Introduction
In A117, a reader asked:
Is life after changing careers what you originally wanted it to be?
To answer this question, we first need to address two sub-questions:
- What is life like after changing careers?
- What kind of life do I want?
What is Life Like After Changing Careers?
From June until now, I have evolved from a naive rookie into a slightly less naive rookie. The reason is simple: I’ve hit too many walls. As for how many pitfalls I’ve stepped into, they are countless and cannot be listed all at once; I will share them slowly in the future.
Today, I will only describe my overall feeling. Here are a few keywords to start with:
Burning for dreams, exhaustion, confusion, growth, humility
Expanding on each of these keywords would take a long time, so today I can only give a rough overview.
Before starting work, I was very confident. I thought I was both smart and capable, believing that among all heroes under heaven, who else could compare? At the beginning, I indeed felt the fire burning inside me. I implemented my ideas one by one. Although it was exhausting, the feeling of burning for my dreams was exhilarating, making every day feel incredibly fulfilling. However, due to a lack of relevant work experience, the results I delivered were full of problems. Repeated negative feedback began to make me doubt myself, and I fell into a prolonged period of confusion. I knew what I wanted to do, and I had taken the step forward, but I found that one direction wasn’t right, nor was another. I explored 360 degrees around the origin, yet still couldn’t find the correct path.
That feeling of wanting to achieve a goal but being unable to reach it no matter how hard you try—I think students who frequently conduct experiments but always fail to realize their objectives should deeply understand this. Apart from that, I temporarily cannot think of any other scenario that matches how I felt at that time.
During this period of confusion, I started doubting myself. Am I really capable? Is my ability insufficient? Or have I not thought enough? Not done enough? Not seen enough? While confused and doubting myself, I had to keep working because no one could give me the answer on how to get from the starting point to the destination. Whether the path is straight or curved, I could only explore it step by step on my own.
Fortunately, with the support of family, friends, leaders, and colleagues, I didn’t stay trapped for too long and eventually emerged from it.
What Kind of Life Do I Want?
I realized during my undergraduate studies that good Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners, unlike good Western medicine doctors, cannot be mass-produced. This is inherent to the nature of the two different medical models. If we want to improve the overall level of healthcare, computer science and AI seem to be feasible directions. Since then, I have been trying, self-studying related knowledge, but I haven’t achieved much success.
Later, during my graduate studies, I realized that learning must happen through practice and projects, rather than empty study. So I decided that no matter what, I needed to enter the industry first—no PhD, no waiting years while working in a hospital. Just getting in was enough.
The medical field generally has three directions: Clinical Practice, Education, and Research. My goal is simple: to enhance everyone’s capabilities in clinical practice, education, and research, thereby improving the overall level of healthcare. I believe Education is easier to enter. As a complete novice, starting here should be simpler.
Since entering the industry, I have been thinking about how to use AI to improve people’s learning efficiency. This question has always lingered in my mind, and I have been trying to implement solutions using various tools. As long as it serves this goal, I am willing to do anything. This is the life I want. From this perspective, life after changing careers is exactly what I originally wanted.
However, reality is complex. For a market-oriented product, I believe there are at least four dimensions to measure: Usability, Quality of Use, Ease of Use, and Willingness to Use. All four dimensions must be considered. Therefore, achieving the aforementioned goals requires considering a vast array of factors. In fact, I currently juggle Product Management, Educational Research, Development, and Operations simultaneously—you might say I am a hexagonal warrior. However, when there are too many tasks, actions become less pure, and the mind tends to drift along with those actions. From this perspective, life after changing careers is also exactly what I originally wanted.
Human existence is just this complex. I am merely a light boat on the turbulent sea of fate. Waves crash back and forth. Even though I have always aimed for a certain place, who knows if I will actually arrive? But this does not stop me from persistently striving towards it.
I have been here, I have worked hard, and looking back, my conscience is clear. That is enough.
Conclusion
I don’t know if today’s content answered the question raised in that comment. If it wasn’t sufficient, I will provide more details next time.
Everyone is welcome to continue asking questions 