[No. 134] Yuji Kosuga

I currently work as a computer security specialist at an IT company in Silicon Valley, USA. Many of the Japanese people I see here are either on assignment from Japanese companies or are graduates of local universities; it seems that it is not common for people to be hired locally after obtaining their degrees in Japan. Perhaps for this reason, I am often asked about how I came to be here, and it seems my story, from my student days to the present, has been helpful to at least a few students. I have written this article primarily for students aspiring to enter the Faculty of Science and Technology and for undergraduate students aiming for graduate school, but I would be delighted if it is also helpful to others, such as those interested in working abroad.

In high school, I became interested in the self-replicating technology of computer viruses, which a math instructor at my preparatory school talked about, and I began to study computer security on my own. Understanding computer security requires knowledge not only of defense but also of attacks. However, at the time, there was a prevailing attitude that knowledge of attacks was evil, and perhaps because of this, few books on attack methods were published in Japan, which limited the information I could obtain. So, I turned to Western books and overseas websites. It was then that I came across a research paper written in English on a new defense method from the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University, which sparked my interest in advancing to the Faculty of Science and Technology.

During my university years, I was enrolled in the Department of Information and Computer Science, but I also attended classes in psychology and logic, in addition to science subjects like physics and mathematics. In class, I formed teams with friends from the same faculty, and we put our heads together to figure out how to earn credits with minimal effort. I was in charge of all the programming and helped my friends with their class assignments and graduation thesis research projects. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I helped one of my teammates graduate. Outside of class, I actively worked part-time and organized drinking parties. My German class was very close-knit, and the attendance rate at our drinking parties was unusually high. I joined a research laboratory in my fourth year of undergraduate studies and, for the five and a half years until I obtained my doctorate, I focused on the research topic of automated vulnerability detection methods in computer security, carrying out implementation and evaluation. Not only did I present my research findings overseas, but I also applied the methods to develop highly practical software, which received high praise in the MITOU Program of the Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan. I was also able to obtain scholarships and research grants, and I spent a very happy time.

After completing my Doctoral Programs, I joined a two-year-old startup as CTO, where I engaged in contract development to raise operating funds, built our own services, and recruited team members. Quite a few acquaintances questioned why I, with a doctorate, did not pursue a research position, but at the time, I was interested in this business. About a year later, just as the business was starting to take off, I began to feel that I wanted to concentrate on my area of expertise, security—a decision for which I cannot apologize enough to my colleagues at the time. With the desire to master world-class security technologies, I directly contacted companies in the United States and was able to secure a job. After changing jobs, I stayed in Ireland for 16 months and have been working in the United States since January 2015. Of course, I am on the security team.

In Silicon Valley, IT companies offer excellent compensation for engineers, so they are inundated with applications from job seekers all over the world. As a result, the difficulty of the hiring interviews inevitably increases, and the offer rate is often less than 1%. Another key difference from Japan in the selection process is that human resources staff handle communication with candidates and scheduling, but are not heavily involved in the evaluation. Instead, after passing through several screening stages, each candidate is interviewed and evaluated by a total of about 10 engineers over the course of a full day. Engineers hired in this way, regardless of whether they are new graduates or mid-career hires, are expected to have a wide range of skills as professionals, from the fundamentals to advanced applications. In my case, the fundamental knowledge I learned at the Faculty of Science and Technology during my university years, as well as the skills and insights I gained through my research activities in graduate school, have been extremely useful.

Looking back, I have always chosen to do what I wanted at the time, even though I lacked a plan and often inconvenienced those around me. This was only possible thanks to the immense understanding and generosity of the people around me, for which I am endlessly grateful. I believe I was fortunate to have multiple options at each juncture because, in addition to deepening my expertise at the Faculty of Science and Technology, I was able to acquire a wide range of liberal arts knowledge, which formed my foundation and broadened my choices. At the time, I didn't realize this and sometimes found it troublesome, but now I am grateful for it.

Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Professor Kono and the other faculty members of the Faculty of Science and Technology for giving me the opportunity to write this column.