Get real-time information about University of Maryland from seniors who have gone through the whole process
Hi folks,
We are starting an AMA series to put you in touch with seniors who’ve been there, done that.
To kick this off, Rishi Jain - @Rishi_Jain - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishijn1 - who’s currently pursuing Masters of Information Management at University of Maryland will volunteer an hour of this time to field your queries. Before UMD, Rishi completed his BE in CS from Dayanand Sagar and worked as a Risk Analyst at Ernst & Young. Currently, he has secured an internship with Ernst & Young.
You can start asking your questions right away. Tune into this page at 10 am on Friday, May 17th to get your answers. See you then!
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Hello, Sir.
I am currently in Visa app process. I have got an admit call from University of Maryland for masters of info management along with one other option. I am curious about the internship criteria. I heard that it is difficult to get a good internship. Any suggestions?
Hi Rishi, how are you?
I am looking for admission in fall 2020. I completed my grad in 2018. Currently, I am working. I have heard about the MIM course of Univ of Maryland. How do you think I should go ahead with my preparations to get University of Maryland in my option list. As in, GRE score, minimum work experience. My GPA is quite average( 6.7). Can you give any suggestion so that I can improve my chances?
Hello @Rishi_Jain Sir, Good morning…
Is pursuing Masters in management courses a better option than doing masters in your own technical field? I am currently in my last semester of engineering (chemical), I want to go for masters course but still in dilemma whether i should management or continue with my field?
Hi @Saket ,
Congratulations on your admit!
Also, good luck for your Visa Application Process.
MIM at University of Maryland is a great course which would allow you to explore any specialization that you aspire for ranging from Data Analytics, Consulting Management, Strategic Management and more.
As also, the course has minimum of required core courses which further allows you to opt for electives from and outside the department of iSchool (which opens your options to all the courses across university, provided you get permissions and available seats). As also, MIM would come with a courseload which would allow you to keep a good balance of studies and other opportunities you want to lookout for.
In terms of internships, per my view, you will have to take an extra leg to prepare yourself, create a good profile, learn technologies with additional efforts you wish to intern for and network as well as apply with the best of your potential.
Univerisity of Maryland has a good brand recognition and they have a great career fair aswell which would be very soon when you arrive here, regardless, if you stand in any other university too, I have seen people getting good internships more by their efforts while being a part of UMD. In my current batch, almost everyone has secured an internship.
You can connect with me for any further questions.
Hope it helps and all the best.
Hi @Sharad ,
Great to know you are interested about the MIM course at UMD.
Since you are planning for Fall-2020, it is the right time to start with your research, preparations and make the best of your applications. As also, since you have enough time, strive to get good application materials ready and I would recommend to apply for more colleges which you could classify as your “dream universities” and make the choice henceforth.
I would suggest to get prepared and apply by the first deadlines of your listed universities which might share with you the most probable chances of admits, however, the further rounds would be equally opportunistic.
Since you understand your GPA could be a concern, I would recommend to study really well for a great GRE score to emphasize your profile. Start preparing for GRE, there are lot of resources which you can utilize and a good time for preparation before exam would be nice.
I would say your application materials which include a minimum of TOEFL score (check website for requirements), SOP (I would mark it is the most important of all), LOR and answers to the questions through the application would contribute majorly determining your acceptance.
I have my colleagues in current MIM batch having work experiences ranging from 0 years to more than 3 years, so that should be an okay factor for you, rather good thing that you have some work experience.
All of the aforementioned could be helpful and start on time, keep things going and you will be fine.
All the best.
Hi @Vibhor,
So before answering to your question, I would like to mention that I am not aware about how the career path can be best put together coming from a chemical engineering background and I would suggest you to connect with individuals who have pursued the similar pathway and have progressed further in their careers, you can find a lot of professionals on linked in and I am sure they would be happy to share their experiences.
Coming down to MIM course and specific to University of Maryland, although you can choose from a variety of specialization, but it needs to be understood that this is a professional management course and will allow you to deep dive into subjects which relate to your masters program and if you intend to learn professional studies about chemical engineering I would recommend you to go for similar masters of the study, to be sure you can understand how good the university and the particular course is and you might want to connect with a couple of seniors who have made their way the same way to guide you better.
Management Masters is more to understand how you can infer, understand and articulate the information through different courses like Data Analytics, Project Management, User Experience, Visualizations and many more, where you would learn aspects of management.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Hello,
Is MIM better course than MBA in terms of job opportunities?
@Rishi_Jain
Hey,
I have six years of work ex…Do you think it will affect my chances in US Universities?
Hi @Kanupriya,
MIM is a Masters of Science course of Information Management which you will find with different names in different universities and it would stand same difference as any MS would stand against MBA.
