The job hunt saga

There comes a time in every student’s life when he has to become a hunter even if he is vegetarian. I become a job hunter as I approached the end of my MS degree. As a hunter you can go after the prey or wait for it to come to you. The latter (campus placements) doesn’t really happen often in the US. The other option, go after jobs out there.

Everyone talks about how important networking is in the job hunt. I think I do quite well on Facebook with an average of five likes and two comments for every post. But alas, Facebook doesn’t give you a pay check unless of course you work for Facebook. There are many ways of networking. Ask all you friends and acquaintances if they know anyone working in your field. Talk to profs about their industry connections. Go to job fairs. Attend seminars, workshops, etc. I have shaken so many hands that I think my right wrist needs reconstructive surgery. And I have collected so many business cards that I think I can play poker with them.

As far as applying for jobs goes, a good error free resume is a must have. For interviews it is useful to have a FAQ sheet. Those standard questions like tell me about yourself, where do you see yourself five years from now etc. I had trouble thinking of answer for the weakness question? The only weakness I have is that I have no weaknesses. And don’t forget thank you notes after the interview.

Over the months I had many leads but nothing concrete. Maybe I needed some cement. I think the two main issues for me were visa sponsorship and security clearance. And the best things about job applications? The interviews! You get to boast about yourself (the selling yourself part) and someone is actually listening! And the on site interviews are cool for meeting some really wonderful people besides the all expenses paid aspect of them. As a grad student, spending nights in posh hotel suites is never an option.

But the wait can be long, the wait can be tedious, the wait can be frustrating. All you need is faith in God and yourself. Trust in God that He has a plan for you. Confidence in yourself that you are great and some company will discover your greatness. Pray, talk to your friends, write a diary, sing out aloud, play sport, anything that helps stay sane. And try to have fun as you wait. It is going to be alright.

So I retire from my job hunting career and settle into the retired life of working at an awesome company!



Pic courtesy: http://cascadeclimbers.com, http://www.rightattitudes.com

First step towards Prof. Daniel

The other day I went to my first class as a Teaching Assistant. I didn't have to take the lecture but had to discuss any doubts the students had. I went and sat in the front of the class. The prof. introduced us first. I liked the way I had to wave out to the class when the prof. introduced me. I had wondered how I was supposed to acknowledge the intro. Should it be a brief nod and a slight wave? or should I wave like Sonia Gandhi during election rallies. Well, I can't remember what I did. But no one laughed. So it was fine I guess.

After the prof finished his brief material for the hour, the TAs and the prof were open for discussion. The other two TA and the prof were getting all the attention. Yeah I was NBD (No Bhav Dude) here also. Now why would they avoid me? Do I look dumb? Or did they think that they wouldn't understand me? Or did I have body odor? I should have used Axe. Then all the ladies would be swarming around me. I tried to look disinterested by flipping through the text book. Finally someone came up to because the others were occupied. I was nervous. I hope I could answer his doubt. Luckily his doubt was really dumb or as the protocol goes, the doubt was 'simple'. No question is deemed dumb here.

Then some guy asked me a doubt from the homework. Now the homework was given the previous day and I didn't expect anyone to start the homework right away. So I myself hadn't gone through it. And considering that I did the corresponding course 4 years back and I have the retention of a large sized sieve, I was in a spot of bother. I had no idea how to solve the problem he was stuck with. Hmm, what to do? Okay, lets do what most profs normally do when they don't know the answer. Act knowledgeable if the student is confused or act as if you can't follow the student's doubt if the student appears confident. My case was the former. So I said it was a easy problem and that any hints I give might give the answer away. In the mean time I was racking my brains for the solution. I said a few more things like 'it's there in the text book', 'the prof covered it in class', 'you will get it if you apply yourself a bit'. Finally I figured out the solution and told him that he had tried enough and I would tell him the answer. And with a flourish I started scribbling the steps of the problem. He was happy to have got the answer. And I was happy to have managed to wriggle myself out of the sticky situation.

