00- Back to the Future: My Journey from Tech Pro to Academia and Back Again
Ever wonder what it looks like when dedication meets opportunity!!
Say hello to Tanushri Nayak, who launched into the tech sphere straight from college, securing a coveted position during an in-campus job interview in her third semester. As a college topper with a B.Tech in Computer Science from West Bengal University of Technology; now known as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, this ambivert yet ambitious woman didn’t just enter the tech industry; she sprinted into it.
Navigating Global Tech Landscapes: From India to Switzerland and Back
Tanushri Nayak’s journey took an exciting turn in Switzerland, where she was thrown into the deep end with IBM’s WebSphere Operational Decision Management (WODM) at Credit Suisse. Amidst the high stakes of finance and technology, she not only mastered an unfamiliar technology but also honed her skills in sales and high-level client management, quickly becoming a Subject Matter Expert (SME). Her ability to adapt and excel in this challenging environment showcased her proficiency and quick learning capabilities.
However, all good things come to an end, and as her visa concluded, she returned to India, where she transitioned into a project involving predictive analytics. It was here that her fascination with the possibilities of AI began to burgeon, sparked by her interactions with IBM Watson. This growing interest in artificial intelligence, coupled with her innate studious nature, propelled her to pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science—embracing academia once again in her 30s with unwavering enthusiasm. Navigating the demands of a full-time job and the bustling whirl of life’s other responsibilities, she tackled the GRE, achieving an impressive score of 311—a testament to her dedication and resilience.
Throughout her early career in the 2000s, Tanushri experienced the dynamic nature of tech development in India. Developers were often rotated across various projects post-production delivery—a practice aimed at cost-cutting, which serendipitously enriched her with exposure to a multitude of technologies, fortifying her adaptability and tech versatility. Her experience spans a wide range of platforms and technologies, including Java web services, IBM ESB, MULE ESB, IBM WMB, and others, each contributing to her broad technical skill set.
Embracing Advanced Academia and Pioneering into Data Science
Fuelled by an enduring zeal for knowledge and a burgeoning interest in artificial intelligence, our tech enthusiast embarked on her next academic adventure in the United States in 2018. At the prestigious State University of Buffalo, she pursued a Master’s in Computer Science, immersing herself in cutting-edge research and innovative practices in the realm of Data Science and AI.
The shift to academia was driven by her fascination with the potential of AI to transform industries and her desire to be at the forefront of this technological revolution. During her master’s program, she not only excelled academically but also plunged into research with fervent zeal, aiming to harness AI’s power in practical and impactful ways. Facing peers in their 20s, fresh out of university and fluent in the latest programming languages, she embraced the steep learning curve with resilience. Despite being a newcomer to R and Python, she not only mastered these languages but also excelled in crafting algorithms designed to deliver assignments with optimal time complexity. Her journey was not just about learning but about competing at the highest level, proving that passion and perseverance can bridge any gap in experience or knowledge.
Resilient Journey Through Academia and Personal Challenges
This dedicated scholar’s academic journey took an unexpected turn when she began a PhD program, aiming to deepen her expertise in AI. She furthered this exploration by initiating her PhD research, focusing on Algorithms in signal space for long DNA reads, a topic that delves into Metagenomic DNA classification of long DNA reads from modern portable DNA sequences. Alongside her intensive research, she embraced opportunities to engage in teaching, serving as an assistant for 2 courses, one in Programming with Ocaml and other in Data Science, where she further honed her skills and shared her knowledge with eager learners. In her first semester, she also worked part-time in the campus cafeteria salad shop, a role she found to be tons of fun and a great learning experience in a different spectrum.
As she delved into these demanding and varied roles, her path was abruptly disrupted by the global pandemic in 2020, which brought unprecedented logistical challenges. It necessitated a return to India during a critical time. Amidst battling these hurdles, she made the difficult decision to pause her PhD studies.
Her resilience shone through as she fought to reunite with her husband in Switzerland, navigating complex bureaucratic processes with determination. Undeterred by the twists her career and personal life took, she returned to Switzerland, determined to reforge her path in the tech industry.
Current Focus and Future Aspirations
Now, this resilient woman-in-tech is focused on reconnecting with the tech community in Switzerland and finding new opportunities to apply her advanced skills in Data Science and AI. In 2022, she further bolstered her expertise by completing an exhaustive three-month Data Science and AI bootcamp at Le Wagon Zurich, equipping her with cutting-edge techniques and tools in the rapidly evolving tech landscape. Open to diversifying her contributions, she is also well-equipped to engage in software development and consulting roles, leveraging her extensive background and expertise to drive innovation and efficiency in various tech domains. She is particularly interested in projects that blend AI with practical applications, aiming to create solutions that are not only innovative but also sustainable and ethically responsible.
Her blog serves as a platform to share her journey and insights with a broader audience, inspiring others who may be contemplating a late career shift into tech or academia. Passionate about the transformative power of education and continuous learning, she might be a beacon for those looking to navigate the complexities of re-entering the tech industry after a hiatus, whether in emerging technologies or more traditional tech roles.
A Personal Touch
Outside the world of algorithms and analytics, Tanushri finds joy and inspiration in watercolor and acrylic painting, bringing vibrant colors to life on canvas. An avid hiker, she relishes the summer months exploring Switzerland’s majestic landscapes. Traveling with her husband, she embraces the adventure of discovering new places, enriching her perspective and fueling her creative spirit. In quieter moments, she cherishes diving into novels, losing herself in stories that span genres and worlds, which complements her journey of continuous discovery and learning.
P.S. Wondering why I’m talking about myself like I’m not in the room? No, it’s not because I suddenly developed a royal ‘we’ complex—although that would be an interesting plot twist, wouldn’t it? I’ve chosen to write in the third person because it makes telling my story a bit like narrating an epic adventure—minus the dragons and the mystical quests, unless you count debugging as a mystical quest (which, let’s be honest, it kind of is). So, bear with me as I recount the tales of my tech journey from a slightly less ‘me’ perspective!