Graduate / Statement of Purpose - University of Southern California (MS-CS) [3]

My overpowering anxiety to march ahead and a matching urge to acquire a practical orientation to whatever interested me propelled me to take up an employment after my under graduation. As a result, the past three years have not only been a test of my perseverance and patience, but an invigorating learning experience through a blend of leading market trends, theoretical concepts and practical work. I feel that my hard work has more than indemnified me by providing me a solid foundation in terms of hands-on experience and domain knowledge. I am grateful to my employers Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd. and JDA Software who took me on as a raw hand and polished me well into a cogent software professional.

My family, being well-educated, infused in me the value of quality education from a very early age. With family members in engineering professions who became my role models, I have always been motivated to develop an in-depth understanding of concepts, which helped me to maintain an excellent academic record throughout my schooling. My first encounter with computers was when I studied Basic in class 3rd which was soon followed by MS-DOS, C, C++ and SQL.

Pursuing my strong interest in information technology has over the years enabled me to develop keen analytical and reasoning skills. Through the course of the four-year Bachelor of Technology program in Information Technology at the prestigious UP Technical University, I acquired an overall perspective of this scientific discipline, with a particular interest in Software Engineering, Object Oriented Systems and Programming languages. Data Structures, Database Management, Mobile Computing were some of the other domains that captured my attention. My hard work and engrossment in the subjects kept me in the top two of the department and translated into passing the course in I-Division with Honors. My immeasurable interest in Mobile computing prompted me to make a seminar presentation on "Touch Screen Technology". In this presentation, I illustrated the mechanism of different types of touch screens available in the market, including usage, advantages and disadvantages of the technology. My presentation generated considerable interest and turned out to be among the best in my class.

I also involved myself in numerous projects - a mini project on Web based Resume Builder application using JSP, Java and MySQL for automating the process of Resume Writing; a major project on Employee Cubicle Management system using Java, SQL Server, Java Applet aiming at tracking and having the view of the cubicle and the person sitting in it. Apart from the projects undertaken in college, it was my desire to gain exposure to the software industry and this prompted me to take up training during summer of 2009. I joined HPES (Hewlett Packard Educational Services) to intensify my knowledge on J2EE. As part of my final assessment, I submitted a project on Stock Trading System using JSP, Java and SQL Server, which supported portfolio management, charting and quote storing of stocks.

After completing my graduation, I joined Accenture as an Associate Software Engineer where I worked for a leading stationary retailer based in the UK for 2 years in the Application maintenance team. My job responsibilities included enhancement of the current functionality of Oracle Retail Applications (Retek merchandising system and Retek Demand forecasting system). I received innumerable appreciations for my diligence and quality work that got me my first promotion to Software engineer after 1.5 years of employment with Accenture. After completing two years in my first account, I engaged myself in another project for UK's leading home base retailer. Keeping up with deadlines, presentations, meetings with the team members and the client imbibed in me a high level of professionalism that provided me an onshore opportunity in Milton Keynes, UK for 2 months to receive knowledge transition. My responsibilities in the account comprised of organizing KT sessions, continuous learning, preparing knowledge base articles and cascading my knowledge to the offshore team based in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi for 8 Supply chain and Retail based applications from JDA, VeriFone and Arigo.

After completing 2.5 years in Accenture, I joined JDA Software as Technical analyst - Intermediate for working on Red Prairie - Warehouse Management System for multiple clients from EMEA, AMERICA and APAC regions. As part of the corporate services team, my liabilities encompass of handling root causes and defects in the standard product for clients like PepsiCo, DHL, CEVA Logistics, Frito Lay, Primark and many more. Having worked on multiple accounts and applications, I gained extensive functional and technical knowledge.

My hectic schedule at college and my work place did not deter me from participating in extracurricular activities that have helped shape my well rounded personality. I have participated in many sports events like Badminton and Cricket and received several certificates. In addition to these, I also participated in Pinkathon (5K Women Marathon) organized by Maximus Events which focuses on women's fitness and health; specifically aiming at breast cancer awareness. I have a deep interest in writing as well. I write blogs which are mainly based on fiction and slice of life genres. Presently, I am working on a white paper for Supply Chain Conference organized by IIM-B, India's pioneer Business School.

It is after doing an objective analysis of my work and achievements that I have found Software Engineering to be my field of utmost interest. The state of the art research facilities along with the guidance from the distinguished faculty members in the University of Southern California makes it an ideal platform for research. After a profound study of various research programs in the Department of Computer Science, I found that works of Prof. Prof Boehm Barry align with my interest. The papers on 'Evidence-Based Software Processes' and 'Some Future Software Engineering Opportunities and Challenges' provide a panoramic view of the kind of research being done by the Software engineering faculty. I would be delighted to be a part of his research team and be able to contribute to their work.

Although I possess industry-hardened skills in software development and maintenance, only an academic environment can help me to achieve my goal of undertaking cutting-edge research in Software Engineering. I am certain that stimulating research environment in University of Southern California combined with my industrial and academic experiences and sincere efforts will not only help me in achieving my career objectives but will also allow me make a significant contribution to the research at the University.

Thank you for considering my application.