Here’s a true story. And it happens on 1 faithful night during the wee hours… when I was inspired to write a statement of purpose for my Msc Georgia Tech application.
I am currently an analyst, working in Korn Ferry Institute, a research and analytics arm of Korn Ferry. At the same time, I’m ‘juggling’ my work-study-life balance as a Part-Time student, studying Post-Graduate Diploma Computer Science in University of Adelaide.
I started out in Economics Discipline. First, as an Economics undergraduate, then I entered the workforce as an Economist in Singapore’s Public service. I never coded seriously till then. During my time in Public service, I was exposed to sophisticated Economic Models, text analytics projects that required serious programming skills in VBA, Python and R. It was during this time when my interests in programming were piqued.
I started immersing myself in computer science through MOOC, but felt that that it wasn’t sufficient. In the end, I bit the bullet and enrolled myself in University of Adelaide’s Part-Time Program. I’ve never looked back since then.
Computer Science discipline allows me to structure my code in an efficient way. Prior to taking computer science, I was paying little attention to the efficiency of my code. But after going through the arduous computer science program in University of Adelaide, I started paying more attention to the complexity of my programs; started writing more functions to ensure re-usability of my programs on a larger scale.
If I’m fortunate and given the chance to be a student of Georgia Tech, I intend to specialize in Machine Learning. It complements my existing knowledge in Statistics picked up during my Masters in NUS. In addition, I’ve immediate chance to apply what I’ve learnt in my current job, particularly in the area of Psychology and Organizational Behavior.
As a busy professional, Georgia Tech’s Part-Time program provides the best of all options - in terms of cost, flexibility without sacrificing the rigor of a University Program. I sincerely believe I’ve the tenacity and self-discipline to complete the program as evident in my past 4 years as a Part-Time student studying Msc Statistics in National University of Singapore and G.Dip. Computer Science in University of Adelaide.
My greatest impression of Georgia Tech came when Former President, Barack Obama praised the quality and affordability of the program during his speech in 2015. It never left me. Understanding that matriculating in the program requires background in Computer Science, I started building my foundations towards it. I do hope I’ve done enough!