Batch/Branch: 2017/Computer Science
CGPA: 9.44; Minor in Data Science
SI's: Research Intern at IIIT Delhi and IGCAR Kalpakkam; Summer Intern at Arcesium
Thesis: Corporate Research Intern at Microsoft Research;
"Currently working as Software Engineer at Google."
Extra Curriculars: Football team, CSA President
Q. What are your interests and the kind of work you're doing right now?
I am a 2021 graduate with a major in CS and minor in Data Science. I recently joined Google as a Software Engineer, and my team works in Cloud Networking. My interests include Software Development and Data Science, particularly Natural Language Processing and Information Retrieval.
Q. When and how did you learn about Data Science, and how did NLP catch your attention?
While I was applying for engineering colleges, IIIT Hyderabad’s course on Computational Linguistics caught my eye. During the process, I read about Natural language processing for the first time, and I instantly knew this is something I want to pursue.
In college, my interest in Data Science was further enhanced by my minor degree and a project with Dr. Manik Gupta and Dr. Dipanjan Chakraborty on Mass Media Analysis.
Q. How should one go about learning NLP on their own as there is currently no course offered in our college?
There's a lot of resources with which students can learn about NLP. You can find some great courses on Coursera and blogs on Medium. Another resource is Google Scholar, you can find all papers related to NLP there. Reading papers is something that I really wish I would’ve started earlier because as monotonous as it sounds, it's really helpful. The way you learn from papers is not the same as learning from courses, as it’s coming straight from a researcher to you. Lastly, many professors all over the world are pursuing this field very vigorously. You can reach out to them, the research community in general is very supportive.
Q. What projects have you worked on personally, and how have they helped you in the long run?
Until my third year, my projects were limited to courses or internships. I interned at IIIT Delhi during my first year and for PS1, I was a research intern at IGCAR, where I familiarized myself with Data Mining. From the third year onwards, I started doing projects with professors, and that's when I got involved in more research-intensive roles.
Q. How and when did you know about the internship you did during your first year? What was the process of application? Being in the first year without much knowledge of core CS subjects, how did they respond to your application?
During my first year, I was interested in designing, and the professor at IIIT Delhi also had experience in Graphic Designing. Although I did not know much about computers, I approached him and told him about my interests. Since I was in Delhi, he asked me to meet him. Later, I started visiting his lab regularly.
Q. How can one start working on projects with professors on campus? To what extent can one expect guidance from a professor?
I would suggest going through the professor's research domain and thinking of how it aligns with your interests. Professors are very helpful and open to new ideas. Guidance is always there from professors but it may vary depending on how much bandwidth they have for each student. The progress of a project depends more on the individual's effort, in my opinion.
Q. How did your interest and projects help you achieve a Research Intern position at Microsoft Research? Did you apply through the careers page?
After I got involved in the project with Manik ma’am and Dipanjan sir we started looking at other researchers in this domain, who were also working on mass media analysis in the Indian context. Names of a few researchers from MSR popped up multiple times. I think the projects I did provided me with the necessary fundamental knowledge. They also helped me build a network, and find and approach the right people. As far as my application to MSR goes, I did it by mailing the researchers at MSR. It took multiple iterations because the researchers are pretty busy and get inundated with a lot of emails. So one might have to persistently send emails till they hear back.
Q. Could you briefly tell us about your time at Microsoft in MSR?
MSR is not like other corporate theses, it was very much like an academic thesis. My manager was also an associate professor at University of Michigan so I worked as close to the academia world as possible. The project that you'll be working on during your stint at MSR will be more focused on academia than corporate.
Q. Is there any reason why you chose a corporate thesis over a traditional thesis?
No, there isn't any particular reason. I decided that I wanted to go for a thesis pretty late. Usually, people apply six months in advance but I started applying only in October. In general, my options were limited, since most of the research groups had already filled their positions.
Q. How do you think research differs in a corporate and an academic setting?
Though there’s a lot of similarities between corporate and academic research, there are a few key differences. Corporate research is amazing for people who want their work to be converted into something that can be used by the end-user. On the other hand, the deliverable in an academic setting is usually in the form of a publication or a blog post. In terms of flexibility, corporate research it's not as flexible as a college project. You’ll be limited to pursuing something that can be used by the company. Both of them are fun nonetheless and your skill set would be the same.
Q. How did you go about cold mailing professors and how did you make yours stand out?
If you're mailing a professor, it’s very important to be genuinely interested in pursuing whatever research he or she is doing and not mailing them just based on the institute they are in. You should read about the professor's work as they enjoy interacting with students who have knowledge about their work. It's also helpful to add a writing sample as the most common deliverables for researchers are technical papers and publications. Researchers look for interns who are good at writing and know what it takes to write a technical paper.
Q. Some people pursue research as a full time role, what are your thoughts on that and did you ever contemplate getting into it yourself?
I never caught into that because full time researchers require a certain level of knowledge in a particular field. I’m unable to pinpoint a particular field that I want to work on right now. I know NLP interests me but I wouldn't say that it is the only field that I want to work in.
Q. People who don't have a great CG to apply for MS or for research roles try to compensate for it with projects and publications. And though there’s a lot of subdomains in NLP, not all of them might have the same scope. So taking time constraints into account, where do you think one should focus their efforts on?
