Hi Everyone,
I want to apply for Masters in Computer Science. Can somebody help me to review below SOP for the same.
Statement of purpose
My name is Dinesh Ratanpal. I have 4+ years of experience as a Software Engineer with an under-graduate degree in Computer Science and Engineering from L.J College, Gujarat Technical University, India (May 2015). Throughout my career, I was driven to learn new programming languages which led me to secure Oracle Certified Java Programming (OCJP) certificates; both Associate and Professional.
During my professional career, I was able to grab every opportunity I could learn various technologies. Currently I am working as a Guidewire Configuration Developer. However, I have also managed to get a good knack over technologies such as Microsoft SQL (MSSQL), Javascript, AngularJS, Android and Web Services. I believe the knowledge I have gathered in this period is limiting me to work on a particular domain (Insurance domain). Hence, I intend to pursue my master's degree education in Computer Science program from University of British Columbia, where I can enhance my skill set in the field of Artificial Intelligence. I hope to get enrolled for the term starting as soon as possible.
In this era of technological advancements, a machine's ability to perform cognitive tasks achieving a particular goal based on provided data is revolutionizing. The most appealing part about it is to harness the boundless possibilities of Artificial Intelligence. From SIRI to self-driving cars, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is progressing rapidly in our day to day lives. While science fiction often portrays AI as robots with human-like characteristics, AI is able to encompass many things from Google's search algorithms to IBM's Watson capability to answer questions in natural language.
Lately, the World Economic Forum has brought the attention of the global community to the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in climate change. The study aims to present the application of AI in Environmental data modeling and sustainability with a focus on water quality and security. Keeping all of these facts in mind, I am genuinely interested and desire to minimize negative environmental impacts on all the life forms on the Earth by using Artificial Intelligence technology. I believe pursuing a Master's degree will bring me a step closer to my life goal of working towards environmental sustainability. Given an opportunity, I hope I can contribute to the state-of-the-art in fields like environmental monitoring, software development, cloud computing.
It was not a sudden thought of learning Artificial Intelligence. It has been a journey starting since my 8th grade when I was first introduced to fuzzy logic by my brother. It was right at that moment that I realized my personal legend. Eventually, I found out how different object-oriented programming languages are being used in almost every other field (software for medical science, e-commerce etc.).
During the first year of my undergraduate program, I started learning Java programming, built an Android emulator which I used to play some games and develop small scale applications by adapting different Java frameworks like Struts, Hibernate, Spring. Later, in the final year of my undergraduate program, I contributed to a team project on wearable technology. It was in the Initial phase where we were successful to record a human activity and send the details to either a watch or a mobile device. The project was built using Java technology which required a deeper understanding of object-orienting concepts. This lead me to secure OCA (Oracle Certified Associate Java Programming) certificates that eventually helped me build a foundational understanding of the language while applying the concepts in my project.
While shifting gears from being a student to an IT professional, I gradually started working on practical solutions that implement the theoretical concepts I studied as a student. In the past 4+ years, I have worked over a wide range of front end, middleware as well as backend Technologies. Not only was I able to gain technical but also functional insights of the projects. I was constantly learning software development life cycle (SDLC), agile methodology as well as project management processes to develop a high-quality software that meets or exceeds customer expectations delivered within the triple constraints of time, resources and cost estimates. I was able to understand the importance of System development, system integration and system management. This integrated learning experience assisted me in various phases of my career.
In the early years of my professional life, I contributed to a banking project and grabbed the opportunity to different banking concepts such as benchmarking, liquidity, equity risk to name a few. I worked as a full stack developer by working on different Back-End technologies such as Java, MicroStrategy Web SDK to front-end technologies like JavaScript, d3 library. In addition, I learnt how to store the data in data warehouses, normalize the data as well as write stored procedures using MSSQL. Meanwhile, I secured another Oracle certified Professional Java Programmer (OCJP) certificate which helped to understand business logic, applying data structures and object-oriented concepts into my projects.
In my recent years at Deloitte, I realized that even though having technical forte is critical but understanding the business, functional flow as well as the communication skills are equally important. This led me to understand the technical as well as fundamental aspects of the projects which I could effectively communicate with the business teams. I was able to understand different software development methodologies like Agile, Waterfall, prototype model to list a few. In addition, working on an insurance project, which involves Guidewire tool, helped me understand end-to-end flow of the project and how different Guidewire system like PolicyCenter, BillingCenter, ClaimCenter are integrated to work as a whole system. Of-course there were criticism and praises from time to time, but I always took them in a positive manner. By gaining enough experience, I started working as a part of Triage team which involves a team of 5-7 members where we need to respond aggressively to production issues. Apart from the regular project work, I had implemented accelerators to automate the system that would reduce 90% of manual intervention, which not only helped team members save their time but also helped me to enhance my knowledge by exposure to Web Services, Angular JS, Java, Gosu and MSSQL.
Although, I was able to acquire required knowledge by working on different software developing technologies. However, I believe it is not sufficient enough to bring an impactful change I am seeking. On the other hand, with all the possibilities that can be achieved through Artificial Intelligence, it has consumed my mind to learn how it is used for business applications but also is bringing a dramatic change in the lives of people. It is need of the hour to use Artificial Intelligence as a tool to bring a positive change, given the current situation of World climate and disastrous climatic impacts. Environmental science for instance, is one of the areas where machine learning is used to identify patterns that a human eye cannot detect. Another example would be of Agriculturalists, where they can analyze land use via remote sensing and satellite imaginary. Ecologists can apply machine learning to classify how new species or the old ones will respond to the novel environment. It would be a good question to ask how one can utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make best of renewable resources of energy to avoid pollution.
Concluding my letter with the verse of Swami Vivekananda who said and I quote that "The Success of a person depends on the right kind of education and the different experiences he gains throughout his life". I believe that master's degree at the University of British Columbia will not only help me gather knowledge of Artificial Intelligence and its various applications but also, I could gain the right experience which could lead me to fulfill my long term aspirations. It will be a major step towards achieving my goals and objectives. I would be grateful to you if I'm accorded the opportunity to pursue my master's degree at your institution.Holt Educational Consultant - / 14,835 
4783 Do not treat the statement of purpose as your academic biography. The presentation in this essay does not really relate to the requirements of a statement of purpose. What you wrote is more similar to a personal statement. So you might still be able to use this essay, if a personal statement is required. You can set this aside for now and adjust the content if the time comes for you to use this essay. In the meantime, let's work on getting you a proper statement of purpose.
Open the essay with a story. Something about an incident at the office that made you realize that your undergraduate training is sufficient for the job, but not sufficient if you want to continue climbing the success ladder within this career. This will be the hook for your essay. From there, discuss what the job, at its complicated point, requires you to do which you know you cannot accomplish without additional academic and technical training.
Next paragraph, discuss your relevant training as an undergraduate. Why do you think this training, added to your work related exposure, make you a good candidate? It would be better to indicate a relevant research paper you wrote during college and explain how you continue to pursue your research exposure and how you hone your research skills as a professional. Use evidence within the workplace or additional training given by the office to back up your claims.
Now comes the important part. Why did you choose this university? How do you see the university helping you achieve your 5 year career plan? Why do you think that the university can train you to achieve these career advancement plans?
The goal of the statement of purpose is to prove that you are skilled enough to complete the course you have chosen through your professional exposure, not so much your undergraduate and family background. So focus on the points that matter. Those are the points I tried to guide you in writing using the instructions above.