The rest of the discussion hour went smoothly as most students left soon. Good for them and me. Finally the hour ended. I hurried out. I swore to myself to be better prepared next time and cursed the undergrad Daniel for not studying properly. I was also thankful to my profs, no not for teaching me well, but for teaching me how to handle sticky situations. One up Prof. Daniel!

Picture courtesy:
http://www.ibsaf.org/ibsafworld/2008/march/JustJokin/teacher1.jpg
http://www.hello.cat/images/adults4.jpg

When the Maestro went for Visa

I was feeling a little apprehensive as I boarded the bus to Chennai. I was going for my Visa Interview. The last formality before I depart in pursuit of the American Dream. Although everyone says it is a very easy and hassle free process, I was a little tensed as I had read about a third of the applicants get rejected for various reasons. A kannada movie was screened to keep the passengers entertained. Ah, I like the energy in these movies. They can really revive drooping spirits. I began to feel calm and positive. I began thinking of the most likely questions the Visa Officer would ask me. I thought about the reply to the question of why I would want to return to India. And the answer was in front of me. I love India and its movies. Maybe I could do a few PP dance steps to prove my point to the VO.

I reached Chennai. The city of my dreams. The land of Rajnikanth. As usual the auto drivers tried to fleece us. I guess it is in their genes to be so annoying. But the moment I told him that I was a big fan of Rajnikanth and would like to see his house, he became all friendly and cheerful. I noticed all men (and some women?) had nice thick moustaches walking around with confidence. And I had shaved mine so that I looked like my photo in the passport. I missed my moustache and the confidence it gave me. But I had other confidence boosters to help me with the Visa process.

We checked in a hotel very close to the consulate. Just a tip to the readers planning to go to Chennai for Visa. Please check all the hotels and lodges on Peters Road, not just the one the auto guy takes you to. Our hotel, the orchid inn, wasn’t very good and the receptionist behaved as though he owned the world. I switched on the TV and flipped through the channels. Every channel was Tamil, Telugu, or Kannada. What a city! No English or Hindi channels? Then the 31st channel changed everything. There was Shaktimaan fighting the bad guys with his awesome powers. I took it as a good omen. The first Hindi channel I came across in Chennai had Shaktiman. I also felt more confident about the interview. If Mukesh Khanna can wear tight clothes and fight the baddies, surely I could tackle a visa interview, with loose clothes! For the record the channel was Star Utsav at 6:30 on Sunday evening.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, hot and humid. Typical Chennai weather I guess. As I was walking to the consulate I kept thinking if I had done everything and taken all my documents needed for the visa interview. Oh no! I had forgotten to use deodorant. Oh crap, now I would ‘make sweat’ in front of the first American I would meet. I joined the long queue outside the consulate. There were people from all walks of life waiting to be permitted to live the American dream. I stood in the line thinking, not about what lay ahead of me inside the consulate, but how I was a sitting duck for terrorists wanting to attack the consulate. Any drive by shooting or grenade attack would have had me! Finally I reached inside. Safe! There was a security check, much more thorough than the ones we have at the malls and railway stations. I went to a document submission counter. The guy there was a pain. He kept asking me different documents and then by the time I had fished them out from my enormous file, he used to say he doesn’t need them. I guess he was checking how efficiently I had arranged my papers.

And then the climax, the interview. I was happy it was a lady as I could turn on the Charm de Daniel! Don’t know if that exists though.

Me: Good morning ma’am.
VO: Good morning. Documents and passport please.
[I handed them over and she began reading something on the computer. ]
VO: Is your father still in Kuwait? (On reading I was born in Kuwait I guess.)
Me: No ma’am he retired a few years back.
VO: Where are your brothers working?
Me: One is working ............ and the other is working ...........
VO: Could I see your GRE score card please?
[I handed it over. My GRE score sheet is in a bad condition.]
VO: Why is it in such a condition?
Me: (with a bright smile) It had got wet in the mail.
VO: How come?
Me: My score card had arrived during the rainy season when it rains heavily in Goa.
VO: Oh, you are fro Goa! Why did you come here then?
Me: I was in Bangalore for the past year and a half and the VFS site had mentioned that we have to choose the consulate depending on the last 6 months residency.
VO: OK Daniel, you are approved for the US visa
ME: Thank you ma’am!

