study. She has been working in the related field since her graduation.

For the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, students can take either four semesters or three semesters to complete the appropriate credit courses. Lanxuan chose the shorter three semesters. To gain an in-depth understanding of the U.S. job market, during the first two semesters, Lanxuan used her free time to participate in job fairs for various companies organized by the university almost weekly.

In addition, Lanxuan also paid attention to the recruitment information published in the school’s online news and actively participated in various clubs and activities related to employment and entrepreneurship. Besides the employment support provided by the College of Engineering, Lanxuan fully utilized the advantages of UMich as a comprehensive university and participated in many interviews and resume revision activities organized by the School of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences. She improved her soft power for job hunting from more angles. Despite the epidemic, thanks to a year of information gathering, Lanxuan found an internship opportunity in her second semester and became a full-time employee after graduation.

02 Small company or big name?

While many of Lanxuan’s classmates preferred to work for big-name technology companies, she chose to work for a small company. Since its inception, this company has been in the University of Michigan’s business incubator and has fewer than thirty employees, with five departments.

Lanxuan had her ideas for choosing a medium-sized company instead of a large one. Firstly, this job was completely compatible with her major. Secondly, Lanxuan thought that although this company was not significant, it had all the necessary departments. Sometimes, the work of other departments also needs Lanxuan to lend a hand. In this way, she could learn more as she went along and slowly did all the work of the company’s five departments. And now she has figured out an enterprise’s most basic structure. This global view is hard to gain from working in a big company.

The nature of Lanxuan’s work also gave her more opportunities to communicate face-to-face with the company’s senior leaders. If there were something she didn’t understand, the leaders would personally guide Lanxuan on how to do it; when she was caught in a problematic situation of internal friction, the leaders were even willing to spend two hours of their private time encouraging and guiding Lanxuan.

Lanxuan realized the status leap from intern to department leader in less than three years. She feels fortunate to have such a leader willing to lead her growth, and her efforts have been reciprocated.

03 The precondition of being successful is to become a decent human being first.

The company Lanxuan works mainly with retrofitting fuel systems. She has to deal with people of different nationalities and educational backgrounds, from sales to technical workers to customers. It is not easy for a relatively introverted person to get along well with other people.

As the only Chinese person in the company, Lanxuan was initially afraid to speak English because of fear of making a mistake. However, she found that her colleagues were willing to listen patiently and help her restate some points that needed clarification. Under the friendly working atmosphere, Lanxuan became more and more confident and relaxed, slowly dared to express her own opinions in the crowd, and also had more communication with her coworkers. She also gradually corrected many of her prejudices in such a diverse environment.

Lanxuan recalled that “very often, the company’s colleagues would get together after work to have a tea break and chat, from work to life.” This atmosphere made her feel very warm. With the continuous understanding of each other, Lanxuan found that her work efficiency improved significantly.

Lanxuan concludes that the best way to solve problems is to discuss them and that harmonious interpersonal relationships are the lubricant for smooth work. Lanxuan’s ability to communicate and connect with people in her work continues to improve. As a result, she has significantly benefited and is on her way to becoming a higher-level manager.

04 It’s a bit dull, but it’s windy to run.

During her master’s degree program at UMich, Lanxuan loved to spend her free time with her friends, camping on the lake, and enjoying the sunsets and sunrises. On more extended vacations, she also traveled with friends to other cities: Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, almost all popular cities that Lanxuan has traveled to. Lanxuan said she loves the sunshine in California and the sea in Seattle and Maine. Besides, whenever she goes out, she meets her old SCUPI classmates who have graduated from different cities and talks about what’s happening recently.

Although she keeps “complaining” about the boredom of life in Michigan in the interview, she shows us a lot of rich life outside of work. For example, Lanxuan signed up for the Pilates instructor qualification exam at the beginning of last year, and she would like to learn Italian again this year. On weekends, she likes to go back to the Michigan campus to listen to concerts and release the pressure of work in the sound of the piano.

While taking the Pilates instructor certification, Lanxuan met students from different backgrounds in the U.S., including part-time students, moms, professional athletes, physical training enthusiasts, and rehabbers. Luckily, she also met seniors in class with a background in Industrial Engineering.

While studying Pilates, the two often tried to understand and learn about teaching Pilates from an engineer’s perspective. They also related the knowledge and methods used in their work to different industries. When practicing with her contemporaries after class, they would also get together to talk about their careers, experiences, and families, which allowed Lanxuan to meet more people from different backgrounds. In addition to feeling the ubiquity of industrial engineering, she also better understood the cultural life in the United States outside of work and study.

05 Growing at your own pace, without panic

Lanxuan is good at regulating the balance between work and life.

Lanxuan has her views on the choice of further education and employment. She believes that before and after graduating from undergraduate school, you can consider more contact with the actual job market. Undergraduate knowledge is simple but broad, so graduate school is an excellent opportunity to deepen your interest in your field.

Lanxuan recalls that when she furthered her knowledge of optimization and programming databases during graduate school, she didn’t think it would be helpful in a small manufacturing plant. Still, after gaining a comprehensive understanding of the entire company, this knowledge has often helped her optimize existing product quality monitoring processes and develop and test new projects.

In the interview, Lanxuan shared her current recruitment efforts. She said she preferred undergraduates to graduate students when recruiting interns. Undergraduates in related majors can directly apply the introductory knowledge they are learning to their internships, and the company provides many opportunities for interns to practice what they have learned. On the other hand, graduate students who have a greater depth of knowledge cannot be offered projects that match their abilities and are relevant in a short period.

Internships are a process of mutual fulfillment between the company and the intern, so undergraduate students are expected to seek internships in positions that interest them actively. For graduate students and full-time positions, the company focuses more on relevant experience and the team member’s overall impression of the interviewee. Interviews for full-time positions often last more than three rounds, with each group and team member interacting with the interviewees, observing the match between the position, their experience and future plans, and the atmosphere between the group and the interviewees.

In the future, Lanxuan would like to work solidly for a few years to accumulate some experience and then go further to a technology giant company to get in touch with more industry-leading technology and business.

When the source is dredged, the flow grows, and the leaves grow when the roots are deep. Lanxuan has been taking her steps unhurriedly and steadily moving forward. She will become a better version of herself with every effort she makes!