Student Spotlight: From Gamer to Googler
Huayu Yang (MSSM ‘24) has turned his lifelong passion into a career as he works for Google as a Software Engineer.
By Kaitlyn Stossel
For as long as he can remember, Huayu Yang (Master of Science in Software Management '24) has been an avid video game lover. It’s no surprise that his career choices would be inspired by his love for gaming.
“I started to play video games on DOS when I was a little kid, and that’s when I found my interests in computer science,” Yang said. “I picked computer science as my major without a second thought when I started my undergrad.”
After graduating from university, Yang began his career journey at a mobile game startup called Storm 8, where he had the opportunity to learn from many seasoned individuals.
“Working at a startup, I got the chance to take on big responsibilities, lead projects, and manage teams. I feel very lucky to have had that experience and to have met so many great people.”
Wanting to get a taste of how larger companies function, Yang then went on to join the team at Amazon Music as a software developer. While in that role, he was able to leverage the skills he picked up at Storm 8 as he was tasked with building a completely new team and creating everything from scratch.
“I felt really lucky,” Yang recalled. “I met some experienced and talented people who shared their years of knowledge with me and constantly gave me advice to help me grow.”
Yang enjoys making games and participates in the Global Game Jam.
Advice for MSSM Students
"Before you decide to join the program or choose courses, spend some time evaluating yourself and your career path. Figure out what you want to be and what skills you are missing. Don’t rely on the program to tell you what your next step is. You should know what you are looking for, and then find the opportunities from the program to help you get there."
After spending a couple of years with Amazon, Yang was offered an opportunity to transition to a role at Google as a Software Engineer, where he has worked for four years now.
“Our team has grown from a couple of people with a few internal client teams, to a core team that supports all Google internal developers. It’s been an exciting journey, and even more exciting opportunities are yet to come,” Yang said.
At the time of applying for the Master of Science in Software Managment (MSSM) program, Yang already had a successful career. However, like most of our ambitious students, Yang wanted to leverage this period of his life to learn something more and pursue a program that could help his career growth.
“My skip manager at Amazon introduced me to the MSSM program as an alum, and I’ve witnessed how successful he is in his career. After some research, I believed that the MSSM program was more suitable for me than an MBA. What I learned from this program is more relevant to my job and is exactly what I needed to accelerate my career growth.”
Yang found that the courses in the MSSM program were just what he needed as they taught him things that he can apply to his job in real time. Working at a job that requires constant communication with other employees, the communication skills gained from the program have been useful for Yang.
“I learned the software development processes more thoroughly and gained a better understanding of the rationale behind each process,” Yang stated.