My dad wanted me to be a professional person, which I was - I was a civil engineer. I graduated from civil engineering at USC in California. I became an engineer, and I helped design the roads for the L.A. County Roads Department. And I did that for about one and a half years in a sense to please my parents - to be a 'respectable' person.

The quote by James Hong reveals his initial career path, which was influenced by his desire to meet his father's expectations. Hong's father wanted him to become a professional person, and in pursuit of that, he followed the path of becoming a civil engineer. Hong graduated from USC in California with a degree in civil engineering and went on to work for the L.A. County Roads Department, where he helped design roads. However, Hong's reflection on this phase of his life suggests that he pursued this career less out of personal passion and more to fulfill his father's wish for him to have a "respectable" profession.

James Hong, who would later become a well-known actor and voice artist, describes his time as an engineer as a means to satisfy family expectations. He worked as an engineer for about one and a half years, during which he did the job diligently but with a sense of obligation rather than passion. The choice to become an engineer was influenced by a cultural expectation to secure a stable and respected career, something that would align with traditional views on success and social standing.

The quote also reflects the internal tension many people face when balancing personal desires with family or societal expectations. Hong's decision to work as an engineer, despite his eventual pivot to acting, underscores the pressure to meet the expectations of loved ones, particularly in immigrant families or cultures where academic and professional success are highly valued. The brief period he spent in this role ultimately led to him following his true passion for acting, showing that career paths are often shaped by both external influences and personal discovery.

Ultimately, Hong’s story reveals the journey of reconciling personal aspirations with family expectations, and the courage it takes to eventually pursue one’s true calling. His time as a civil engineer may have been a brief chapter, but it played an important part in his evolution toward becoming the actor and voice artist that he is today.