This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sushma Kukkadapu, a 28-year-old software engineer in Bentonville, Arkansas. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I grew up in Hyderabad, India, where I got a bachelor’s degree in computer science. In 2018, I came to the US to pursue my master’s in software engineering at UT Arlington.
I started working for the AI labs at Sam’s Club, which is owned by Walmart, in November 2023. I work on innovative automation, developing advanced forecasting computational solutions that transform financial forecasting, real-time system monitoring, and security compliance. Before Sam’s Club, I worked at Amazon Web Services.
As an immigrant, I faced complexities in immigration and cultural adaptation, and I also had to build a professional network from scratch. I found four techniques that helped me design my career path to gain internships and then my full-time career.
1. Be proactive and start building your career as soon as possible
I volunteered at my university to set up a booth at the Grace Hopper Celebration, a major convention for women in computing where people come to find internship opportunities and network. I received a partial scholarship to attend the career fair, and my university paid for the trip expenses.
I secured my summer internship at McAfee by talking to a recruiter there who was also a graduate of UT Arlington. We connected, and I shared my journey with her. She loved my story and gave me an opportunity.
You need to start early during your first year of college or grad school. Talk to your university’s career counselors and ask them what kind of scholarships and career fairs the universities represent. Can I volunteer there? Can you give me a scholarship to attend a certain program?
That way you can kick-start your career and seize an opportunity.
2. Find networking organizations relevant to you
Groups such as the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers hold careers fairs. Attending these can bring networking opportunities and, in turn, help secure internships and job offers. That’s how I secured my summer internship in the Bay Area and how I first got industry exposure in the software domain in Silicon Valley.
The following year, I received a scholarship through the Grace Hopper Celebration, which offers student scholarships for women worldwide. It’s a highly competitive process that involves writing an essay, and pitching why you deserve the scholarship.
I was selected for my second year to attend GHC free of cost, including accommodation and flights. That’s when I realized the true potential of networking, which could lead to important job offers.
3. Try cold emailing, and don’t wait for opportunities to come to you
Prior to attending GHC and other conferences, I cold-emailed the LinkedIn professionals who I knew were attending the conference. This helped me make connections and get into the interview pipeline faster.
I also talked to recruiters before attending GHC. This got me two rounds of interviews with Google Summer of Code, and they did my last round there in person before I landed the internship.
You must not wait for opportunities to come to you. Instead, a short message through LinkedIn, X, or GitHub can help you take a huge step forward.
4. Make the most of open-source technologies
Open source is a real buzzword in tech, but there are a lot of programs being developed on open source, where everybody can contribute to the code. That means the code is fully open to the public and people can plug their own solutions into it, tweak it, develop it, and build it to make it more useful.
I worked on several open-source contributions because they helped me write code at a more sophisticated level, which helped me have strong work experience on my résumé, which helped me land the Google internship.
Companies such as Lyft, Google, Apple, Microsoft, BNY Mellon, and others invited me to conference afterparties because I showcased my work as part of an open-source contribution on my LinkedIn. Recruiters looked for this and reached out to me.
Open source-contribution helps you develop your skills, expand your knowledge, demonstrate results, and build your industry contacts.
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