Startups vs MNCs

“My love for mathematics was inculcated in me by my father. So after schooling, instead of appearing for engineering, I gave the BMath exam and started my Bachelor’s in Mathematics and Computing at Institute of Mathematics and Applications. I did not have a clear idea about a PhD but friendly discussions with some of my professors, who were fresh PhD graduates, made me aware of the opportunities in the field of applied mathematics. I love coding and I believe when you are coding, you are generally solving a problem. Therefore, I was more keen on applied studies than theory.

During my second year of Bachelor’s, I had the opportunity to go to IIT Guwahati for a mathematics training program (MTTS) and looking at all the facilities that an IIT offered, my mindset changed. It gave me the motivation to pursue a PhD.

I am highly interested in sports and IITs provide the best sports facilities. Therefore, I wanted to go there for at least a minimum of 5–7 years so as to avail those facilities, which was only possible if I pursued a PhD. One of my friends was a project staff at IIT Bombay. When I went there for my orientation at 10 in the morning, he told me that the first few hours weren’t so important to attend. So we had a nice lunch in the campus and I went off to sleep. In the evening, when I went to my department, I was asked for my registration number which I didn’t have. It was quite a…