Asian Americans are noted for having a tendency to choose high-tech or business oriented career paths. According to a survey conducted by the Office of Student Research at the University of California, Berkeley, Asian Americans accounted for 53 percent of the undergraduate engineering and business majors in 2001, compared to 38 percent for majors in the Letters & Sciences.

Cathy Jhung, a recruiter with Boylston Group, a recruiting firm that specializes in filling full-time, senior level positions in the high-tech industry, admits that there is little diversity in their recruiting pool. "I would say that the general ethnic makeup that we see consists of Caucasians, Asian Indians and East Asians."

Yet there seems to be a growing number of exceptions, as more second- and third- generation Asians enter the workforce.

June Lee is one such case. Lee graduated last May with a degree in business from Berkeley, but decided she would rather pursue her love of fashion than a career in consulting.

"I've always been interested in fashion, even though my major was business," Lee said. "After interning with BCBG one summer, I decided that I had to give it a chance after graduation." She is currently working for celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch as the director of Fashion and Special Projects. "Its exciting - this year we dressed Halle Berry for the Oscars. I worked at least twelve hours every day during the two weeks before the Oscars, but I loved it."

Greg Louie graduated from UC Davis with double majors in economics and communications. "I was working for free for the longest time. My parents kept asking me when I was going to get a real job, and I couldn't land anything, not even video editing for weddings. But once you get an in, it picks up real fast," he said. Now he's the current dailies editor for MTV's new reality show, Sorority Life.

Louie also recently collaborated on a documentary called BLT Genesis, a behind the scenes look at the independent film 'Better Luck Tomorrow', which screened at the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA) film festival in San Francisco this March.

Instead of entering directly into a trade school, many second generation Asian Americans graduate high school to go on to a formal, four-year education. Rationales range from societal pressure, parental urgings to just plain confusion over where their passions lie. But on some occasions, their practical degrees give them an unexpected advantage.

"When I first started working in fashion my parents kept telling me it was a waste of my degree," says Lee. "But I've actually found that my problem solving, analytical, business background and my formal education have set me apart from students coming straight out of design school. In this industry you learn most of your skills on the job anyways."

"I majored in advertising while I was in school, but after working as a freelance production assistant for MTV, I realized I enjoyed working in television. But my advertising and communications background gives me a good business and media foundation," says Grace Kwon, a producer's assistant on television shows Alias and Felicity, who graduated from Boston University with a degree in advertising.

"I think it has a lot to do with parents and Asian American culture," Kwon said. "My parents thought advertising was a respectable major, and were worried when I switched over to television, although they supported me all the way. But the fact that I work for two primetime shows versus an obscure, independent film, probably does make a difference when they talk about what I do to their friends."

Making the leap is definitely a tough decision and rocky road to follow. "Entertainment is hard, you have to give it everything you have, and that means taking a risk," says Kelvin Li, rhythm guitar player for Losing Daylight, a pop/rock group in Los Angeles with three Chinese-American members. The band's album is due out later this year.

And though Asian Americans may be expanding their horizons, the transition into the mainstream has definitely been gradual. Asian-American faces are still fairly scarce in many of the corporations in the creative industries. "At my job with MTV, I'm the only Asian American on staff right now," says Louie. Kwon agrees, "There used to be another Asian American that worked with me, but now I think I am the only one."

Lee points out, "I think the fashion industry is changing. There are a lot more Asian American faces, but many of them are like me, where they moved in after graduating with an unrelated degree, or they crossed over from a different industry."

Nevertheless, from MTV's SuChin Pak to Linkin Park's DJ Joe Hahn, Asian Americans are slowly creeping into mainstream America.
 

Copyright 2003 AsianDiversity.com