Pitchika Dinesh — Mentor Graphics

We bring you Pitchika Dinesh! He graduated in 2020 in the discipline of Electrical Engineering from IIT Indore. Read on to know more about his exciting internship journey and experience!

Disclaimer: This is intended to people who will be passing out in 2022 and later. However people who are passing out in 2021 can just have a look.

Pitchika Dinesh interned at Mentor Graphics for 6 months.

So, in this blog, I would like to write about different career aspects for Electrical Engineering from my and my friends’ experiences. Coming to my internship at Mentor Graphics, the selection process was simple since it was only for an internship profile. They may ask you questions from Digital Electronics(up to FSM). The internship lasted for 6 months and it was related to Digital Design Verification. The experience was good since it’s an MNC and there is a lot to learn there. That’s all about my experience, and in the following blog, I would be writing about all the career prospects in general for Electrical Engineering. Electrical Engineering at IIT Indore provides you many opportunities from Software to core electrical, electronics to Non-core profiles. So, I would be listing one by one about what a person can do to get good placement in the above fields.

1. Software and Non-core Profiles: Learn C and C++ thoroughly. Do Competitive Programming. Master Data Structures and Algorithms. And learn the basics of Core Computer Science subjects like DBMS and Operating Systems. Start as early as possible(First-year summer or try to start it at least in the 4th semester) and do some projects to show on your resume. Understanding of Machine Learning and 1 or 2 projects would be enough. And if you do all these, you will have a high chance of getting placed(more than 90%).

2. Electronics Profiles: There are many profiles in this field. Like,

a. Digital Profile:

i. Learn Digital Electronics thoroughly so that you could solve any question related to combinational and sequential circuits, FSM and Static Timing Analysis(STA), and basic operation of BJT and MOS Transistors.

ii. Also learn Verilog and SystemVerilog and some basic stuff related to FPGAs, Microprocessors, Microcontrollers. Do some basic projects using Verilog like designing some complex circuits and writing a testbench for it. Try to work under a professor on a project related to this field because you get to learn a lot rather than thinking about doing something yourself.

iii. Watch NPTEL lectures on Digital CMOS IC Design, Digital VLSI Design.

b. Analog Profile:

i. Be thorough with the GATE EC Syllabus of Analog Electronics.

ii. Watch Prof. Razavi’s lectures of Electronics and NPTEL lectures related to Analog CMOS IC Design.

iii. Do some projects under a professor in this field to gain interest and a better understanding of this field.

iv. There aren’t many companies that hire for this profile. So, it’s up to your interest and just a basic understanding of these topics is sufficient so that if any company comes for hiring you could at least face those interviews.

c. Embedded/Firmware Profile: The same thing which I mentioned for the Software profile applies here. Proficiency in C++, Data Structures and Algorithms and thorough knowledge of Operating Systems is required for this profile. Projects using microcontrollers and related to IoT might be helpful.

And in all three profiles, only basic scripting knowledge in Linux, Perl is needed. I would like to mention that even if you are interested in the electronics field, prepare for software profiles also because basic programming knowledge is essential in the electronics field as well. And since electronics companies are less compared to software, even if you don’t get placed in the electronics field you will have software jobs as a backup. And also read blogs and articles on quora or LinkedIn related to this field to gain more insight.

