Learning Stories

On Episode 55 of #LearningStories we chat with Piyush Jain on his journey from Engineering to Data science. He is an engineer by qualification who turned to data science by nature of curiosity. As a data scientist he enjoys playing with new technologies and identifying possible use cases in the real world. He has experience in finding insights in data using statistical, inferential and predictive analytics. He got a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Electronics and Telecommunication from University of Mumbai and a Masters of Science in Analytics and Data Science from Georgia Institute of Technology. He currently works as a senior AI specialist for a company based out of Singapore. You can find Piyush on Linkedin.

Show Chapters

(00:10) - Introduction and Background

(02:00) - Childhood Stories, Observations and Adventures

(02:30) - "I grew up in Mumbai and never travelled out much"02:40 - "I would segregate my life into three parts"

(02:50) - When and why did your family move to Mumbai?

(04:00) - What was your experience growing up in a city like Mumbai?

(05:00) - What did you learn from your family's struggles?

(06:50) - When did you first discover the world of computers?

(08:10) - What were your memories from your time at University for 5-6 years?

(09:20) - What was your daily life like during the University Years?

(10:10) - "My day would starts at 6 am and end at 10 pm"

(12:00) - "In my engineering I made a deal with my dad"

(13:30) - "I was not a A grade student but would just pass my engineering exams"

(14:20) - When and why did you start Homeforgeeks.com (side hustle 1)?

(14:50) - We created 'How To Guides' on all things technology on this website?

(15:35) - Why did your college professor reprimand you and call your parents in?

(17:50) - "My friends were the most important part of my journey at University"

(20:00) - "In 12th Grade, I wanted to become a doctor and not a engineer"

(21:00) - How did you learn about computers as a student at school and university?

(24:00) - What projects did you build in your first company?

(25:00) - "We started building websites for college festivals and events"

(26:15) - When and why did you start XORAVE (side hustle 2)?

(28:00) - "I did courses as and when I saw gaps in my skill set at college and work"

(28:10) - "I studied at NIIT, Udacity, Georgia Institute of Technology"

(28:40) - "My learning was focused on what I need"

(29:00) - How do you get a job after engineering college?

(29:50) - "Try to find an internship or job in your second year of college"

(30:00) - "I got a lot of job opportunities because of my first college business"

(31:40) - "I got a letter from Accenture and Infosys after college"

(33:35) - What did you learn from your first job after college in a Big 4 company?

(41:20) - What did you learn from your second job after college in a smaller startup?

(43:30) - Why did you opt for a Data Science nano degree from Udacity?

(43:50) - How did the Data Science nano degree from Udacity help you find jobs?

(46:00) - How did you find your third job from a Hackathon at IIT Bombay?

(47:00) - What is Data Science? How is it different from Engineering?

(51:00) - What was your experience pursuing an online Masters Degree in Data Science

(54:50) - "This was an online course and I did it at home while I had a baby"

(55:00) - What becoming a father taught you about life and work?

(57:00) - Closing Thoughts

On Episode 41 of #LearningStories, we chat with Jaikishaan Sharma about how an accident changed his life. He is an entrepreneur, digital marketer and mindset coach. He moved to Australia in 2007 and completed a Business Degree from the University of Ballarat. He then acquired 8 years of experience in sales and marketing and became the CEO of a successful Direct Sales Agency in Australia. But in 2015, Jaikishaan hit rock-bottom when he got into an accident and was bound to the wheelchair. With the support of his family he recovered from the accident and then founded Sharmatricks, Dream Chair Club and J’YUG Australia. He is here to share his story and you can find him on Linkedin, Youtube and Instagram.

On Episode 61 of #LearningStories we chat with Akshay Menon. He is a music composer, producer and pianist. He believes that music has the power to transport us to another time and place. Akshay loves to harness that power with a broad audience of fellow music lovers and passionate musicians alike and has found great joy and satisfaction in making music and sharing it with fans and people all over the world, with over 200 advertisements and innumerable music productions. Apart from being in the studio, producing music, he is also a trained pianist and has performed in more than 15 countries. You can find him on Instagram and Youtube and can listen to his music at https://www.akshaymenonmusic.com/.

On Episode 58 of #LearningStories we chat with Utsav Mamoria on Consumers, Travel and Content Creation. Utsav is a behaviour researcher by training and slow traveller by passion. He has built a successful career in the space of consumer insights/market research. But he dons many hats as he is also an Entrepreneur, Podcaster, Youtuber and long form Writer. He is also learning how to sketch, practice origami and mentor 100+ people towards starting their own content journeys. He has learned all this in the last 15 years while holding a full time job. His principle of learning is too err is divine. Utsav believes that the real joy of life is immersing yourself and going deep into things you enjoy, no matter what your age is or how alien the subject is to you. You can find Utsav on Substack, Linkedin and Instagram.

On Episode 40 of #LearningStories, we chat with Salil Bajaj about bootstrapping a small business in India. Salil has over three years of experience in the entrepreneurial world. He previously built a hiring company that achieved a revenue of approximately INR 2 crore within 1/1.5 years, securing deals with notable brands such as Swiggy, Jupiter, Lenskart, and Giant Eagle. Currently, he is focused on becoming a creator, runs Badaam Lessons as growth newsletter and building a newsletter company on a side. You can find him on Linkedin, Twitter and Substack.