MSIT Was 'A Game Changer' for Me

By Pranith Reddy (MSIT '17)

Prior to my time at Northwestern University, I felt I understood the challenges a company faces, at least from a technical perspective. Moving forward, I was interested in understanding those challenges from a business point of view. I thought that having that knowledge would help me create better technical solutions for any organization with which I work.

That is why, when I learned about Northwestern's Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program, which has a 70/30 split between technical emphasis and business management focus, my first reaction was, "I have to apply to this program!"

I was impressed by the course offerings in the MSIT program. Courses such as Data Science for Business Intelligence, Marketing Strategy and Analysis, and Financial Management for IT Professionals caught my attention because I was interested in a data science and consulting career path.

The flexibility of the program and the curriculum was paramount for me. I was happy to be able to structure my courses around consulting and data science, and the varied options of independent studies, internships and Saturday classes helped me prepare for interviews and still focus on school work.

Today I work as a software engineer for machine learning and data science at Intel Fab, where my job is in the automation department. My day-to-day responsibilities involve automating processes using machine learning, deep learning and computer vision concepts. On a daily basis I find myself implementing concepts I learned in my data-focused MSIT classes.

As I look back at my experience in the MSIT program, it was both fulfilling and satisfying. The classes I took really helped me understand the "big picture" and see how data insights can impact a company from a business perspective. The core technical courses were very important to strengthening my skills, but having 30% of my MSIT courses be in business and management was a game changer for me.