You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to become great. Read on as Nithin Shetty, our PGP-DSE alumnus unveils his story from quitting his job to learning data science with Great Learning to transition to a data analytics role.
1. Why did you choose this program?
I did my engineering in Computer Science before working for TCS for 19 months. I worked in Application Support at TCS where I had the chance to collect, process, and format data. We would then send it to the downstream team so that they can perform analysis on that. That was the time I got to know about Analytics in MBA, in certain IIMs and top colleges. So I thought I will take up analytics course, so I quit my job and wrote the CAT exam that year. But my CAT percentile was not good enough and that was the time I got to know about Great learning that they are providing a course in Data Science and Analytics. I decided to go for a Data Science course rather than a 2 year MBA. Some of my seniors suggested that the curriculum and the course content that Great lakes provided was very good. So I planned for the DSE Program. I shifted to Bangalore just for this course.
2. Did you consider any other options before enrolling for this program?
I heard about Aegis and other programs as well. But I Knew that Great Lakes has a B School and also well known for Data Analytics programs. All the professors are highly experienced. I had an interview for Great Lakes (for MBA) and that is how I got to know about Great Learning and about Data science course. I spoke to Karthik sir and was convinced to take up this course.
3. What did you like the most in the program?
The way the faculty explain the concepts is very good. They go deep into the topics and even now after I started working, I realized that I can better understand the core concepts than others. This made me more confident in my current role. I can say that Rajesh Jakotia had really helped us understand the concepts. He helped us understand and do the calculations by ourselves so that we get a hang of it.
4. How is the program curriculum/structure? How helpful was it?
Before this, I didn’t know exactly what analytics was. I just knew that we should shape data and get insights out of it. But after I joined, I got to know the exact process that how analytics works and how it impacts the business flow through algorithms, formulations etc. One thing that I like the most is that we get to access the videos whenever we want, for our reference or for clearing any doubts. That was the great part.
5. How is the placement support at GL?
First, we were very much worried because we are the first batch and we didn’t know the exact placement procedure. We were sceptical whether placements will be organized or not. We didn’t expect so many companies to flow in, we just thought that some 4-5 companies will come and most of the companies are pretty good.
6. What kind of job offers did you get?
I had offers from 3 companies Mahindra and Mahindra, Jana Finance and Kantar. I have opted Mahindra and Mahindra because the role is not restricted a particular domain and they are into multiple sectors and I get to learn from all those divisions. Mahindra is currently working on Artificial Intelligence as well so it will be a great opportunity to learn that as well.
7. How was the interview process at Mahindra and Mahindra?
I didn’t feel that the interview was that tough because of the rigorous sessions and learnings I had in the Great Learning program. We had some 3-4 days’ time before the companies came in so I went through the concepts well. We had a hackathon, where we managed to perform very well. After that, we had the code review and then the interviews. Considering the course, we were able to explain the concepts and algorithms better. That is what impressed the interviewers and they offered the role. I already started working on some interesting projects here.
8. Any advice to the aspirants?
Many people have approached me on Linkedin and I’ve referred my cousin to join the program and he will be joining shortly. Every class is important and you cannot take any class for granted. You have to give your best and work seriously on the mini projects. After every course, they will have tests and you get to know your areas of improvement.