MBA is a professional course for Business Administration which has different set of requirements, scope and job lookouts than a Masters of Science level program.
It would be righteous on your end to have an indepth understanding about how MBA works and what kind of roles can be offered through an MBA, which I am not the best person to share insights about. However, I would say that MIM program is of a kind which can definitely give you an exposure of potential MBA subjects, still, as you ask for job opportunities they would definitely differ in terms of positions and roles.
MIM will allow you positions of technical roles, management roles, analyst roles, consultant roles and various more depending upon industry.
For more details on MIM, please lookout on my previous responses and get more knowledge on MBA before you move forward.
You can connect further if you have more questions about MIM. All the best!
Hi @Avneesh,
It would depend on the course that you are applying for as well as the university. Historical stats about any particular that you choose would give you a better insight about the same.
As far as MIM at University of Maryland is concerned, I believe you already have more than an average count of years of work experience and you should have a brighter chance for your application process.
All the best.
Hi @Rishi_Jain,
Could you please provide more insights on the current job scenario for MIM at UMD ?
Hi everyone, thanks for all the engagement so far.
Hi Rishi, for context, could you share your academic and professional profile, when you applied to UMD?
@Rishi_Jain
Thanks for the reply. I will try to connect with some one who has done the same. Can you suggest me some online forum or any service… It will be a great help.
Hi @Anuja,
I am in the batch joining Fall 2018 batch where nearly everyone of us have secured good internships with good companies like the big fours as well as data driven companies.
Likewise, the batch who joined in Fall 2017 are now graduating and many of the people from the batch have secured their full-time opportunities already which includes conversion of their internships/co-ops to full time from good companies and desired positions, as also through career fairs and also those who are shifting from industry and profile they interned but looking out for different work positions now. many are continuing through interview process and hopefully would get one soon.
I believe, from the previous batches, all got secured with a good full-time position and they have been doing well. Regardless to mention that you will have to put in additional efforts to get those opportunities through your networking efforts, profile building, getting shrewd on technologies you learn and other factors which can be under our control.
Positions which you can lookout are Data Analyst, Business Analyst, UI/UX Expert, Strategic Management Professional, Professional Consultant and many more as you can explore through the course specializations.
Hope this would be helpful.
Hi @jainesh.sinha,
Thanks for sharing this opportunity. Sure, would love to share about it.
For the purpose and as a portfolio, in addition to my response below, my website could be a good representation of my academic, career and professional progress. All are welcome to visit and connect further.
Link : www.RishiJain.info
I completed my Computer Science Engineering from VTU affiliated college in Bangalore which helps me with a strong backing on technology front here when I have chosen Data Analytics specialization and I have taken up courses at MIM which allows me to perform data analysis, analytics and other activities using multiple platforms and languages including Python & R which are mostly utilized (this is specific to DA track which I have opted, MIM stands flexible for all).
Completing my undergrad, I moved ahead with a full-time opportunity with Ernst and Young, GDS practice as a Risk Analyst where my job was to perform Risk Analysis, Quality Control, Control Testing and various IT Audit related tasks for US Based Banking Sector Clients. My work experience at EY was something which closely aligned to my field of interest and hence MIM was a good choice for me to come forward with since it allows you to take up courses which enhance your analytical skills, data management front as well as other aspired aspects.
While applying I made sure of the below points:-
- I started early and managed time between my work, GRE preparations & application documents to get ready.
- I got a GRE score around my targetted score which was helpful. A good GRE score would be 310-315 and more.
- TOEFL please make sure you get the minimum requirements else, although not me, I have seen some of my friends having to mandatorily take a lame English course which gets you little disturbing and make your sem1 little bumpy, re-apply for TOEFL if you do not match up and get it cleared before coming here.
- Get your SOP to the best of preparation, I worked with a known professional for guiding me through it and it worked out really well for me, so give in your best for SOP.
- LORs get them with multiple people from university and work offices if you can. 2 or 3 should be enough.
- MIM application process would ask you some more questions through the way, answer with the best of your abilities.
That’s it, get set and come to UMD, MIM is a great course and you’ll find some really interesting opportunities on campus to help you learn, sustain, explore and grow better.
Hi @Rishi_Jain Thanks so much for answering our questions! I am a bit confused whether these courses are synonyms of each other: MSIS, MIM, MIS? Did you consider these other course options and what made you select MIM only…?
Thanks for that comprehensive overview!
1 Like
Hi @Vibhor,
No problem. Hope you make the right decision. As I mentioned, I am not much aware about how it goes through the chemical engineering industry, however, if I were you, I would start off with Linked In and connect with people I might see myself 5 or 7 years down the line and get on a quick call to understand the facts.
For more platforms, I’m not much sure about it, if @jainesh.sinha can share some guidance, it would be great.