Irrespective of the field, if you are curious enough and can formulate stuff on your own, research is extremely fun. You can see the results of something that no one in human history has seen before.
B.E. Mechanical
CGPA: 9.2
EXPERIENCE
2021-Present
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ph.D Student in Mechanical Engineering
Right now I’m working on the application of a lot of statistical concepts in Manufacturing and Mechanical engineering.
May 2020 – Aug 2020
Lab-Lam Research, Tualatin, Oregon
Intern
I formulated and programmed a pedestal-wafer-showerhead system-level heat transfer solver on Python. I wrote scripts for statistical analysis of pedestal age data to draw useful inferences. I also wrote scripts to automate the analysis of Fluorine deposition from image data. In Lam research lab I got a very conducive environment while working on core Mech stuff and it trained my mind a lot.
Jan 2019 – Jun 2019
Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India
Intern
It was a great first work experience but the work and the growth I saw there made me more inclined towards pursuing Mechanical in abroad where there is more alpha (R&D) work than the beta work.
May 2018 - Jul 2018
Technische Universität Clausthal, Germany
Intern
I modeled acid flow in sonochemical reactors using SimpleFOAM and SRFSimpleFOAM solvers in OpenFOAM. I analyzed flow patterns for 5 test cases based on different snappy HexMesh scripts and boundary conditions. I facilitated the construction of a reactor prototype based on the above analysis for efficient recycling of scrap metals.
QnA
Initially I was inclined towards mechanical because of my interest in cars but later I realized that it was pretty naive on my part to take decisions like that. But after exploring it further on campus via internships and courses I was satisfied with my decision.
My experience with BAJA on campus gave me a lot of practical exposure and eliminated a lot of fields. And then one internship after the other gave me clarity about the work environment and the status of Mech engineers in India. But the real clarity about which field in Mechanical came only after coming to the US. I changed labs during my Masters as initially I was more inclined towards fluids and heat transfer but after some time I also realized the importance of AI in mechanical.
I explored my options while being on campus by taking finance courses and humanities electives. I even got an interview scheduled with BCG but I was inclined towards research more so eventually decided to go for Masters.
I never really thought about building a profile actually; things worked out for me eventually. Not everyone knows what they want to do in the first or second year to start building their profile. So rather than focusing on your profile, find and explore what interests you. There is no ‘right time’ to start. Just keep exploring and work diligently in whichever field that interests you. But if by some chance you are among the 10% percent category who are sure of pursuing Masters, start right after your PS-1.
I switched my labs after my first year of Masters as I realized that the machine learning side has a lot more scope than the thing I was pursuing. So, I needed some time to get used to my field and having a Ph.D. in the US definitely helps a lot.
No, I only applied to the US. I had an experience in Germany after my third year, so kind of knew that there might be some language barrier down the road if I think of going to Europe. UIUC was the only institute ready to fund the masters.
In some universities LOR’s play a bigger role than projects. I got three LORs- two from BITS prof and one from a German professor under whom I had done an internship. I made it a point to include one LOR from an internship which reflected my work experience, one that reflected my character and personality traits in the classroom, and one reflected my research. So, I included all the aspects. According to me, personalized LOR from a assistant professor adds more value than 2-3 general lines from an HOD. Only 15 Indian students were selected in UIUC and everyone was funded (getting a
funded Master is extremely difficult). All these 15 students were from the top institutions
of India i.e. IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, BITS Pilani, etc. So, you have to be among the top
10 students in top 6 colleges in India to get a funded Masters. Along with that my high CGPA and BITS Tag helped.
It's not as competitive as CS but there are less jobs available as compared to CS. However, there are good labs like Lam Research where research is going on full-scale and it all depends on how you progress. If you have some very relevant projects then it's easy to find the right place but, if your research interest is very specific and not very common, then it becomes a little difficult.
Yes, I had a job offer from Nestle in power plant engineering but at last I decided to go for masters.
Oh yeah, all the time. Whenever I see my friends having high paid jobs in the tech sector, I have FOMO but at the same time it doesn’t affect me much as I love what I do. Also, eventually you don’t really want a job, you want to build a career which comes over 10-15 years and is a long game. So, as long as you are enjoying it you are on the right path.
I didn’t fill my PS-1 form seriously and so didn’t take IGCAR which could have been a great research experience. Also, I had a BCG interview scheduled on the same date as my GRE exam and so I had to make a very tough decision. I would recommend that you don't waste time delaying your GRE as I did. Try to complete it as soon as possible by your third year.
Work on your CGPA- you don't have to be a "ghot" to score more. Be active in clubs and departments while studying smartly according to the test dates and plan tactfully. Don’t excuse your low marks by saying that you are not interested in that particular subject. You can not like a course and still get a good grade if you plan smartly.