So that was the end of the visa process. The whole thing lasted less than an hour, 30 min in the line outside, 2 min security check, 10 min document check, 5 min interview line, 3 min interview. I went out and hugged my mom. All the other parents there began asking me questions like reporters. I felt like a star. After taking a few quick questions we hailed a limousine, those yellow 3 wheelers, and went to our hotel room. I thank God for making the whole process so easy and tension free.

Questions are welcome in the comments section.

Full process in brief
1) Receive I-20 from university
2) Pay money at HDFC bank (Rs 7300/-)
3) Book visa date
4) Pay sevis fee ($ 200/-)
5) Fill all DS forms
6) Get financial documents ready
7) Visa interview

Chennai sight seeing

St George's Cathedral

Corporation building

The Application (‘Apping’) Saga – Why Did I Dare to Dream?

Pichle do posts mein apne dekha...... Ab aage!

Some miscellaneous items. Some universities require a rank form from your college. So check out the whims and fancies of each university. Some ask for financial certification. To put it simply, the univ wants to know whether ‘baap ke pass paise hai ki nahi’ so that uncle sam will not have to support you during your stay there. Typically you need to show finances for the first year which includes tuition fees and living expenses. This amount varies from university to university. Usually California and north eastern universities are expensive whereas Texas ones are cheaper. So how to show so much money. If you have that much money, well and good. If not, you have an option of taking a bank statement from some wealthy relative and getting a affidavit from him stating that he will sponsor your education.

So now you are ready to send your packets to the universities. Make packets for each univ consisting of what is required. You could save some money if you send all universities packets together to someone in the US who can then send the individual packets to their destinations. Packets can be sent by courier or post. I sent it by speed post. Yeah for once a government agency can be trusted to deliver.

You will also have to fill the online application form. This also can be annoying as each university asks for different things. UMinn asked for some diversity essay in which I had to prove I am different from other students and not too different so as to be considered abnormal. Gatech had four questions instead of the SOP. So don’t expect to fill all the forms in one sitting. Keep tea and music for the breaks. Don’t forget to make a resume which strictly talks about your research experience and academics and a short mention of your extra curriculars. Gold medals in the 4th grade and participation in elocution competitions should not be included. Also report your GRE and TOEFL scores to universities besides the ones you had already reported to.

So that’s it. Its over from India. Now over to the USA. After submission you will just have to sit and wait. The waiting period can be tough specially when your friends get calls and you don’t. I attributed my lack of calls to being out of coverage area and thus decided to change my cell phone service provider. You can keep yourself busy by mailing profs from the universities. You may have to make a webpage for the profs reference. You basically tell the prof how you can be useful to him in his work and whether he can offer you some assistantship. Of course you have to be more subtle. I will never finish this article if I get into the details of the ‘mailing profs’ act. You can also check for scholarships for graduate studies. I trawled the net for days. The only ones I came across and applied to were the NSF and the JN Tata scholarships. I also came across an ‘Education Advising Center’ during this search. You can contact them at 080-41251922 for help with the applications.

And then the last part. The results! It can be over-the-moon joy or heart-breaking sorrow. I thank my parents and friends for helping me cope with this roller coaster period. For instance when Stanford gave me a reject, some of my friends cursed Stan instead of agreeing with the fact that I am not good enough for the university. Now that’s priceless support! Finally you will have to choose one offer in case you have got multiple admits. I decided to take UMinn based on many considerations. So next up is the Visa process. See you same place for the sequel of the American Dream

Roll credits!

