University Failures, Rough Times with Job Interviews, Employment, Engineering w/ Kenny Wong | #4

Our guest was Kenny Wong, who is a dear friend of mine, and works at BC Hydro in the realm of Electrical Engineering. I want to give him a special shoutout, because he rarely opens up about his life, but was willing to be publicly vulnerable and expose personal details – with hopes that it may help someone in need.

It is a powerful episode, which deals with a commonly encountered problem of being labeled smart or a gifted kid early in life, attaching your identity to your grades, and having that all stripped away when struggling in college or university. Furthermore, we talk about post-college life, and navigate his experiences with job interview & employment struggles while combating feelings of rejection, self-doubt, and unfulfillment.

Finally, we dive into his current life working at BC Hydro, and the contrasting feelings a comfortable job can bring. For example, the inner conflict between job security, work/life balance, and ambition.*Note: This was recorded earlier than the previous two episodes, so we apologize for the rough cuts and the audio quality at times.

Timestamps: (0:01:55) - Struggling in University after high school success (0:06:37) - Changing your approach & mentality for school (0:10:22) - Failure in university - dealing with shame, shame w/ asking for help (0:17:05) - Early career struggles, interview stories, working various jobs (0:23:55) - Advice for people struggling through interviews and job stories (0:26:05) - Quarter life crisis and traveling to Europe (0:30:49) - Masters program in Hong Kong; application issues; creating own luck for desired job (Hydro) (0:34:52) - BC Hydro - finally getting into it, how Kenny felt & work life (0:40:08) - Fears of being unhireable after choosing a straightforward path (0:43:27) - Work/Life Balance at Hydro vs ambition (0:50:45) - Acquiring a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation for fun (0:52:49) - Definition of Fulfillment (0:54:45) - Lightning Round: NBA vs NHL, MJ vs Kobe vs Lebron, Magic v Poker, Realtor vs Mortgage Broker, Android vs Apple