IT or Core?

Homi Raghuvanshi ('23 Graduate EEE Pilani) worked in both the IT and core electronics sectors in notable companies like Texas Instruments. Two Quills reached out to Homi to learn about her experience and the factors that influenced her to pursue a role in the IT sector.

JPMC Quant Mentorship program for women 

Homi was accepted into the JPMC Quant Mentorship program in 2020. Since it was only the second time the program had been introduced in BITS, only a few people knew the pattern. Only second-year female single-degree students and third-year female dual-degree students from specific colleges were eligible. Two to three students each from top IITs, BITS and DTU were shortlisted.

The pattern of the selection process

Questions from fundamental computer programming, probability and statistics, mental ability and aptitude-based questions were asked. It was a proctored exam and had a time limit. One must be adept at problem-solving to fully utilise the allotted time. No explicit questions from Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA) were asked. The results were announced shortly, and the second and final round took place in March. The second round was a case study based on financial topics such as derivatives, probability and statistics. It tested the analytical skills of the candidate and the ability to explore a specific problem statement. 'It was an intensive task as it was linked to a lot of topics, and I learned a lot from this round.' said Homi.

After being selected, Mr Srujan Yara was allotted as a mentor to Homi and 2 other BITS students throughout the one-year mentoring program. Mr Yara is an alum of the 2017 batch and is presently the JPMC Quantitative Research Team Vice President. The program tried to pair students with an alum of the same college as mentors.

The mentorship comprised Teaching, Coding and Leadership Sessions. The teaching sessions included concepts of finance, linear algebra, probability and statistics, as well as essential stock market concepts required for quant. While the coding sessions were aimed at beginners, the leadership connect sessions were really motivational and encouraging.

Homi recalls one of those sessions where Deepti Bhatija, an executive director, spoke about the industry and the prevalent employee culture.

"I recall someone questioning her about her thoughts on diversity hiring and whether women deserved to be hired through diversity recruiting. Are they actually capable of their role? What she said that day really impacted my perspective on diversity hiring."

She said girls are usually nervous and shy from applying to roles that they think are qualification-intensive. She gave us an example: "If a role demanded A, B, C, and D skills, and the girl had, say, only skill A, she wouldn't consider applying, while a boy with the same skill set would consider applying for the role, given how open they are to give it a shot. And, while talents B, C, and D are specified as recommended skills, they are not essential in most circumstances. So, it would make little difference. She went on to suggest that private corporations, which are primarily profit-driven, would not recruit anyone, regardless of gender, who they felt would not offer value to the organisation. They employ based on who has the most potential for growth and leadership inside the organisation. She encouraged us to trust in ourselves and realise that we had earned it. We, as women, are capable of doing the work and deserve to be where we are. Overall, it was a very inspiring workshop."

The interviews for summer internships were held in early July. DSA and strong coding abilities were essential. Although she was not selected for the internship, it was at this time that she started preparing for DSA. Quant interviews usually do not expect expertise in finance. They need you to be extremely good at problem-solving and coding. Good quant puzzles can also be asked. For the summer internship, candidates with a computer science background who are proficient in DSA are preferred.

Experience working in core electronics

Homi also interned at Texas Instruments, which was an on-campus internship. Since she was well-versed in her core subjects, she had no trouble preparing for the internship. Homi says, 'One needs to be good with the basic fundamentals of Electrical Sciences, taught in the first year. Apart from that, one needs a good understanding of BJT, MOSFET, and Analog CMOS Design (not too deep). For core interviews, it's not about the extra knowledge. They need people who are strong in fundamentals. What you learn in college is not exactly what you work on, so the least you can do is to be clear with core concepts. In the interview, they asked some mental ability and behavioural and situation-based questions. I answered them really well.' 

On being asked for advice for interviews, Homi says, "Don't be nervous. When you're comfortable with your interviewer, you can think clearly and answer confidently. I messed up interviews when I was scared or felt underconfident. You need to be smart enough to make them feel you are good enough for the company."

Experience and work at Texas Instruments

Homi worked in Testing in the validation department and had to work on application development in Python. She said, "The work environment was really motivating. It was more like a startup than a corporate company. I may not be the best person to say this because I haven't worked before in any other startup, but each department worked like an individual startup, striving to make an impact in the overall process."

Homi was also allotted a 'buddy' whom she could contact anytime in case of doubt. Homi had the option to pursue her internship either online or offline. She chose the former as it allowed her to prepare for her placements. Despite her internship being online, she did not take it 'lite' and worked for as long as nine hours while preparing for placements in her free time. She recalls that it was both challenging and stressful but it helped her grow as an individual.

Why did she choose IT over Core?

Homi was offered a PPO after her tenure as an intern at Texas Instruments, but she decided not to take it. "It was an amazing workplace, but I did not see my growth there. I could not visualise the product that I was working on, and I could not see the immediate impact. I felt better when I saw a program execute before my eyes, somewhere I could see results immediately." While she enjoyed working with the team at Texas Instruments, Homi felt she could have more opportunities to grow in an IT company.