The Application (‘Apping’) Saga – The Dream Turns Tedious

Welcome back. Picking up from where we had left off, you will also have to decide whether you wish to pursue an MS or a PhD. That took a while as I was, and still am, not quite sure what I want to do in life. So I decided on pursuing an MS first up as that would give time to decide whether I am PhD material or not. Also I wasn’t quite sure of spending the next 5 years of my life in some place I have never seen and working under someone I have never spoken too. It sounded too daunting. Pursuing an MS would give me a feel of research in the US and help me decide my field of interest. Basically I felt I could make a more informed decision during the MS program. About leaving after your masters, in the case of an MS-PhD program. It is not ethical in the first place and secondly it is illegal in some cases. The university may not give your masters degree at all or may blacklist you from doing a PhD anywhere in the US.

Now for the stuff needed from your undergraduate institute. You will need sealed transcripts of your grades. That created some confusion for us, as the form had some weird questions. Problem was solved through emails and phone calls and two days of unwanted tension. The second thing needed will be reccos from your profs. Now that can be a pain in the wrong place. First you have to decide who will be your recommender. That decision is based on how well the prof knows you and what he will write about you. Rank of the prof is not as important as the former two points. How well he knows you, depends on the number of years he has known you, subjects taught and projects supervised. Fairly clear. Now the point is what he will write about you. That cannot be known as the correspondence between the prof and university is supposed to be confidential. You will have to trust him and hope of the best. You could do your part by not choosing your enemy as your recommender. But what if your favourite prof isn’t so kind and generous with praise for you in his letter?

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Is there any way to read the profs mind? Yes! Well not exactly. There is a way to read what the prof will say about you. You ask him for paper reccos for some universities. Ask for one university which you will not apply to, along with the required ones. Open that extra one and see what he has written. If he hasn’t written anything good, you can ask him to shove it up where the sun doesn’t shine. But that is not morally correct. Both, taking the extra recco and the shoving part.

Anyways I didn’t do this. I took all my reccos online and hoped for the best. Another couple of points on the subject. Approach the profs well in advance and if possible take the reccos before the rush season of November December. Different universities take online reccos at different times. Meaning some universities accept reccos anytime after you have started your online form while some accept only after you have submitted your form. So adjust accordingly. Maybe it might be easier to take paper reccos and send them yourself although some univs like Gatech and UTA have no paper recco option.

Now for the mother of all apping ingredients. The SOP! Well this statement or essay is supposed to talk about your research experience, goals, reasons for choosing that university etc. There are tonnes of articles on this and you can check them out yourself. I’ll just mention that the essay should have a ‘flow’ in a certain direction. It shouldn’t be random like the path of an auto in Bangalore. Also refrain from repeating stuff from your resume. Instead of describing your project, talk about what it taught you or what skills you acquired through it and how it is related to the field you’re applying to. All your projects should somehow appear related to your field. For example tomatoes and blood are related by the fact that both are red. Now the connection has to be stronger than that. Anyways I hope you get the point. As far as possible, the SOP should be customized with respect to length and content for each university.

Sigh! When will I see the end of this tunnel?

To be continued..

The Application (‘Apping’) Saga – The Dream Begins.

First of all, I thank God for all my results, the admits and the rejects. Without His help, nothing could have been achieved. I know He gave me the admits which are part of His plan for me. I also thank my parents for helping me, even when they had no idea what to do, for putting up with my temper and moods during those nerve wrecking days. I am also grateful to my brothers, friends, batchmates from BITS who are now my seniors, and the BITS2MSPHD forum for all the help and support right through the application process, which I am gonna describe in these series of posts.


Once you have decided that you wish to pursue MS/PhD in the US, go to the nearest book shop and purchase Barrons. For more info on GRE preps, please refer to my posts ‘My journey in getting 1560 in GRE!! :D‘ and ‘GRE=words+stupid words+crap+wtf+dumb formulae= madness!!!‘. According to me, it is best if you can answer the GRE and TOEFL by August of the preceding year if you are applying for the Fall semester of a given year. So try and book the exams in advance so you get the date, time and place of your choice. Booking is done online and you will need a credit card. Also decide on at least four universities you are sure to apply to, as you are allowed to report your scores to four univs on your GRE exam day. Don’t waste it as it costs $17 to report your score. I wasted one slot by listing UCB as one of the universities and ended up not applying to it.

