Ctrl + Alt + Career Podcast:
Creatives in Asia Episodes
Ctrl + Alt + Career shares the stories of those who have left a traditional corporate job to pursue a creative career in Asia.
(PS - I’d love to hear from you! You can reach me on Instagram @ongjennifer_)
02: From Architect to Artist & Calligrapher, Joyce Chiang
Joyce Chiang is a licensed architect, calligrapher, artist and the founder of Joyce Chiang Design Studio. After graduating from UCLA with an Environmental Science degree and UPenn with a master in Architecture, she returned to Hong Kong and started her career at an architecture firm. Along the way she picked up calligraphy and 3 years later left her job to pursue calligraphy and her creative business full time.
In this episode she shares -
How she found the courage to leave her architecture job
How she grew her personal brand and Instagram following
How she found her first corporate customers and prices her work
How she expanded from calligraphy into jewelry, fine art and has just launched Aspire, an online membership subscription where she teaches others how to establish and build their own creative business.
And many more…!
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You can find out more about Joyce via her instagram @joycechiang_ or her website www.joycechiang.co.
She has also been very kind to offer a free guide on the 5 stages of building a creative career. You can download it here - https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5edeb70d2eacb000260d4557
09: From Marketer at Marina Bay Sands to Musician, Priscilla Tan
Priscilla started her career as a marketer in Marina Bay Sands, and left to pursue a career in singing after a few years. She then decided to return to the corporate world and spent almost 5 years at Singapore Press Holdings before breaking out again to pursue music full time.
In this episode she shares -
Her journey and struggle between a traditional and alternative career path
How she pivoted her business when all her gigs/income disappeared because of COVID
How she balances motherhood and work
And many more…
You can find out more about Priscilla via her Instagram @priscillatanmusic !
10: Jennifer Ong, your podcast host
For the season finale, I’m turning the mic onto myself today. Hear how I went from Columbia to BlackRock (with stints in NY, HK & London) to Style Theory, how I got started with this podcast, and the exciting new online course I am launching at www.ongjennifer.com/ctrl-your-career.
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To learn more about Kevin (my podcast host today), you can find his very own podcast Almost Home here - https://open.spotify.com/show/6gBAc9Ioo4omBvPC8MXPXP
11: Nathan Chan, Cellist Seattle Symphony
Nathan Chan is a cellist at the Seattle Symphony. On the side, he also runs a popular Youtube channel with over 6 million views where he does pop renditions with a classical twist.
In this episode he shares -
How he managed to conduct an orchestra at the age of 3
What mentality he had that gave him the successes he enjoys today
Why he chose to pursue music professionally (rather than take on a finance or tech job)
And many more…
You can find out more about Nathan via his Instagram @nathanchancello or his Youtube channel!
18: John Lim, from architect to founding This Humid House - botanical design studio
John Lim is the founder of This Humid House, a botanical design studio in Singapore whose work includes working for big names like Cartier, Dior, and Singapore’s Housing Development Board, to private homes and weddings. John has been named Prestige’s 40 under 40, and his work has been featured in publications like Vogue.
Prior to this, he studied architecture at The Cooper Union in New York City, and practized architecture in New York, Tokyo and Beijing.
In this episode he shares -
How he stumbled into landscape and floral design
How his strong vision for botanical design helped him overcome imposter syndrome and find clients
How to work with a team to execute your vision
His thoughts on career paths in today’s world
And many more…
For more about This Humid House - https://humidhouse.com/
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If you’re feeling unhappy with your corporate job and looking for some guidance to find a career you love, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @ongjennifer_, I’d love to see how I can help!
19: Jada Poon, from lawyer to award-winning photographer
Jada Poon is an award-winning wedding and portrait photographer based in Hong Kong, and the founder of Jada Poon Photography. Prior to this, she studied law at Oxford University and was a practicing lawyer for a couple of years.
In this episode she shares -
How she found her passion in photography and pivoted from a career in law
How to price your services and set your own rates
What she hopes to achieve through her work, such as the empowerment of other women
Her thoughts on balancing both financial security and passion
And many more…
For more about Jada - https://www.jadapoonphotography.com/
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If you’re feeling unhappy with your corporate job and looking for some guidance to find a more fulfilling career, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @ongjennifer_, I’d love to see how I can help!
