The toughest decisions in life are when you have multiple choices. When Sownthiriya, our PGP-DSE alumnus decided to learn data science, she had multiple choices to choose from the leading institutes to become a data scientist. Read on to find out why she considered Great Learning as the ideal choice.
1. Why did you take up the DSE Program?
While I was doing my IT engineering degree, I came across a Business Intelligence elective. My friends and I were very interested in it and would discuss current trends which led me to be interested in data science. I wanted to learn more about data science outside of my college, but I took up a job with Accenture because I was advised that it would look good on my resume. I worked there for 9 months, and it was a monotonous job because it felt like I was doing technical support, even though I was supposed to be an Application Development Associate. Great Lakes is a renowned institute in Chennai, and they offered a 5-month program (unlike Manipal’s, which was longer) I decided to take up this program.
2. Did you consider any other programs before enrolling for DSE?
I considered Manipal, Jigsaw and Edwisor’s programs but almost all the programs are exclusively online. I had even paid the application fee for Manipal’s course, but I did not take it up because I wasn’t sure if I would be a regular in attending an online course.
3. What did you like the most about the program?
The Great Learning advantage is very apparent now that I work in this industry. Each module was a week long, so each topic was covered in-depth. The program has imparted skills which I feel are far superior to people who have 6-7 years of experience in this domain, because we are able to explain certain parameters and interpretations better than them.
This program gave us access to industry experts who guided us about real-world applications of what we learnt. I’d like to specially mention my Capstone mentor Ms Sowmya, who is a BABI alumnus. Her guidance really helped us put into context what we had learnt in the past 5 months. I’m working for Mahindra now, and everything she guided us through is helping me in my reports now.
4. How was the program curriculum/structure?
The program is well-designed and the curriculum is based on real industry requirements. Everything from the basics to in-depth concepts are covered in the program.
5. Were you satisfied with the career & placement support?
The mock interviews that were conducted helped us learn about how to crack real interviews. I was interviewed by Mr Alok Tiwari who’s a BABI alumnus working for Flipkart, which was eye-opening for me. His pointers helped me get shortlisted in many companies such as Mahindra and Mahindra, Kantar, Jana Small Finance Bank, HPE and Merkle – Sokrati. The group assignments and career workshops also were of great help.
6. How did you get into Mahindra and Mahindra?
I had three offers from Mahindra & Mahindra, Jana Finance bank and Kantar. I did a lot of ground research as I have relatives in this field. I chose Mahindra and Mahindra because they just started an analytics team and there’s a lot to learn. We cannot master everything in a 5-month program, so I wanted to work somewhere where I can learn as well as contribute. I didn’t want to go anywhere where everything is already in place. It’s like a start-up environment with job security.
7. How did the program help you in getting into Mahindra & Mahindra?
I give credit to the program for teaching me all about Data Science. In the interview, the first round was the aptitude test, after that, they had conducted a hackathon which was very similar to what we did in our classroom. After the hackathon, I had given one technical and one HR round and then was offered an Associate Analyst role. For now, I am using Qliksense, R and python in this role.
8. Do you have any advice to other aspirants?
You will be leaving your job and taking up the program, so you will be benefited only if you give a 100% effort. Faculties are there to connect to everything and we have program office available also. Make use of everything and get the best out of the program. If I have any doubt, I used to clear it then and there, which helped me a lot.
