I accept the job offer from neurology department at UCSF last week and will move to San Fransisco over the weekend.

The Job at UCSF is good, albert the salary is far from ok. This is the embarassing reality of academia. However, I can get more salary by other means using my skills, so it is not a big problem.

my goal in next two years is have an overall understand and practical knowledge of major area in Machine Learning. If I can use it to my job at UCSF, it will be great. if not, I think I can use it at my work in other places.

In retrospect, I am really lucky.

Those two years as Software Engineer laid the foundation for my career or my life. Whatever, happens later, I can find a job and making a living. That is very important for me to pursue futher opportunities, because having this basis, I can accept failure.

also, the USCIS policy about the H1B is really bad for foreign works, but I have passed the stage to complain about it.