I think it's a common misconception that you need to get a publication to get an admit from a good university. It’s better to pursue a domain that interests you instead of choosing one based on the ease of publication. Publishing papers is not as hard as it might seem. You don’t need to do groundbreaking research to get a publication. Just be true to yourself and take on something that you feel is interesting.
Q. It is well-known that a company like Google asks very hard coding questions during the interview. How did you prepare for it and did research or competitive coding help?
Unfortunately, research doesn’t help a lot in the placement or internship drive. Participating in competitive coding contests, although a great way to practice, isn’t a necessity in my opinion. I started competitive coding in my first year itself, but it wasn't my thing. I didn't pursue it very formally, I used to engage in a contest or two whenever I had time. I focused more on problem solving, because that is what really excited me. I used to practice problems from Leetcode and InterviewBit.
Q. When did you start preparing for interviews?
I would say I started right from the time I was introduced to DSA and Discrete Structures for Computer Science (Disco). It's a good idea to go along with college. As soon as you're introduced to disco, I think it's nice to start looking at questions related to those topics. But it has to be gradual, don’t be overburdened. I was very dedicated to the DSA labs. I used to sit down and genuinely solve them. I think that really helped. After DSA, I shifted to InterviewBit and Leetcode. The summer of my second year is when I actually started preparing for our imminent internship drive in 3-1. My preparation for placements was an extension of my internship preparation.
Q. It is highly likely that the 2022 batch will also end up starting to work remotely. Are jobs different to what you expected and how people in corporate look at you? Would you say there is anything that you think you lack because you graduated in a pandemic? How different is it graduating during a pandemic?
All of my major internships, including MSR and Arcesium, have been virtual. Although the work gets done, there is a lot of pressure. You also don't get to build such deep connections and it is especially difficult to gel with a team that you have never met. It's important to be open, do not be shy and try to talk to as many people as possible. In a virtual setting, it is also difficult to realize what the work hours are. Ensure that you have an office-like setting so that you don't sit in that place for more than the stipulated working hours.
There are definitely some disadvantages to graduating in a pandemic. To some extent, you don't feel that content. You don't get to throw your hat in the air. But, graduating online during a pandemic won't put you at a disadvantage. All organizations and institutions acknowledge the position we are in.
Q. Since you have just started working, is there anything that you wish you had done before so that you would be more prepared now? Things that could have been advantageous had you known.
Companies are generally great in that sense. They want you to have a basic understanding of data structures and computers, but they don't expect you to have any industrial knowledge as such. You will have rigorous training, so I don't think there's anything one should worry about before joining the industry. If you have time, then you could read more about software development but it can easily be picked up during the training programs as well.
Q. What would you say you did right in college and what are the things you think you could have done better?
Being very devoted to the courses and classes was definitely right. Although a lot of people feel it doesn't make a difference, it's very important to have a basic level of understanding and the easiest way to get it is by attending classes. One thing that I would like to change would be my interactions with people outside the college. I think it would have been great to build more connections in the research community early on.
Q. What departments or clubs were you a part of and how did they help you in your career?
I was a part of CSA, Designers Anonymous, the football team and the Baithak group. I was also a part of BITSMUN in my first year. To be honest, in the first year, I just went for all of them. In terms of career, I think CSA helped the most because it was relevant to the field I'm pursuing. It also showed my credibility in terms of management and leadership. But I think all of them helped me grow on a personal level.
Q. In your fourth year after getting placed and after the thesis was sorted, did you have fun? Or were you still preparing for your first job?
You just need to learn how to have fun along the way. You can't wait for the placement season to end or your job to begin to have fun. I think the grind truly never stops. After placement, I had to look for thesis opportunities. Once my thesis ended, my job started. So, it never really stops. You may get buffer periods in between where you can relax, but it is important to just enjoy the process.
Q. What advice would you give to college students year-wise?
First year: I would suggest entering college with an open mind and exploring everything. Don’t ignore your studies in your first year but don't focus too much on it either. Just regularly attend classes, that would suffice. Other than that, make lots of friends, attend the plethora of events that happen on campus and have a good number of interactions in your first year. It is a great time to get involved with all clubs and inculcate a hobby. Second Year: Make sure to build a good foundation. It is also a good time to start thinking about what you want to do in your third year. You could start by talking to professors about their research domains. Try to engage in opportunities outside of college, like scholarships, hackathons, and competitions.
Third Year: This is when you have to be more focused about what you want to pursue. If you want to get into research, pick up projects and read more about the ongoing research. By this time, you should’ve decided between pursuing research or industry-based careers, or both. Third year would also be a good time to start preparing for the placement season, if you choose to sit for that.
Fourth Year: This is when you should make sure that you're confident with your plan and put it to action. It’s okay not to have a crystal-clean plan but you should at least have some idea about what you are interested in and what you would want to pursue.
Q. Is there anything you would like to add, any final statements?
Try to enjoy the entire journey without focusing too much on the end part. Don't wait for things like placements to finish to enjoy your college life. It's not essential to get into a top university or company right out of college. It can be gradual. If you want to be there, you will get there at some point or the other, irrespective of how long it takes. Just make sure you don't give up everything else just to be at that one place after college, because college experience is irreplaceable, especially the undergraduate one. Make sure to value it.
Disclaimer: The points given above are the views and steps taken by the individual. They are not fixed steps and guideline to base your college upon. Our hope is to inspire students so they can take the necessary steps here after. We hope you like it!
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