 |
|
 |
 |
     
|
 |
by Allan Hoffman
[ More Job Q&As ]
Leo Lu, a Webmaster and programmer at Monster.com, arrived in the U.S. from China about two years ago. He came to the U.S. on a student visa and studied at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), where he received a Master's degree. Lu, who has been at Monster.com since May, had also worked as a teaching assistant and taught distance-learning courses on the Web.
Monster.com: What do you do at Monster.com?
Leo Lu: I update the content on the server. We have "Week in Work," Q & As and feature articles for several Monster.com zones; I need to update those articles every week. Also, I'm doing projects like making the content-delivery system automatic, along with several other things in both production and programming.
Mc: How does living and working in the U.S. compare with your expectations?
LL: I think it's what I expected. I don't have as many friends here as back in China. Communicating with American people is sometimes difficult because we share different cultures and we speak different languages.
Mc: What are the some of the differences that really stand out?
LL: I think that here each individual is just doing his own part at work. They don't get much interested in another person's life. That is not the same in China. It's more complicated there, in that you have to deal with people when you work, not just deal with the job. You have to care about how the others feel. For example, in China, people gossip about what you're wearing, what you've had to eat -- but here I feel freer to do anything I want and not worry about other people's opinions as long as I do my job. Everything related to the job, we still need to communicate -- but it's just the job and nothing else.
Mc: What was the process to move to the U.S. from China?
LL: First I applied to NJIT and was admitted. Then the school sent me an I-20 form, which I took to the U.S. consulate in Shanghai to apply for an F-1 student visa. With that visa I could come into the U.S. to study.
Mc: What was it like being in school in the U.S.?
LL: I think it's much easier here than in China. We had a very tough schedule in my university back home, where I got my bachelor's degree. We had to take classes from morning to night. At NJIT, we didn't have that many courses, and the courses were much easier.
Mc: Has the language been a challenge?
LL: The most challenging part is not the language itself, it's the cultural background. Sometimes I hear my coworkers talking about something that relates to movies, TV shows or people I'm not familiar with, and I can't get involved because I don't know what they're talking about -- I don't understand what they're saying. And another thing is the slang. It keeps changing. I have started to watch TV, tried to learn the sports here, and watch movies.
Mc: Was it difficult to find accommodation, buy a car, etc., when you first arrived?
LL: No, I searched through ads in the newspaper. Plus, I have some friends who have been here for a while and they gave me lots of useful information.
Mc: How did you find a job in the U.S.? Is this process different than in China?
LL: I heard from my friends about Monster.com and then I posted my resume on the site and finally I joined it. I had worked for a year in China. At that time, lots of companies were also coming to my university to hire new graduates. The job search process is basically the same here as in China, but since the Internet is getting more and more popular, I believe more people in China will look online through services provided by companies like Monster.com.
Mc: How does Shanghai, where you're originally from, compare to New York City, where you now work?
LL: Basically, I can't see much difference between the two. Both have large populations, severe traffic jams and many places to see and visit. It does seem to me that Shanghai is much cleaner and safer than New York.
Some people think they can understand China by visiting the Chinatowns here in the U.S., but they're not true representations of life in China.
Mc: Do you think you'll go back to China at some point to work?
LL: It's hard to say right now. I think I will, but not in the near future.