A passing remark about TOEFL. It is a very easy test if you are reasonably fluent in English. But I got a pathetic centre, in the sense my exam was delayed by 4 hrs, the computer hung once, and then it took ages for each question to load. It spoilt my rhythm and by the end of it I was tired, hungry and frustrated. As a result I screwed my speaking part. It might be a good idea to take some biscuits or fruits along, just in case you end up with a similar predicament. Or maybe you could keep some pizza delivery numbers in your contacts. The centre was ‘Attest’ on Mission Rd, Bangalore. The second time round I took Christ College as the centre. Everything went smoothly, although I didn’t do very well in speaking again, as I was really nervous the second time. The decision to answer TOEFL again is in itself a long story and I will not go in to the specifics here.

As for short listing of universities, there is no hard and fast rule. I based my decision on rank, cost, chance of funding, research and profs in your field and opinions of experts, my project guide at I.I.Sc in my case. I also mailed many seniors at the univs to get info about the universities. Finally, I chose two dream univs, two mid level and two safe univs for my profile. It is really difficult to quantify your profile and the universities level of acceptance. There is no easy math that will tell where exactly you will get. Maybe you can go to a palmist or read your horoscope to help make decisions. It is really a mind numbing job. Of course you can apply to numerous univs to be safe. But each univ application cost $120 on an average. Anyways in my case Stanford and UIUC were my dream univs (both rejects), Gatech (admit) and Purdue (not known yet) were mid level univs and UT-Austin (Reject) and UMinn (Admit with aid) were my safe univs.

Now that you have decided your universities, start applying! First start applying to the ones that have ‘rolling admissions’. I am still not quite sure if such a thing exists. Basically rolling admissions is a concept in which applications are reviewed as soon as they are submitted and results are given soon after. So you have a higher chance of admission/funding if you apply early. In my list, UIUC, Purdue, Gatech and UTA had rolling admissions. I didn’t know Purdue had rolling admissions and ended up applying to it on the last day. Information about rolling or ‘stagnant’ admissions can be found on the university site if you read it thoroughly or ask some seniors. Now that the ball has been set rolling..

To be continued..

The wait for admits....

Now that the application process for MS is over, the anxious nail biting period of waiting for admits has begun. Even though most people scoff and say that someone with a profile like mine need not worry at all (thanks for the compliment btw), I still wait eagerly for that email confirming my admission to any one of the six universities that I have applied to. This wait was stressing me out because of many reasons. Firstly, this has got to be the biggest step of my life. Nothing else comes anywhere close, except ironically maybe the admission to BITS. Secondly, with all the talk about the recession affecting the admissions scenario in a negative way, I wondered if I had made a rather brash decision of applying only to the top universities. (The lowest ranked university in my list is University of Minnesota at 13) And finally, I had doubts about my application itself. Was my SOP good enough? Or have my profs given me good recommendations?

So with all these questions bothering me, I turned to God for help. I asked Him to give me the strength to overcome all these fears. I asked him to increase my faith in Him. Then I read these beautiful words.

"I thank God for the Mountains

And I thank God for the Valleys

I thank Him for the Storms

He has brought me through.

For if I never had a Problem

I'd never know there was a God

Who could solve them

I'd never know what Faith

In my God could do."

There is also this beautiful story about the footprints in the sand. This story is an epitome of God's infinite love for us. I have new found courage and belief. I feel that God will always do what is best for me. I may have big plans for myself. But God has bigger plans for me. If I get an admit, praise be to God. If I don’t, it may mean that I wasn't meant to have a career in research. Or maybe I was meant to remain in India, for a reason I do not know now. So I have decided that if I don’t get any admits, I will answer CAT and GATE for the following academic year.

