From BS to MS

A journey more dangerous than a trip through the amazon. One month of my visit to the United states is over, and i have yet to start studying seriously. A grave error or not, time will tell. But one thing i can say is that i have continued my attitude from B.S in India to M.S in USA. This, i can surely state, is a dangerous play.

My first assignment is due on monday, and as is a habit with me, i opened it today, saturday, to look at the questions. As usual, i had no clue, so proceeding with my habit, i opened my book to learn and continue to finish the assignment. ok, i open the book…., give a secong glance at the first question…, find the topic in the book…, read the theory part…,and get back to the question to complete it…

Now, what am i playing at?!!!! The professor has asked for a program, in a language he has never taught, but one which the students are supposed to know to answer the questions!! Hmm… so next step is to learn the language…, which is btw Fortran used in CFD… Hehe, easier said than done….learn a language in one day and complete the problem?!!!… lol, so my attitude as usual makes me close the book, open the laptop, check my mails and the next thing i know… i am writing my next blog, for the first time in a month!!!

, So this is MS till now. What i have realized is that, i can’t just relax till the last minute. The approach towards studies is the more important player here. I have to learn a lot of extra stuff, to understand the stuff that i have registered to learn.

So, for now, i will close the laptop after finishing the post, open the goddamn book, study the theory part, analyze the question and come up with an answer, utilize the entire of tomorrow, which is sunday, to learn Fortran, write the code, run and debug the program, get the damn answers.. take the printouts and submit the answer sheets to my dear proffesor, who awaits it with a face similar to the Indian god of death, who sits with a smiling face on his vehicle, the bull, awaiting his next victim.

Bye Bye from Iowa

My Visa Interview

United States Of America. A land where dreams are realized.

But i never dream. So why am i going there. To tell you the truth, no idea. Just that some university named Iowa State University has offered me an admit to do a Master of Science Program in Mechanical Engineering. What that is , i don’t know, but it involves a hefty sum, which i will try very hard to reduce.

Anyways, everyone says the first step after being admitted is to obtain the visa. Hell boy, they do forget to mention the fucking amount of tension that is mounting till the very last moment that the golden words are uttered “Your Visa is Granted”.

My Visa Interview lasted about 45 secs to 1 min

VO: Good Morning Sir, How are you ?

ME: I am fine, thank you. How are you ?

VO: Good. Thank you. Pass me your folder.

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VO: So, why Iowa State University ?

ME: Master’s in Mechanical Engineering.

VO: What’s you Under graduation aggregate ?

ME: 72% without back logs.

He seemed impressed, no idea why. But then i was lucky as two guys before me has 37 and 10 backlogs respectively.

VO: What are you going to do after that ?

ME: I am going to come back to my India and work in the industries. Learning the knowledge of improving the industrial processes is my main aim, as the processes followed in many companies are either redundant or outdated.

VO: So, who is funding you

ME: My parents and i have also availed a bank loan of XXX. ( Told my parents annual salaries to evade further questions about financial resources)

VO: All right Sir, I am issuing you the visa. It will mailed to you in 3 days time. Enjoy your stay there.

ME: Thank you

And i came out with all the documents with which i had gone in sans the passport, which i duly received after 2 days.

I guess the only worrying factor about the visa interview should be the amount of backlogs. Apart from that, a straight face should do the trick.

M.N.M.Jail Engineering College

TC – Transfer Certificate. Its the receipt to freedom. For me, more specifically, its freedom from M.N.M.Jain Engineering College.

Lets accept the facts. No college requires its passed out student’s particulars for a long time. No alumni would ever want to return to this college every other day. So when both sides want to stay apart at such distances which can be measured in units like only ‘light years’, why is it not happening in our dear old institution.

My department, which is mechanical, has 9 laboratories. The number is not even close, but they want to show that they have some labs. And then, the only 9 professors which my department consists of, are made in charge of one each. Each passed out student is required to get a signature from each lab in charge, stating that he doesn’t owe the lab any thing(Also called as No Due). The joking fact about my dear department is that, we are being forced to compulsorily submit a book to our department library, which is one of the above mentioned labs. Only then will the in charge sign.

I had gone to my college on Wednesday. This in charge didn’t sign since i refused to donate books. So i went to the HOD.

Me: Sir, I require a sign from the in charge of dept lib, but he is not putting his sign.

HOD: Why

Me: Sir, I am refusing to donate a book to the lib. Hence the problem.

HOD: So donate a book and get his sign.

Me: Yes, but i don’t have books. So i can’t and hence refuse to donate.

HOD: But without donation, we can’t sign.

Me: I cant possibly go buy a book and donate it.

HOD: So i can’t sign

Me: Ok, so what is the next step.

