Reality of Korea... and Where would I end up..?

At Samsung electronics R&D Campus in Seoul, currently 5,000 employees are working at the place in which around 7,000 workers can be accommodated. According to a person concerned, "It can be explained by the fact that many R&D labors moved to several places, but in essential departments many of them had to leave their place." Samsung earned approximately $200 billion in total sales this year and its operating profits are $20 billion. However, mass dismissal is taking place right now. Then it would not be difficult to imagine what is going on at other companies. 

A lot of people who experienced the period of IMF financial aid claim that compared to that time of 1997, making a living is much more difficult. At one of 5 major Korea's companies, an executive who just got promoted last year was informed that he needs to leave. At Doosan group, even people under twenty are recommended to leave their place, and it means they are indirectly fired. 

This kind of situation is least likely to bounce back sooner or later. As time goes on, it will get worse. That's why I no longer feel envious of acquaintances or friends who get accepted to high-paying companies. 9 out of 10 are going to leave the company in 10 years. If they have family members to provide for, it is going to be excruciating. 

What should I do in this situation for the present and for the future? I am going to study further to get more specialist knowledges on my field, Material Engineering, and I would like to study for Green Energy Technology, such as Battery and Adsorbents. Are these things going to be conducive to my life until I die at around 100? I am not really sure. I might need more things under my belt to be competitive among other counterparts. What matters in the future is the ability of creating something new instead of just using accumulated knowledge. To do that, I should keep struggling to hone my critical thinking skills. And promising fields for future are Bio-Technolgy and Aero-Technology, but not sure what to do to become a competent person for those fields. Let's keep studying and thinking, and then I might be able to find a solution. 

Pseudo-Science: This is what I have been doing

There is a quote that struck my mind while reading a book called "The Demon-Haunted World". It is from a book "The New Organon(1620)" by Francis Bacon.

"The human understanding is no dry light, but receives an infusion from the will and affections; whence proceed sciences which may be called "sciences as one would." For what a man had rather were true he more readily believes. Therefore he rejects difficult things from impatience of research; sober things, because they narrow hope; the deeper things of nature, from superstition; the light of experience, from arrogance and pride, lest his mind should seem to be occupied with things mean and transitory; things not commonly believed, out of deference to the opinion of the vulgar. Numberless, in short, are the ways, and sometimes imperceptible, in which the affections color and infect the understanding."

And This is Richard Feynman's technique to identify pseudo-science, which is about recognizing the  difference between knowing the name for something and truly understanding it. 

'Without using the new word which you have just learned, try to rephrase what you have just learned in your own language. Without using the word "energy," tell me what you know now about the dog's motion.'

I need to confess that I have been more of a pseudo-engineering student. This is not a sudden feeling that emerged while reading the book and an article. I have vaguely had an opinion on myself that there is rarely anything I can explain in plain Korean/English. I just did not want to acknowledge the fact that I know nothing. There are many scientific concepts I have learned through lectures and studies so far, but I feel like I need to go over everything from scratch. Okay. Let's get started.

Concern about what I am going to face in America

I almost finished applying for a few graduate schools in the US and until next August I barely have specific things do to, so if I spend the rest of time effectively by doing something meaningful, my life there could differ a lot. 

I am seriously concerned with my English proficiency since I am clearly aware that what is going to happen to me while studying in the US. Many native English-speaking friends tell me that my English level is pretty high for not staying abroad and not getting any private tutoring. But it does not sound good to me because it definitely delivers an important message that they feel some awkwardness from my English. When someone cannot feel any accent or difference in constructing sentences compared to ours, we would not praise for their language skills. 

I am specialized in engineering, so that I would not spend as much time in debating with peers as business, economics, psychology majors that strictly require a native-level target language skills even to non-native speakers. But the lack of English proficiency would definitely get in the way of learning things as fast as other natives. Plus I am thinking of settling down in the US after completion of graduate studies, and probably moving country to country where English is exclusively spoken. What's most important is that I don't want to become like other Korean Professors who have studied in the US for almost a decade but still have basic levels of colloquial skills. I am not imagining my English level to reach  native-like fluency in less than one or two years, but I could reach that level sooner than I expect, 5 years, it would be icing on the cake.

Until August, when I start a new semester if I get accepted(I am pretty sure they would pick me), I have around 7 months left. I watched a documentary about during the Second World War young american soldiers over 20 getting extensive training on their French, German 20 hours a day for 6 months before being sent to Germany and France. It turned out that they became fluent in the target languages. I would not be able to study that long hours a day, but it hinted at the possibility of boosting up my English skills as long as I am determined. 

My problem is that I have skipped solidifying my intermediate English level by studying high-intermediate/advanced levels for ESL learners, which means that because of my boasted ego I chose native-like levels of input immediately from a far less level. This is why my learning pace has been extremely slow and I have not made much improvement on my English. I was lying to myself. From now on, I should read/watch/listen to materials with comprehensible levels, understanding at least 80% of input, and from time to time challenge myself with a bit higher levels. Bring it on.