This month, we’re shining the spotlight on MBS alumni Jhanani Ramesh. Jhanani received the Master of Business and Science (MBS) degree in 2019 with a concentration in Data Analytics. Before her time at Rutgers, she completed her bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering in Tamil Nadu, India. Currently, she works as a Data Scientist at Integra Lifesciences. In her free time, Jhanani enjoys reading blogs about the latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Why did you choose the MBS degree?
After finishing my bachelor’s program in India, I wanted to pursue my master’s degree. I was ambitious and wanted to do both an MBA as well as an MS even before I knew such a program existed. As I started looking for such opportunities, I found out about Rutgers’ MBS program with high ranking and decided to fulfill my dreams by applying for the program and was excited to be accepted.
I completed my bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering and hence opted for ECE concentration at Rutgers MBS initially. I was curious about big data analytics and ML models. Hence, I chose these courses as electives in my first semester but found my passion and switched to the Analytics concentration, which I thoroughly enjoyed during my tenure at Rutgers.
What do you find to be the most valuable aspects of this program?
I found the courses of the program tailored well to suit my interests and needs. To name a few of the courses,
- Python, Fundamental of Analytics, and Advanced Analytics and Practicum were excellent as they gave me hands-on experience on data science projects where I got to explore data and start predicting the outcomes. These courses introduced me to the world of Machine Learning and AI which later paved my path into my professional experience.
- Principles of Communication and Leadership and networking events have made me become comfortable interacting with people I am meeting for the first time and help me build team spirit. They created opportunities where I got to interact with people from other concentrations and hear their perspectives.
- Externships are wonderful opportunities to solve real-world problems of enterprises with guidance. They provide the best of both worlds, where one gets firsthand experience to resolve real problems with actual data, and at the same time, professors are present to introduce new ideas and new solutions to explore.
- The Capstone and Finance courses helped me to understand the other side of the company’s spectrum, such as research and development, cost, and expense-related aspects.
Overall, the MBS community is an interactive community where help is always provided whenever asked. It could be about course selection, internships opportunities, or networking. Support was always present.
What did you enjoy most about this program?
Networking events were always enjoyable as I was able to meet people who were from different concentrations and different age groups, with different expertise. We were always under one MBS umbrella which opened new conversations. I always felt energized and inspired after attending those events. These events helped me to become an ambivert from an introvert.
Additionally, the choice of academic projects was completely based on students’ interest. Rather than choosing from a list of options, professors were supportive of selecting projects that were associated with any domain as long as we could find the data. I enjoyed solving issues that were of interest to me in addition to learning new and latest techniques in ML and AI.
What has been your biggest professional achievement?
My ability to learn and adapt to new technology has helped me to become comfortable with the rapid growth pace of technology in today’s world. I believe learning new software and new programming languages every semester and completing a final project using those learnings fostered the confidence that it is always possible to learn anything complex or simple within a short duration of time, provided we spend enough effort to do it.
As I have learned that solutions should be based on problems and not based on the tools available, I enjoy exploring the solutions in various software and do not stick within my comfort zone. I try to keep up with the growing technologies and strive to provide the best solutions to help the organization. In addition, creating and training models to achieve required outcomes always excites me.
How has an MBS education benefitted you post-graduation?
My MBS degree is one of the primary reasons for working as a data scientist at my company. The technical concepts that I learned through the courses are utilized in my day-to-day duties at work.
I do not shy away from making acquaintances and I am at ease with interacting with people for the first time. I believe MBS networking events play a major role in making me feel inspired rather than exhausted after networking.
I enjoy being a part of a great community, Rutgers MBS.
Do you have any advice for current students?
First, I would like to congratulate students on getting into the MBS program. The following helped me; hence I am sharing with all to benefit others.
- Attend as many networking events as possible and not just the mandatory number. These help develop soft skills which are always a sought-after trait in industries.
- Start completing mini-projects. Hands-on projects or even replicating existing codes will help us to understand concepts much better than just reading about them. While trying out the code, we often face issues. We learn a lot while solving those issues, and those concepts tend to stay in our minds for longer.
- Externships are huge opportunities to understand the business requirements. They help us to understand the difference between completing a school project and working in an actual job. They allow us to gain the practical experience of working and presenting to the key stakeholders.
All the best to current students of Rutgers MBS!