HOD: (Quiet)

Hence i took up the matter with my principal, who immediately called the HOD and informed him of the difference between ‘mandatory’ and ‘obligatory’. Ok first hiccup parched. However i ran out of time and the prof ran out of college and i couldn’t get his sign.

So i went back on Friday. The respective in charge was absent. So i went to the HOD.

Me: Sir, i have to get a sign from the prof in charge of the Dept. Lib.

HOD: Ok.

Me: Sir, He is absent. I request you to sign the form on his behalf.

HOD: I don’t understand you.

Me: I am asking you to sign the form instead of the other prof, who is absent. It will ensure that i can collect my TC today.

HOD: Who are you to tell me what to do.

Me: I am not telling you what to do. I am asking you whether you can sign this form instead of the other prof. This will help me collect my TC today, so that i can go for my Visa Interview in peace. I have my Visa Interview on Monday. So i urgently require the TC today.

HOD: Again don’t tell me what to do. You come back on Monday, and if the prof is present, get his sign and then only come to me.

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So i left. I will go on Monday hoping for the presence of the one guy who can sign the goddamn paper which will help me to collect mark sheet. And that day will be added to this post.

I next intend to publicize the pathetic condition this college is in. I would require the help of all the former students, as well as the current students, to help me out in this regards. Only such actions from concerned seniors will help save the college.

Harish Subramani B.E

September 27 2004

Can i forget this date, month and year? Well, not for the time being at least. That was the first day of college, a sort of an orientation program followed by a march towards our classroom and to our first lecture.

May 22 2008

Can i forget this date, month and year? I think i will. Viduthalai (freedom). From Misrimal Navajee Munoth Jain Engineering College, Thoraiapakkam, Chennai – 600097. The day i was confirmed a Mechanical Engineer.

A four year interval. What have i achieved. I have added about 10 kilos, lost touch with my favorite sport volleyball, and have had no female interaction. The only plus point is that i am a Mechanical Engineer from Anna University. But then it is the only point which matters. So no qualms.

What really disgusts me? I don’t know. Is it that i am from Anna University and not IIT or NIT? Or is it that i am a Mechanical Engineer and not a software engineer? Or is it that i am an engineer and not a mathematician or scientist?

Perhaps I would have enjoyed Mechanical Engineering if i had got in IIT. Or i would have enjoyed the software stream. The third question is would i have ever enjoyed any engineering. Maybe……

But a certain deadly formula is the only thing i have learnt in the last four years.

Engineering + Mechanical + M.N.M.J.E.C = Four Miserable Years

But like a phoenix, I will be re born from the ashes and proceed with the truth that I am an Anna University certified Mechanical Engineer.

Mech. Engineer’s Identity-less

After hearing several comments from my friends that my blogs are a bit one dimensional, i have realized the necessity of writing on another topic. But the dilemma i had for the last few days was to decide the topic. I mulled over various topics ranging from automobiles to movies to education in India, but have eventually settled for the one topic about which i should seemingly be knowing a lot, but in truth know very little about. Ya, off course, I am talking about Mechanical Engineering.

Some would say, including my own classmates, that it is quite an interesting branch of engineering in a very good college. But hell, after four years of struggle and hardships to just attend college and exams, i feel like having wasted what could have been four fruitful, knowledge harvesting years of another enjoyable life.

Hmmm… What am i saying? I haven’t attended classes from 2nd semester to 6th semester. 7th semester was a tiring schedule with me preparing for and writing GRE and TOEFL and also applying for admissions to universities for a Master’s program. 8th semester in currently in progress with another 5 days to go but having no idea of when my project at TVS Brakes India Ltd. is going to be completed. So looking at the stats, you would be wondering what makes me say that Mechanical Engineering is such a waste of time.

But at the end of four years, I would like to keep those reasons to myself. But if any budding mechanical wannabe dares stray into my blogs archive and stumbles upon this particular blog, let me make a few notices for them before they enlist themselves in this vast but uncivilized field.

Mechanical Engineering is not only about automobiles, but contains a lot more like Thermal sciences, design and industrial management to name but just a few. If you are a loving car or bike enthusiast, then its better if you can go and join automobile engineering and completely immerse into that field. If you love drawing and designing, I thing B.Arch would be a better option. For learning Management subjects, we have the recently popular Industrial Engineering. Thermal Science is a topic which will obviously be covered in automobile engineering. And Manufacturing Technology has a own engineering field for its own.

So my question is simple. If we have a specialized branch for each subject that we learn, then are we just the replacements for every specialized engineer? What is our ‘OWN’ field in today’s world. Where can we say that we have the most important say. Are we what they call’The jack of all trades but the master of none’.

Frankly i don’t know the answer to this question. I am inviting comments from readers of this article, who can help me to realize the importance of what i am studying and my role as a Mechanical Engineer in today’s world.