Name: Sanchit Gupta
Role at VMware: 2014 VMware Intern on the VMkernelteam
University: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Pursuing Interests & Passions
I am now finishing my computer engineering degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. However, I didn’t start off as a computer engineering major; I initially joined the university as an electrical engineering major. When I was pursuing an electrical engineering degree, my coursework included electronic circuits, signal processing, semiconductor physics, E&M, and other similar classes. I took some computer science courses on the side as well. The class that really pushed me to what I am pursuing right now was the Systems and OS course. This class introduced me to the internal workings of a modern Operating System and I even got to write my own kernel from scratch! This class helped me clear the interviews for the VMware kernel team. I really enjoy working on systems and followed up with courses in advanced distributed systems, networks, and real time systems. I am now doing research work in distributed systems, specifically large scale cluster scheduling.
Landing a VMware Internship through Social Media
Social media is a great tool for students to connect with university recruiting teams across the industry. In just a few short clicks, students can connect with a large number of recruiters in the social space. This empowers students to connect with teams and companies beyond the ones that show up for career fairs on campus. Moreover, it allows for an informal conversation between the student and the recruiting teams. Finally, using websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Piazzaenable students to create their professional brand online, which is key in the job search process.
Facebook actually helped me land my internship at VMware. One day, I wrote a message to the VMware University Relations teamexplaining my past experiences and my interest in kernel work. I got a reply from a member of their team within a day. It was the fastest response time I ‘ve seen so far from a recruiter in the social space. I was then set up with a series of interviews with the VMware kernel team, and as they say, the rest was history.
An Insider’s Look as a VMware Intern Prodigy
The VIP (VMware Intern Prodigy) student ambassador program is a great way for students to connect with former VMware interns to get an inside look at VMware, its culture, and the experiences they made while on campus. A lot of the times students miss on the opportunity of meeting and interacting with a company’s engineers and representatives just because the company isn’t active on their campus. VMware’s VIP Program helps bridge this gap by conducting fun activities like Fuel for Finals, coding competitions, VMware Tech Talks, and more on campus at various universities. This program was a great way for me to give back - like sharing some of my favorite memories, including the trip to Angel Islandin San Francisco, where the 2014 VMware Palo Alto Intern Class and I had the opportunity to enjoy loads of games, island hiking, and food & drinks, while making new connections with my peers on campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
Advice to Students Looking for an Internship
There are two factors that play a key role in landing a great internship:
1) Networking– Interacting with new people helps create more opportunities for an individual
2) Experience – Hones a person’s skills and makes them a better problem solver
Being active on social media, attending career fairs and information sessions, meeting recruiters, and connecting with peers are all great ways of networking. Students should take part in various industry-sponsored events, such as hackathons and coding challenges to meet various company representatives and engineers. Also, participating in activities with student-led organizations (like ACMand IEEE) helps students to connect with their fellow peers.
The best advice for gaining more experience and increasing a person’s knowledge base is to take classes that appeal to them, work on projects, and take part in research. Learning from professors, who usually are the best in their fields, exposes you to new and cutting edge work being done in the field. Working on research and co-curricular projects sharpens your problem solving skills and makes a person more hands on.
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from vmwarenews.de , Original Post Here