Some key points:
1. After reading the above text you must be wondering that there is a lot to learn and it would be difficult to get into the electronics field, but that’s not the case. In Summary, if you know C++, develop good problem-solving skills in Data Structures and Algorithms and if you practice enough problems in Digital Electronics(i.e. Combinational and Sequential Circuits, FSM, and Static Timing Analysis(STA)) you would be prepared for Software profiles, Digital profiles and Embedded profile(Operating Systems). Just one or two small projects is enough to mention in your resume.
2. I would highly request you to please do coding regularly irrespective of your branch and irrespective of your interests because it would not only get you a good placement but also would increase your problem-solving skills. And if you don’t do coding forget about getting placed(don’t get offended, it’s the reality).
3. If you are confused regarding what to do in life then just forget everything, start preparing for software and digital profiles, maintain good CPI, get placed and life will show you what to do next. Don’t get carried away by useless notions of finding your interest, passions, etc. In the Future life expectancy will be nearly 90 across the world. So, you can even follow your passion after you are 40 years old, but for that, you should have a stable income till you are 40. Just focus on the opportunities(which are many) which IIT Indore provides you.
4. Regarding CPI, if you aim to get a good job, then above 8 CPI is more than enough. Don’t just waste your time too much to get 9+ CPI because it is only useful if you want to go for higher studies. Just maintain CPI above 8, work on job-related skills(which I mentioned above for different profiles), and communication skills and you will get placed. Even 7–7.5 CPI is sufficient, but you have to perform exceptionally well in the interviews to convince them, but it’s sufficient.
5. The reason I’m asking you to start as early as possible is that most of the topics that I mentioned above for various profiles are not taught in your curriculum, you have to study them on your own. So, it takes time and it’s better if you start as early as possible because you could prepare well in advance and also have time to enjoy college life as well.
6. Also keep an eye on off-campus opportunities on LinkedIn. Getting internships off-campus is relatively easy. And if you build your connections/network and if you try hard you can get a full-time opportunity off-campus as well.
7. If you have prepared well and have given your best in all kind of profiles( On-campus and Off-Campus) and still don’t get placed(extreme case) then don’t worry, if your CPI is above 8 you can go for M.Tech in Electronics field in old IITs without having to write GATE. M.Tech in old IITs( Especially in VLSI, Integrated Circuits, Communication, and Signal Processing, etc.)can fetch you good jobs and they will also open your doors for getting into Ph.D. in good Universities abroad.
8. If you go for internships or apply for jobs off-campus, please note that companies will not inform you regarding your selection(PPO in case of internship). So, please plan for the next opportunity because companies will never say that you are not selected(even after months). Don’t sit idle hoping that the company will be informing you about the selection, they won’t.
9. My intention is not to say that you just have to keep on studying to get a good placement. It’s just to make you aware of all opportunities you have. Once you have a clear idea regarding this, you will automatically find a balance between enjoying college life and focusing on your career.

And I forget to mention another field which is the core electrical field. For this profile, you should be good at concepts of Electrical Machines, Power Electronics, and Power Systems. Packages and no. of companies which visit our campus in this field are low and the subjects are also not that interesting. If your luck is good some PSU might visit our campus and recruit you. But if you are interested in this field, then start preparing for GATE, ESE, and other Govt. Exams from your 4th semester itself as competition for these kind of Govt. Jobs are increasing day by day and vacancies are reducing.
For people who want to pursue a career in research, you can consult any professor in your field of interest and start working on a project under him/her. Maintain your CPI as high as possible. You can get opportunities to go for research internships abroad which would be helpful when you apply for Masters abroad(For people who can afford it) and in India as well.

For people who cannot afford to study M.S abroad but are “extremely” motivated towards research and have done some kind of research work in your B.Tech, you have two paths:
1. Apply for M.S by Research programs in old IITs/IISc after your graduation as they can provide you the gateway for doing a Ph.D. abroad in good universities and India also.
2. Direct Ph.D. in India: This may not sound lucrative but if you have genuine passion and interest in Research you can go for it and you can try for a PMRF fellowship(so that you don’t have to worry about your finances during your Ph.D.). You can also try for PMRF fellowship after you do your Masters from old IITs/IISc as mentioned in the first point.

Only go for research if you are genuinely interested and have the utmost passion for it because research, unlike a job, is a very lonely process and demands an immense amount of patience and dedication for a significant amount of your life(2 years of Masters, 4–5 years of Ph.D., 2–3 years of Postdoc). But all this process will definitely make you a scientific and intellectual person and provide you opportunities to work as a professor in good universities and also sometimes in Industries for R&D positions.

Mistakes that I have made:
1. Being too obsessive about getting a good grade.
2. Not interacting too much with professors or seniors which lead to not too much awareness about neither research nor placements.
3. Not seeking guidance directly or indirectly about how to get a good placement because of which I ended being unprepared for placements.
4. Not doing many projects through which I could have gained a better learning experience.
5. Going for a 6 month internship, due to this I was not able to sit for placement drives of many good companies. My advice for people who are going for 6 months internships is:
i. Don’t dream of getting a PPO(Even if your Manager says so). It’s absolutely uncertain even if you give your 100% there is no guarantee. If your manager says that you will get a PPO it is only to make you motivated for your work, it does not guarantee what you will get it.
ii. Along with your internship, find time to prepare for your placements as well. iii. Be prepared that you will have to go college for placements many times in between those 6 months.

I am sorry for making this blog long, but I wanted to make sure that each and every point gets covered so that you could be aware of what opportunities you have and won’t commit those mistakes which I have committed and be prepared for each and every opportunity that comes your way.
And Finally, I would like to thank the Placement Team to give me this opportunity to share my experiences.

We thank Pitchika for sharing his experience and hope that it for helps other students preparing for similar roles.