I'm writing about Google Interactive Developer and Designer Jongmin Kim's book, <Work Never Betrays You>.
I first learned about Jongmin Kim through a post titled "Portfolio that got a job offer from Google" in a community. As someone who wants to be both a developer and designer, I discovered there was a Korean person doing exactly what I want to do - working as a UX designer at Google, no less. Knowing there's someone who can offer advice in this field is incredibly encouraging. I subscribed to his YouTube channel and enjoyed his videos, then bought and read his book a few weeks ago, so here's my review.
The book title might be mistaken for a self-help book. The main content covers his journey from being a high school graduate working part-time at a PC café at age 24 to becoming a Google engineer 10 years later. Through this book, I was able to reflect on what I like, what kind of work I want to do, and what kind of creator I want to become. As mentioned early in the book, you can understand why he chose this new title instead of the original <Interactive Designer> by seeing how much he values work.
The story of a Korean person landing a job at Google - often considered the dream workplace for developers - is fascinating in itself. How did someone with a high school education, who never studied abroad, manage to become a recognized designer and engineer in New York and Silicon Valley? I could hear about his 10 years of thoughts, practice, efforts, and his philosophy on design. As someone who wants to follow a similar path, I found it incredibly engaging. While the book is thick, it was easy to read with interesting anecdotes and explanations accompanied by portfolio photos.
"Work is not simply a means to make a living, but truly for one's self-development, and it defines what kind of person I am - it's a very important part of life."
As someone who has struggled between being a developer who designs or a designer who develops, I dream of becoming a developer who can design. Drawing and using computers were among the things I did most since childhood, so naturally I became good at them and developed interest. Looking back, I'm grateful to have found my interests and aptitude so early.
However, I was always curious whether I could work at a company in this ambiguous position - neither a pure frontend developer nor a pure designer. Looking at IT company job postings, they rarely go beyond the big framework of FE, BE, App, Data Scientist, Researcher, etc. Actually, if such a role doesn't exist, I had the mindset of pioneering it myself. In this context, it was welcome news to learn that Google has positions called Interactive Developer and UX Engineer. While I'm thinking about designer + developer, there's no predetermined job that combines design and coding - it can exist in various forms.
- Frontend Engineer
- Interactive Developer
- UX Engineer
- Designer (Motion designer, Visual designer)
Job titles can always change according to market demands or technological changes. I think careers are something I create myself. If it doesn't exist, I can create it. Who knows what kinds of jobs will emerge in 10 years? I must continue building skills and experience, dreaming of becoming a developer who can design AI-human interactions that will surely be needed in the future.
"What's important is not technology, but the hard-to-explain expertise in design, motion, and interaction."
As someone who dreams of working abroad, I was curious how he succeeded as a high school graduate who couldn't speak English at all.
I once talked with one of my mentors at work about overseas employment. The reason it's hard for senior developers in their 30s-40s to readily accept overseas offers later, even when they receive them, is because it means giving up many things to take on the challenge. The house they've established in Korea, family, relationships - there are countless things to sacrifice. When you've started a family, it becomes even harder to take on big challenges in unfamiliar territory. It's true that it's better to go as early and as young as possible.
"The real trigger for preparing for overseas employment was when I felt I could no longer grow in Korea. I needed an environment where I could continuously grow as a creator."
The book was very helpful as it covered everything about overseas employment - from portfolio and resume to application, interviews, offer letters, visas, housing and living expenses, international moving and things to do in America, and even permanent residency.
"When you think results made using libraries are your own skills, you easily become a collector. Collectors spend more time collecting libraries than building actual skills."
These days, countless convenient libraries and tools are emerging. No-code technologies that enable non-developers to build web and mobile apps without coding are particularly gaining attention. While we often want to use convenient technologies to build quick development careers and portfolios, we need to reflect on whether these accumulated experiences actually help improve our real development skills. Developers must always pay attention to new technologies and adapt. However, if we only pursue convenience, we lack substantial understanding of code and can only use the limited functions provided by tools.
"I enjoy creating and using necessary functions directly. Libraries inevitably come with unnecessary code."
His Form Follows Function (FFF) project, which won various design awards and is well-known in Korea, was mostly implemented using JavaScript to improve performance by reducing unnecessary processes within jQuery. This made me admire the author's ability to create interactive results based on fundamental code implementation.
The five personal projects introduced in Chapter 5 probably account for more than 70% of why this book is thick.
"This was a valuable experience where I, a newcomer to New York, could help people living in New York with my skills."
For me, dreaming of becoming a 'developer who designs,' author Jongmin is an excellent mentor. It might seem like a position that's neither developer nor designer - potentially being neither here nor there - but I find it incredibly attractive and feel like I could do well at it.
I relate to many aspects of his thoughts, experiences, and values about work. I too enjoy growing myself every day through work. However, I don't agree with everything the author reveals in the book. Regarding his young-day negative perception of networking, I don't think we need to view networking negatively. If not used negatively, networking can be a shortcut or opportunity to achieve personal dreams.
The author's experiences make me think once more about the role of university, work, and career. I dislike the idea of going to graduate school out of inertia just because others do after finishing undergraduate studies. I hope to write more about this someday after organizing my thoughts better.
This was a somewhat scattered but deeply personal review. To avoid taking away the wrong lesson of "I should make the same efforts as the author to get into Google," I'll conclude with the author's words.
"The goal should be to make companies like Google want you. Focus more on your own growth. Companies are tools for growth, not life goals."
Someone who achieved overseas employment through various personal projects and growth as a high school graduate without attending university. I'm greatly inspired by the author's experiences and values. If you're going to graduate school or get a job just for higher pay without academic passion, or just because others do it - shouldn't you at least be able to set your own goals and dreams as an adult?
The reason for not pursuing a master's degree was to keep more possibilities open.
If you graduated from KAIST, some people naturally expect graduate school. Just to avoid military service without passion for research? To increase your market value? The merit of graduate school has diminished compared to before due to changes in the professional research system, and I didn't like the culture of mindlessly going to graduate school like everyone else. However, I was thinking about wanting to do research. I thought I could go to the military and finish with a master's degree.
There's no predetermined career path - you can design your own life and make various efforts to achieve those (big) dreams.