Statement of purpose
The early man who communicated through cave drawings ever thought that communication would advance to this magnitude? Telecommunication got its first breakthrough with the invention of the telegraph and has been evolving ever since. In the last two decades, the world has experienced tremendous advancement in telecom field. The current generation is witnessing the implementation of 5G technology with speed up to 10 Gbps whereas DSL provided a speed of a mere 56kpbs in the year 2000. The seamless integration of electronics and software advancement contributing to an exponential growth of Telecommunication Sector, this is what sets it apart from the rest of the engineering courses that were offered during my undergraduate studies and the growth potential for this field is what motivated me to take up telecommunication as my undergraduate major.
At the beginning of my course, the subjects were more inclined towards mathematics and fundamentals of electronic and communication devices. As the semesters progressed I slowly started to connect the dots, in the final two semesters subjects like Computer networks, Wireless communication, GSM, Network Security, Adhoc networks and Optical fiber communication caught my interest and the practical application of the subjects increased my curiosity to delve deeper.To further explore my interest in computer networking I went through rigorous training under Mr. John Baptist, a Network expert with triple CCIE(R&S, Security, and Data), with his able guidance I acquired extensive knowledge and hands-on training on various Cisco routers and switches. After completion of training I was well versed with routing, switching and network management protocols and also on WAN technologies.
After my training I was selected for an internship at “Intuitor Softech Services” as a network intern. Intuitor is an IT company that provides network solutions and support to various Indian & International clientele and it was a perfect platform for me to apply my knowledge and understand the roles and responsibilities of a network engineer.After proving that I had the caliber to take on more tasks, I was made part of another project of Vodafone. I was excited to be a part of the team being the consumer of the network myself, I was curious to learn behind the scenes of the network. I was given the responsibility to monitor a complex network of routers of Vodafone used for routing calls across the cities of Rajasthan state in India. It helped me understand as to why MPLS VPN is important to achieve fast and secure routing in such complex and large deployments. During this project, I was assigned as NOC for monitoring of the network.Substantial exposure to the practical environment and meticulous preparation helped me achieve “Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)” after which I was offered a full-time job for the position of Network Engineer L1. I was given the opportunity to work with an international client General Datatech (GDT), Dallas Texas. GDT conducted online interviews and formed a team comprising of Intuitor & GDT Employees, I was delighted to be a part this overseas team operating from Bangalore India offering 24/7 network support in tandem with US Team. I am proud to say that I picked up a good work ethic working with my team in Dallas as a part of the 24*7 shift.
With a strong foundation in networking and work experience in the telecommunication industry, I was determined to move ahead by equipping myself with a Master degree. Pursuant to this objective, I decided to apply for a master’s degree in Telecommunication at George Mason University. The diverse curriculum at your university which includes SDN, cloud, networking and programming languages combined with access to state of the art lab facilities will enhance my professional skills and lead me towards attaining my career objectives. The skillset I gain through the Masters Program along with my drive and passion for Telecom field will help me ahead in shaping my career.
After graduating with a Masters Degree from your university, my ambition is to work with next-generation technologies and implement them in the rural sector in my country. As a millennial of developing India, I strongly feel the need to be the part of the ongoing development and achieving its objective of transforming into a developed country. With SDN and network virtualization along with cloud being the catalyst in revolutionizing telecommunication, I would like to be a part of this change by acquiring the knowledge and required skillset to contribute to “Digital India” and help in empowering rural India and also contribute to smart city development for better livelihood and sustainability.
Sincerely,
Namrata Rao