"Latecomer Non-Technical Major's Challenge to Become a Developer"... Samsung SSAFY Publishes First Essay Collection

Samsung’s Flagship Social Contribution Program
Stories of Youth Challenge and Growth
A Career Guide Through Real Success Cases

Samsung Youth SW·AI Academy (SSAFY) has published its first collection of essays featuring the challenge and growth stories of its graduates.

On April 29, Samsung Electronics announced the publication of SSAFY's essay collection, titled "The Beginning of Junior Talent in the Age of AI Transformation: SSAFY," which compiles the experiences of its graduates. Previously, SSAFY held an essay contest from August to September last year, targeting around 6,000 participants, including graduates from batches 1 to 8 and their families. Outstanding entries from this contest were selected and included in the newly published collection.

SSAFY trainees are holding a collection of handwritten essays and posing for a commemorative photo. Samsung Electronics.

SSAFY is Samsung’s flagship social contribution program, designed to strengthen the software (SW) capabilities and employment competitiveness of young people by providing training and job support services. This essay collection features stories of young adults who achieved their dreams through the program since its launch in 2018. Focusing on cases where participants overcame various barriers such as non-technical backgrounds and age to become SW·AI professionals, the collection aims to offer practical guidance to unemployed youth.

The collection is expected to serve as a career and employment guide. It includes a variety of stories, such as a non-computer science major who became a developer, a marketer who switched careers to become a software developer at the age of 29, and a graduate who successfully launched a startup in Japan after completing the SSAFY program.

SSAFY published its first collection of essays on the 29th, featuring the challenge and growth stories of its graduates. Samsung Electronics.

For example, Yeji Heo, a former marketer without a technical background, took on the challenge of SSAFY at the relatively late age of 29, driven by a sense of urgency that it was her last chance. After four years of marketing work, she recognized the need for change due to the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and chose to pursue a career as a software developer. Through SSAFY, she learned technical skills such as HTML and Java, improved her practical abilities, and is now preparing for opportunities abroad.

Another example is Beomseok Kim, who grew into a cloud expert through SSAFY despite difficult circumstances, such as the early passing of his mother and financial hardship. After completing the program, he joined Samsung SDS, where he is responsible for cloud operations and system construction work. He has also enhanced his expertise by obtaining 16 professional certifications.

The essay collection will be distributed to SSAFY campuses as well as graduates and advisory faculty members for use as educational material. It will also be made available on the official website so that anyone can access it.

A Samsung representative stated, "The challenges and growth experienced by the young people featured in this essay collection embody the true values that SSAFY pursues. We will continue to do our utmost to support more young people in becoming SW·AI professionals and future leaders of Korea."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.