SOP Sample for MS in Computer Science in the US - Early Career

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

"Change is the only constant." - Heraclitus

The stated quote resonates well with my belief and acts as my motto in all my pursuits. I am fortunate to be part of this exciting and eventful era where technology plays a crucial role in imparting a remarkable evolution to modern society. I have always been fascinated by the fact of how technology made life easier for mankind, right from replacing handwritten postal mails with emails to self-driving cars today. This piqued my interest, and I always wanted to be a part of this fascinating revolution.

Being an end-user of several software applications, I grew curious to know how they worked. This led me to pursue an undergraduate course from the Information Technology stream at the prestigious [UNIVERSITY_NAME] affiliated with [UNIVERSITY_NAME], from the state of Telangana, India.

Learning new things always fascinates me and especially those that involve logic in it. When I log into social media every day and witness it come up with some new features, what I feel is a sense of marvel. The user experience of the [COMPANY_NAME] website, [COMPANY_NAME], and [COMPANY_NAME] never cease to amaze me. I want to be at the forefront of these advancements, helping push the limits beyond what's already established. I believe I can be a significant part of this step of human evolution. Here are innovations that keep emerging not only technically but also hold infinite scope for creativity and logic. I feel a similar sense of enthusiasm when I see my code run successfully. It is this feeling, which to date, drives me to not give up on even the most difficult of problems. And it is this passion for programming, combined with my passion for digging deeper into the working of various applications and technologies, propels me to apply for masters in computer science.

During my under graduation, I sincerely enjoyed my subjects like Computer Concepts & C programming, Data Structures, Database Management Systems, Software Engineering, Operating Systems, Computer Networking, Machine Learning, and Data Mining. Combining the theory with greater emphasis on practical knowledge enabled me to do well in my projects throughout my undergraduate years till now. Projects provided me with a platform to augment skills such as problem-solving and develop additional skills integral to the future, such as critical thinking and time management. Subsequently, I participated in various workshops and hackathons, which helped me to boost my confidence. The participation in those workshops enabled me to gain more insights on technical skills such as python and Django, Cyber Security, including problem-solving techniques, and various optimization approaches, which all together helped me in various coding Hackathon events like [EVENT_NAME], [EVENT_NAME], and [EVENT_NAME] conducted by our college. I also attended hackathon competitions outside the campus. [EVENT_NAME] conducted by [COMPANY_NAME] in [CITY] is one of them. Coming to workshops, I attended a 2-day ethical hacking workshop at [UNIVERSITY_NAME]. This has helped me to know more about computer networks and hacking techniques.

My mini project is a web application known as "[PROJECT_NAME]," which helps farmers understand the current prices of each crop and gives them a suggestion of which crop is effective to cultivate given the time of the year and the type of soil. We have used an API (Application programming interface) provided by the government of India as an initiative of the Digital India Program to know the current prices of the crop. After completing my first project, the encouragement and the knowledge it provided ignited me to be further involved in other projects that would proliferate my skill set.

My next project, which was on Machine learning, is a simple deep neural network for character recognition, which gave me a good kick start into this field. Later, I developed a Model for summarizing the user reviews to ratings on a scale of 5 using LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) neural nets. As a result of this, my theme-based project in the seventh semester is on Internet of Things and Machine Learning titled "[PROJECT_NAME]," which captures the sensor data and ratings provided by the clinicians provide the ground truth for training and testing classifiers.

Having very much interest in learning new technology, I have enrolled in [TECHNOLOGY_NAME] technology. I was certified in CSA (Certified System Architect) and CSSA (Certified Senior System Architect) and completed the project as part of our final year academic project titled "[PROJECT_NAME]." It is a web application as well as a mobile application that provides laundry services for the customers. As there were very few websites providing laundry services, I thought of implementing laundry services at the customer's doorstep with a variety of offers and ease. It was selected as the best among the [TECHNOLOGY_NAME] Projects.

Having been offered three different positions through campus placements, I chose [COMPANY_NAME] and joined the [TEAM_NAME] team as an Associate Solutions Engineer in August 2020. It was difficult for me to understand the product at the beginning. Even though learning about the product was challenging, it was also interesting, so time passed quickly. Writing optimized code and debugging skills are two skills I have developed a lot. Through my debugging skills, I was always able to find the root cause of a SEV1 (severity one) problem. As a result of working on UI/UX, I received the recognition "Excellence with urgency" from my manager for collaborating with UI/UX team and delivering high-quality UI in the given sprint time. Working in [COMPANY_NAME] gave me a lot of exposure to the professional world and taught me how to handle complicated situations and collaborate with different teams. It also taught me to overcome challenges, work in a team and maintain a work-life balance.

While battling the global pandemic, I decided to aid people at the ground level. So, with a few friends and volunteers in my hometown, I used to host drives to distribute food packets to those in need. Initially, we accepted donations from our friends and well-wishers. We now have an Instagram page called "[ORGANIZATION_NAME]," where we receive donations and help as many people as possible. Recently, we have reached a milestone of distributing 10,000 food packets.

In my school days, I participated in several interschool competitions, including essay writing and sports. As a member of the [CLUB_NAME] and [CLUB_NAME], I gained public speaking skills. Reading, running early in the morning, and playing badminton and carroms are some of my favorite activities. Biking is also a favorite activity. Reading improves my concentration, and Life's Amazing Secrets and Ikigai are my favorite books. Sport has helped me be more disciplined and consistent in my life.

In my view, the human knowledge life cycle is as follows:

"Learning"—"Knowing"—"Sharing"—"Contributing"—"Mastering"—"Learning"

In my 1+ years of work experience, I tasted evermore satisfaction in contributing. I can learn and contribute a lot by earning a master's degree that will give me knowledge of the advanced concepts & practices, which will augment my competencies to a new level.

I have surveyed various research areas in the [UNIVERSITY_NAME] in Computer Science. After going through the university's website, I found a plethora of opportunities and research facilities in the Computer Science department. I feel your esteemed university can equip me with the tools and provide me with the right kind of academic environment to realize my potential and achieve my goals. I am specifically interested by the research programs being carried out by [PROFESSOR_NAME] and [PROFESSOR_NAME] in the field of Cyber security and Performance evaluation of computer networks respectively.

I am cognizant that studying at the [UNIVERSITY_NAME] demands hard work, sincerity, and Punctuality, for which I am equipped and ready. If admitted, I will contribute significantly towards bringing laurels to the university by participating in academics as well as extracurricular activities. I would be extremely grateful if given an opportunity to pursue my passion, and I thank you for spending your valuable time in considering my application.

[APPLICANT_NAME]