This may result in me having wasted a year doing research in IISc. But what is one year compared to the long life I have ahead of me? Most people will think that I am losing valuable time in the ‘race of life’. But do these people know that you can never win a race, no matter how fast you run, if you are running in the wrong direction?

I have also learnt to rejoice in the success of others. Normally if someone had got or won something ahead of me, I would feel jealous and maybe a little angry with myself. But now it is different. I feel happy for others and see the positive side of everything. For e.g. when I learn that my friends have got some early admits from some universities, instead of feeling nervous, I see the positive side of things. Admits for my friends means the scenario is not as bad as people claim, which means that I, with a similar profile, will surely get an admit sooner or later

I may sound like a loser to the atheists, leaving my future in the hands of God. But until you experience God in your lives, you will never know the immense joy and comfort that only He can give you in this mad chaotic world.

My journey in getting 1560 in GRE!! :D

Well it feels so gud 2 write dis posts with the title mentioning i got 1560!! yoyo .. bhari!!! :P A note to all my fans who read my blog.. This blog is mainly fr ppl who r interested in answering GRE.. But all r welcome 2 read..

My preps started in march.. I started so long back fr 2 reasons.. First my initial date ws July2.. But i had 2 change it as i wanted 2 change d venue.. Second was that i used 2 b at office for d full day.. So max i used 2 get 2 hrs per day.. I started my preps by doin word power made easy.. it helps coz its nt as dry as barrons n coz it teaches u roots of words.. Then came the marathon excercise of word lists.. It really took me a long time.. N its sooooo boring.. Neways my strategy ws that i 1st did all d word lists as they are in d book.. n noted down all d words i found difficult.. So i made my own shorter word list.. I did that for a while.. Till i felt i ws fully confident wid 95% of d words.. Then in started wid barrons exercises ( dose 4 chapters jus b4 d WL).. After that i did all big book tests.. they help u learn 2 apply d words u mugged up wid so much love!!! Then last i did kaplan tests only.. n powerprep.. Bottom line.. barrons is a must.. coz stone cold said so!!!

For quant it really depends on ur math skills.. i ws fairly confident i ws gud.. so i didnt do much.. barrons is gud fr basics.. i did nova fr d counting n probability part as i felt i ws weak dere.. N dere is dis pdf on d ets site which is gud.. Also it depends a gr8 deal on ur application on d spot..

So that sums up my preps in brief.. Hope it helps all dose aspiring fr a gr8 GRE score..

GRE=words+stupid words+crap+wtf+dumb formulae= madness!!!

The other day i ws pouring some milk fr myself n suddenly true to murphy's law my phone rang.. N dat distraction caused d milk 2 spill.. I ws angry wid d caller n wid d mess.. then i tot.."It is fruitless to become lachrymose of precipitately departed lactile fluid." Dont be stumped!! All dose who answered GRE will b able to decode dat crap!! For my frenz who r still sane n hv nt given GRE, its d old saying dont cry over spilt milk.. N i tot 2 myself.. how much d word lists have taken over my life.. the other day i told my house owner ws scolding his dog.. i said to him.. "It is fruitless to attempt to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative maneuvers." ( You can't try to teach an old dog newtricks) He looked at me as though i spoke greek!!

Well dis is wat happens wen u hv to mug up 3500 words to study fr GRE.. an exam dat is used as a criterion fr admission to Engineering colleges in USA.. I must say its absolute torture.. why d hell is one supposed 2 knw dat pterodactyl was a flying dinosaur or animadversion means critical remark?? N the reading comprehensions tk d cake!! u get absolute nonsense on topics ranging from slavery in america to feminism in europe to god knows wat else!! It absolutely drives u crazy..

Then there is d math part.. now dis shud b an important part fr an engg entrance exam.. But wait.. most questions will b solved by ne 1oth std student!! things like list prime numbers between 20 and 30, or questions on pythogras theorem!! its hillarious to think dat dis exams is supposed 2 test ur math skills!!

Neways dere r jus 14days left fr my GRE.. then i ll never hv to go thru dis torture again!!!