2022년 12월 11일 일요일 – Mountain View 생활 61주차

The first week

Drastic change is always challenging. I was a little nervous in the morning. Everything was new: new team, people, projects, tech stacks. I totally felt the same as Noogler. How did other Nooglers who joined during the pandemic onboard the team?

After the hybrid work policy, most employees commute only from Tuesdays to Fridays. And this is the holiday season when most people take a long vacation. Therefore, the office was almost empty. Thankfully, one teammate commuted, and we introduced each other.

My project had a strict deadline, and It was enough to make me nervous. And I have no background knowledge of the project. I was already missing the previous team. But I know that things will get better after a month.

It highly depends on how I do during the first month. It’s enough time for people to build the first impression of me. After it is created, it works like a stereotype. Therefore, I should be careful not to make a negative impression.

News

Living in the US, I’m not interested in what is happening in this country. Therefore, I’m physically living in the US and mentally living in South Korea. I have to read at least one article every day.

Greencard

Recently, I’ve heard that green card holders cannot reside outside the US for six months without a particular reason. If examiners conclude that I have no intention of residing in the US, they can deprive me of my green card. Even after the green card is issued, working at the same company for at least six months is recommended.

This unexpected limitation significantly affected my career. Working in South Korea will deprive me of my green card. It invalidates a lot of options that are possible in the future.

If I want to get US citizenship, I have to live in the US for at least six years. It means our family has to live separately.

Startups

I respect startup entrepreneurs who could stay in big companies. If someone gets used to working in a big company, it’s getting harder to quit and start a business. They gave up stable incomes, benefits, and careers to pursue their team. If they had just stayed in their company, they would have lived as middle class with no problem.

However, some people think that that kind of life is tedious. Furthermore, there’s no 100% safety zone. Even If working in a big company, layoff sometimes happens, and life can be uncertain. Ironically, removing uncertainty is to jump into uncertainty. For those who are living in uncertainty, it’s clear that everything will be uncertain.

Therefore, they have a strong desire and faith in their ideas, as if they can foresee the future. I always debate what I should do now for the future. But the debate consistently ends up with the same conclusion. I want to keep everything that I have now, and I want to get new benefits too.

The problem is that I’m scared of taking a risk and losing something.