Doctoral Graduate Photo of Ma Yan
Ma Yan is a Korean major who graduated in 2009, and is a postdoctoral researcher of Foreign Language and Literature at Shanghai International Studies University. Below is her story of how JISU helped her to reach her goals.
When I graduated from JISU, I applied for the “4+2” Korean Graduate Study Abroad Program. Because of this program, I was able to go to Kyungnam University in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea for a master's degree in Business Management.
During my master's degree, I did translation for many local trading companies. I also spent my summer vacation at Seoul's ‘Guilan Tea Company' for an internship and participated in the exhibition planning of the Ceramics Exhibition and the Chinese and Korean translation work. In the last semester of my graduate life, I not only applied for my doctorate but also for jobs at large Korean companies. The job application process was not easy, and I also faced cross-professional and cross-school difficulties with my doctoral application. When I was helpless, the Korean student who hired me as a Chinese tutor gave me a lot of help and encouragement.
When I started my doctoral life, I focused on improving my professional knowledge, spent 2 years quickly completing 48 credits, and then successfully passed the professional qualification exam. After receiving my Ph.D., I joined Smart Company of SK Company of Korea. As the Marketing Department Agent and Assistant to the Chairman, I was mainly responsible for project management with Chinese cooperative enterprises, the business translation of negotiating registration of Chinese-foreign joint ventures and bid and translation work of bidding for governmental projects. In Jan. 2016, when China Bosideng Group and SMART F&D jointly held the Cooperation Signing Ceremony, I served as the Chief Interpreter of the board. I have a deeper understanding of the work functions and public relations etiquette of Korean companies because of these work experiences.
The biggest trouble that I face in my work is to think of how to translate well. What If I meet some difficult translation works? And how can I deal with them? For business conferences, I will prepare translation materials and communicate or interview with the negotiating parties in advance. If there is a job that I can’t prepare for in advance, or I don’t understand, then I will choose not to take that job. I think if you want to translate well, you should not emphasize how excellent the translation is but focus on how to balance your work well. In addition to strengthening their foreign language skills, foreign language practitioners also need to learn to choose a relatively fixed field and strengthen their business capabilities.
One of the most important decisions I made while pursuing my master’s degree was to give up my job in my last year in order to focus on preparing for my doctoral degree. In fact, on the road of academic research, it is not easy. The core journals in Korean range from writing to publishing, ranging from six to seven months and even two or three years. The translating of an article takes dozens of times, even hundreds, to rewrite and modify completely. After I published my first core journal paper in 2016, I felt very exhausted. I once wanted to give up pursuing my master’s degree. During that time, there were domestic companies who offered me jobs. However, I clearly knew that once I got a job, it would be very difficult to complete my doctoral degree. With the care of my parents and the encouragement of my friends, I regained my confidence and fulfilled my Ph.D. graduation requirements within two years. That decision made me completely develop.
Doctoral studies and work experience have made me more aware of what I really want. There are many definitions of success. We don't have to pursue success in a secular sense, but we must be clear about our goals in life. There are many different factors in a person's success. For individuals, we need to be focused and persistent after what we have identified as our goals. Then we will be successful in this field.
In my opinion, JISU has a wealth of well-equipped and talented graduates. Whether it is a multinational company or a foreign famous university, both of them have a very good impression of our graduates. Their hardworking efforts and spirit are recognized by all circles. For myself, my most important decision was to study at JISU, which makes me hope to be better. Thanks for the cultivation of JISU!
