SOP-Computer Science (why Masters, Projects, Current State, Why U of IL)

Please review this SOP. I am an electronics graduate and want to pursue Computer Science

Why Masters?
Evolution is a part of animal, plant, human being and Technology. From communicating through pictures carved stones to gestures, from manually controlled machine to clock driven automated systems we have experienced evolution. Dedication, hard work and the ability to concoct various field of engineering, science and other related and unrelated fields has favoured this technological evolution process. My evolution as student also has had similar characteristics.

My student life was carefully guided by my parents. There was always an emphasis on good education. My parents being graduates have always wanted me to have better qualification than them. With time and experience this teaching has taken shape. I have understood the importance of education and more importantly the need of being an able student rather than being only academically correct.

Why Computer Science?
I carried teachings of my parent to my engineering days. With a very high percentage in my high school and entrance exams I chose electronics engineering. First year had subjects from various field and I observed myself attracted to computer related subjects. The computer bug was blooming in me and I was taking great interest in Computer Programming. To enhance my computer skills I took a course in Java Programming Language at National Institute of Information Technology.

In those days I would rethink my decision to join Electronics Engineering. I even tried to change my field to Computer Science but due to unavailability of seats, I couldn't. I thus decided to excel in Electronics and have the capability and skills equivalent to a computer Science graduates. I took every opportunity to participate in activity related to computers. This would vary from online programming task at website like codechef.com to quiz in technical festivals. Masters Program in Computer Science with proper guidance from your University will further enhance my career prospects in the field of Computer Science.

Projects
To give justice to electronics engineering and to ensure that I have capability of pursuing computer science in future, I would take up project that had an amalgamation of both. In my second year I took a course at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in robotics primarily to understand how software and hardware interact with each other. The course had little to do with hardware and was more about getting started with programming the microcontroller.

I then pursued another course with a broader span of knowledge base, Embedded System, under Dr. Y.S. Rao. A project during the course required me to implement a data logger with Atmega8535. Using its ADC and an external memory simultaneously was challenging. This is because in order to use external memory, it has to be interface at ports of ADC. I took up this challenge and obtained a software solution to it. My algorithm ensured both data were in sync. My key take from this experience was that software can help mould the hardware as the project requires. Since then this has been firmly embedded in my mind.

My Electronics course required me to use various programming languages and software. I required learning C/C++, MASM, MATLAB, SciLAB and libraries like OpenCV. Apart from the course I learnt JAVA and currently I am learning python. In the third year Prof. K.T. Talele chose me for a core algorithm project to be implemented in MATLAB. The project required me to recover a distorted speech signal. Since it was a very big project, he asked me to give a base for it. I devised an algorithm which would use the properties of sampled data. My result and conclusion was appreciated by the professor, who is teaching and researching for about 18 year. It helped me gain confidence in my ability to research.

During the Electronics workshop in the third year, I worked on a group project to make an obstacle avoiding robot. I must emphasize that the robot had the ability to avoid object and also return to its original path after avoiding the obstacle. I took up the task of programming the microcontroller. After the project I independently designed a computer interface (JAVA) to control the robot using mouse and keyboard. This project helped me understood the importance of having an effective interface.

My final year project was PC based Multi Touch System which was used to control robots remotely. This project was one of its kinds in our college and among few ever developed in India. I had proposed this idea to my group. I got an enriching experience while working in a group and handling members who had no knowledge about the project. The project has made me more mature with group tasks. This was my major JAVA project that I implemented after learning it. My experience with zigbee protocol was also enriching. The use of multi touch system with augmented reality was the most interesting part for me. The project was given ovation by both heads of various departments and the Principal of college and now I am in the process of publishing a paper on this project.

What am I currently doing?
After my graduation I had two job offers. One form JP Morgan Chase and other from Tata Consultancy Services. I chose JP Morgan Chase and joined as an Application Developer. I am proud to be only one from the Electronics Department to be selected for the job and to be among the only 8 graduates selected elsewhere. In the short period of time, I have understood the importance of effectively working in groups and to coordinate work. I have also learnt many other technologies that I couldn't during my engineering days. I am working on UNIX, J2EE, Spring framework, iBatis framework and Message queues.

Along with my job I am working to improve my multi touch table. I had started a gesture library earlier and now working through my weekend on it. I am simultaneously working on modifying the table to be able to detect people and object. This is going to be a challenging task as I am working on it without guidance from any expert.

Why Computer Science at University of Illinois?
The fact that research is being carried at the department in the field HCI, Visualization and programming languages and Software Engineering sufficient for me to apply to the program. My research interest in HCI has deepened after the fruitful result from my final year project. I am inclined to tangible interface with gesture recognition. I am confident experienced faculty, like Thomas Huang who is a distinguished figure in the field of Human Computer Interaction, will be able to give right perspective to an enthusiastic individual like me to a right professional career. My interest also extends to how computer, especially tangible and speech based system can improve the process of education. The presence of ORCHID centre and Applied Cognitive lab has given me confidence that I am pursing right program at a right university.

Programming languages has been close to my heart for a long time now. With the experience I have had at JP Morgan Chase in design pattern and automation task, I believe I have a strong base to contribute to Software Engineering.

Other reasons I would like to attend UIUC is that it has great employment opportunities after my master course. UIUC spends about $28.5 million on research; I consider this important because during my final year project I have experience financial constraints for the project. I am confident that these advantage combined with my will to succeed will be a boon for both the university and myself.

Thank you

It seems strange, (and almost offensive) to capitalize technology and not the other things listed. :-)
It is better to just not capitalize any of it.


"An able" is not as good as "a capable" but that is just my opinion.

Is this supposed to be plural? "parents"
I carried teachings of my parents to my engineering days.

My first year had involved subjects from various field and I observed ...

My Electronics course required me to...----here, it is okay to capitalize because the name of the course is a proper noun. so this is good.

You did a great job with this essay. I look forward to seeing a few threads where you help younger essayists to write professionally, like you do! Welcome to EssayForum! :-) I want to mention also that it will be great if you give the reader a clear goal to keep in mind and associate with you. It does not have to be a major life goal, but it has to be specific. Something to help the reader know you. In 2 or 3 parts of this, it would be good to mention the same interesting goal. And ... look at the end here:

my will to succeed in (name of interesting goal) will be ...

You are already impressive! So, all you have to do is attend to interestingness. :-)