Upskilling can be one of the best decisions you can make towards transforming your career. Read about Lenin Kumar’s journey with Great Learning’s PGP Machine Learning Course.
Why did you choose Great Learning to upskill in Machine Learning?
I started my career with TCS and have 7+ years of experience as a full-stack developer where I used to primarily work on Java, PL SQL, etc. I enrolled myself in the Machine Learning program. I joined this course to upskill and interact with peers (classmates) and faculty here for their insights and experience. I was looking for an internal transition in TCS following the course, but immediately after completing his course, I participated in the GL Excelerate Career Fair conducted in Chennai in December. Here I was offered roles by two companies; Merit Software Services and Tiger Analytics. I opted to join the latter.
Did you consider any other options before enrolling for this program?
When I was looking for programs, I had even applied for the National Institute of Singapore for the Data Science program, but it was costing me more than 30 Lakhs/ year even with the scholarship. So I decided to look for a program in India. Then I got a chance to go through the curriculum of the Great Learning program. What made me join this course was the fact that I didn’t have to quit my job to take up this course and simultaneously learn new techniques to upskill myself. I immediately enrolled for it with no second thoughts.
How did you manage this course with a full-time job?
It was challenging in the beginning, to manage both the job and course because I had to dedicate at least 4 hours daily to practice whatever is being taught in the weekend classes. Our major focus in the program is on Machine learning and Data engineering. As AI is a vast subject and my capstone project was mainly on AI and Deep Learning, I had to take up a few more online courses for my in-depth understanding before actually starting the capstone project. It was very hectic but manageable. Working on the capstone project was a value-adding experience.
What did you like the most about the program?
I liked the classroom atmosphere where I got to interact with good teammates. Some of the faculty were good at the concepts. Also, I wanted to interact with students and faculties which wouldn’t have happened in the online programs.
How did you get a job at Tiger Analytics?
I got interviewed by Tiger Analytics through one of the GL career fairs that happened in Chennai. I had almost five rounds of interviews with them and was tested on whatever skills I had mentioned in my CV and the projects that I had worked on here. After all the rounds, I was offered a Data Scientist role with around a 50 percent hike in my salary, for which all credit goes to Great Learning to help me avail everything possible with a click.
What advice do you have to offer for other aspirants?
The program covers up to 70% of industry-relevant topics, but the rest of the information you can try to get others through other online platforms. We have people from different backgrounds and experiences in the classroom. It is very difficult to make a curriculum that will satisfy everyone’s level of understanding. I even took up some online programs to learn some topics that I am not very confident with. Do not enroll in the program just for the sake of a salary hike. If you wanted to get rid of the outdated techniques and upskill yourself with the latest techniques, you have to give your best and get used to the hectic schedule and try to get the best out of the program.
For more such success stories, watch this space.