20: Renee Wu, from Microsoft to owning a pole dance studio
Renee Wu is the owner of a pole dance studio Inspiration Studios and national champion of many pole dancing competitions. Before all this, Renee studied physics at Caltech, pursued a PhD at Stanford with plans to become a professor, and had a stint in Microsoft as an engineer.
In this episode she shares -
How she shifted from pursuing the sciences to chasing her passion in pole dance
How she coped with the pandemic and her plans for the studio moving forward
Her approach to taking risks and making life-changing decisions
And many more…
For more about Renee’s pole dance studio - https://www.inspirationstudios.com/
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If you’re feeling unhappy with your corporate job and looking for some guidance to find a more fulfilling career, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @ongjennifer_, I’d love to see how I can help!
25: Renée Chow, YouTuber, Gothamista
Renée Chow is a YouTuber with her popular YouTube channel, Gothamista, where she covers beauty and skincare from a very scientific angle and has currently over 650,000 subscribers.
Before this, Renée started her career as a buyer at the fashion retailer company, Toppy, and then at luxury brand Hermès, eventually working her way up to being the General Manager of Hermès China. After that, she started her own brick and mortar lifestyle store in New York City, selling products from skincare, cosmetics, specialty toys and more. She eventually sold her business to Walgreens.
In this episode she shares -
How she started her own brick and mortar store
How she stumbled into building her YouTube channel
Her thoughts on entrepreneurship and starting a career in social media
And many more…!
For more about Renée - https://www.gothamista.com/
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If you’re feeling unhappy with your corporate job and looking for some guidance to find a more fulfilling career, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @ongjennifer_ or LinkedIn, I’d love to see how I can help!
Download my free guide to finding your passion here.
31: Chris Edwards, from Marketing Manager to founder of The Honeycombers
Chris Edwards is the Founder and CEO of The Honeycombers, a leading digital lifestyle magazine in Singapore, Bali and Hong Kong. She has also founded other companies, including Launchpad, a community of ambitious, daring and smart entrepreneurs that supports one another in their endeavors, and Digital Collective Asia, which helps businesses explode their sales through ROI and performance driven marketing strategies. Prior to her entrepreneurial journey, she was the Marketing Manager at Krispy Kreme Australia and General Manager at Asia City Publishing.
In this conversation, she shares -
(i) How she got started in entrepreneurship
(ii) Her journey building Honeycombers, Launchpad & other businesses
(iii) Advice on starting your own business
(iv) And many more…!
Find out more about the Honeycombers - https://thehoneycombers.com/singapore/
& Launchpad - https://thelaunchpad.group/sg/
To connect with Chris, find her on Instagram and LinkedIn.
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If you’re feeling unhappy with your corporate job and looking for some guidance, you can find me on -
(i) Instagram @ongjennifer_
(ii) LinkedIn
(iii) Or download my free guide to finding your passion here.
(iv) Want to work with me 1:1? Sign up for a FREE discovery call to learn more about my career coaching program here.
37: Tanya Zakowich, from NASA & Boeing Engineer to Math Tiktoker
Tanya is the Founder of Pink Pencil Math, a company that provided digital math courses. She also build the Tiktok account of the same name, amassing 1.7 million followers to date. Prior to this, she was an engineer at NASA - her childhood dream job, but decided to pivot away from engineering entirely. Listen to the full episode to find out why and how!
In this conversation, she shares -
(i) Her engineering experience and why she pivoted from NASA
(ii) The different ideas she was pursuing as a business
(iii) How she started Pink Pencil Math on TikTok
(iv) And many more…!
Find out more about Pink Pencil Math - https://www.pinkpencilmath.com/
To connect with Tanya, find her on Instagram or LinkedIn.
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If you’re feeling unhappy with your corporate job and looking for some guidance, you can find me on -
(i) Instagram @ongjennifer_
(ii) LinkedIn
(iii) Or download my free guide to finding your passion here.
(iv) Want to work with me 1:1? Sign up for a FREE discovery call to learn more about my career coaching program here.