What was your motivation for pursuing engineering and why did you choose mechanical engineering?
Science was a course which I felt I had command over. I didn’t relate to Humanities to a large extent, so I kept that aside. Commerce seemed interesting but not as inviting as Science so I decided to move forward with the latter.
As for mechanical engineering, it was the best available option at DTU. DTU being well-known for its mechanical department, its history, and its culture for producing top-quality students, I decided to grab and make use of this opportunity.
When did you decide that MS is the right course for you and how did you come up with the plan?
Studying abroad was an aspect that I had in mind even before I joined DTU for my bachelor’s. In my senior years at school, I was studying Biology as well alongside my regular non-medical subjects. I always wanted to be an astrobiologist, which required in-depth knowledge of a few fields like aerospace and biology. To achieve this ambitious dream, I knew it would take a Master’s degree from a well-reputed college to do well thereon.
Do you have any backup plan, if you do not go through with your masters?
The pandemic had an impact on everyone, and an overwhelming one for people currently transitioning from their respective colleges, into the industry or higher studies. Personally, after the Covid-19 hit, I knew that the scenario to go to the US for Masters would be a bit dicey, and clubbed with the very unpredictable US Presidential elections, it added to the uncertainty. So just-in-case the plan of doing a Master’s in the USA, unfortunately, doesn’t work out, I sat for the placement session at college and bagged a job as well.
What have you done so far for your acceptance into the master’s program?
When I realized what it takes to be an astrobiologist in addition to its scope, I inferred that it’s a pretty niche segment and would require a thorough specialization, thus I chose against it. I’m currently eyeing a masters in Design and Manufacturing, a well-trodden path, and it’ll set me in the right direction, aligned with my aspirations. I headed into ICAPIE or some may know it as CAPIER DTU, as it is an excellent center for research in production and industrial engineering, along with mechanical engineering as a whole. I wrote my first research paper in my 3rd semester which was a review paper on 3D modeling in mechanical engineering. I presented the paper at ICAPIE, but unfortunately, it couldn’t get published. The final goal might not have been achieved, but the whole process introduced me to writing research papers and gathering in-depth knowledge regarding my subjects. Since then, I have submitted three research papers on different platforms. All my teachers and mentors have motivated me to do research and good research for that matter, which pushed my natural inclination, and thus I am leaning a lot on my research and my GRE score for my Masters admit.
What is your dream University in which you want to pursue your master’s?
My dream University is MIT but given the circumstances and my academic credentials, I know that the chances of me getting into MIT are pretty slim. But there are some really good and credible institutions I have in mind such as Purdue, UT Austin, and TAMU, which are reachable and hopefully I make the cut.
What are the preparations and scores required to secure admission to US universities?
Every application in the US is divided into four parts: one is your GPA, the second is your GRE score, the third being the extracurricular activities and the last one focusing on the extra co-curricular background. Taking them into consideration along with my GPA, they balance each other out. In addition to whatever I have listed out, your proficiency in English is also looked at with focus and can be a deciding factor while comparing two students of almost equal profile.
Being part of a project or projects is a big plus to your overall presentation, but they hold value only if you present them somewhere or you have a publication, because that validates your project or research, so having good projects and research papers from conferences is a very important part of your application.
The last one is social work as in the US it holds a lot of value if you are a part of organizations like Enactus or Rotaract or any NGO for that matter, If you’ve done some significant amount of social work, it definitely gives a boost to your profile.
Apart from College education, GRE plays a very important role in the application. When did you start your preparation for GRE And how did you prepare for it?
I joined a coaching institute and devoted 60 hours to the classes. After that was done with, there was a 45 days post-class schedule and that benefited me the most as I am a person who likes to be organized and have everything planned out well in advance with respect to what I need to do and when I need to do it. This helped me to a great extent and definitely boosted my score!
What according to you are the advantages of a Master’s MS over GATE or placement in India?
I think it is more about opportunities and prestige. I feel that some of the institutes abroad offer programs with high-profile research opportunities. While looking at the opportunities that you have as a mechanical engineer in India, I was not satisfied. I feel that moving abroad will allow me better pay for my work and this may be my prejudice about settling in a foreign country. This is a personal choice and I am not against government or private jobs in India. My father is in a government job and a mother is in a corporate job so I have seen both sides of the coin and both have their pros and cons and again it is totally up to the individual what he or she wants to do. If you are someone who wants a better lab facility, outstanding infrastructure, and handsome pay, a Master’s abroad would definitely be a lucrative option.
Now that you have secured a job how different is the work profile different from your master’s program?
They are pretty contrasting. The only thing tying them together is that my project was interdisciplinary. Nobody really expects a mechanical student to implement artificial neural networks in a mechanical research project, but I tried and managed to be successful in the same. I know a fair bit of coding and machine learning. The work profile was for an analyst and their preliminary requirement was knowing how to code, so my knowledge regarding the subject aided me. As my Master’s program is about manufacturing and design, so it can be termed interdisciplinary. There might be an overlap of 30 to 40% but if you see from a bird’s eye view, they are pretty different.
What would you like to say at the conclusion of this conversation?
The only thing I would say is that I have enjoyed college life and have not regretted even a single second of it. I might not have a great GPA or something similar, but things eventually fall into place. I’d suggest that you enjoy your college life as much as you can. Look out for multiple opportunities and build a life outside your academic sphere. It makes me recall an instance where during my placement interview, my interviewer was intrigued by the fact that I have a photography background.
If you want to work in segments unrelated to Engineering, don’t be afraid to move out of your current comfort zone. Explore as much as you can as there are a lot of aspects that are much less trodden than the traditional ones and hold a lot of opportunities.
Make good use of your four years at an engineering college, I am sure you wouldn’t regret it. Cheers!
