Hey Reader,

Yudi here,

Quick question before you read this.

When you applied to your masters program - did you know exactly which companies you wanted to intern at?

Aryak did.

He wrote Tesla into his Statement of Purpose at Purdue MEM. Told the program director, Eric, during the admissions interview: "If you admit me, here's what my internship journey is going to look like."

9 months later - Tesla. Then Panasonic. Then Tesla again.

Zero prior work experience. Chemical engineering background. 2024 job market.

Here's what actually happened

The Purdue MEM Advantage (and it starts on Day 1)

Most programs wish you luck after orientation. Purdue MEM does something different.

Within Aryak's first month of landing in the US:

• Resume reviewed + refined before career fair season opened
• Interview coaching with Katie - STAR format, how to be concise, how NOT to ramble on "introduce yourself" for 10 minutes
• Career fair strategy - how to research companies, what to say, how to stand out
• Tesla Day - a dedicated session where Tesla reps came to campus, did Q&As, whiteboard problems with students

"Eric, Karen, Katie, Randy, Tyler - all of them are super supportive. When you enroll, you're already 80% ready. What they provide - it's not 20%. It's 50%."

The financial side?

Tuition is ~$45-46K total.

With 3 co-ops (~11 months of paid work at $30-60/hr), Aryak is graduating debt-free. ROI positive.

Before we move on to his job hunt strategy, I have something important to share.

The Strategy That Actually Worked

While people around him were sending 300+ applications a day, Aryak took a completely different approach.

Total applications across all 3 internships: less than 250.

Here's how he thought about it:

• Built a tiered list of 10–15 dream companies, 10–15 great ones, 10–15 good ones - before landing
• Tailored his resume for every single company (different bullet points, different focus)
• Only reached out to people on LinkedIn when there was a clear, specific reason
• Treated career fairs as research + practice - not just a place to get offers

For Tesla → cold application + Tesla Day prep + Purdue's established reputation with the company

For Panasonic → one direct LinkedIn message to a director: "I'm interning at Tesla. Panasonic is the logical next step for me."

That message became a call.

The call became an interview.

The interview became an offer at the brand new Kansas Gigafactory.

What He'd Tell Incoming Students

If you're applying to masters programs or just landed - here's Aryak's honest roadmap:

1. Be intentional before you apply

• Don't move to the US because "the situation in India was worse."
• Know exactly what you want from the degree, the internships, and the experience.
• Write it down.

2. Plan like a program manager

• Have 3-4 scenarios.
• Dream case to worst case.
• Know your Plan D before you need it - it's what lets you go fully after Plan A.

3. Don't mass apply

• It feels productive.
• It usually isn't.
• Fewer, better applications beat volume almost every time.

4. The JD is a cheat code

• The job description tells you exactly what they want.
• Use AI tools if you need help.
• Prepare answers to every point. Be short. Be specific.
• Make them want to hire you.

5. Take care of your body

• "I used to eat peanut butter every day because that was the easiest to make."
• Assignments, applications, classes, part-time work - it's a lot.
• Sleep. Eat. Talk to people.
• Reach out to advisors.
• Eric and Karen were the equivalent of family for him.

6. On backup plans:

• He had five. If no internships, TA. If no TA, dining job.
• If not that, learn to code at home.
• "Having these plans makes you feel - if this doesn't work out, I've got this. If this doesn't work out, I've got this."
• That's not pessimism. That's the thing that frees you to go all-in on plan A.

On rejections, he said something that stuck with me:

"You're going to fail sometimes. Fail horribly sometimes. Fail diabolically sometimes. It's just what you take away from it."

Coming from someone who went through the worst job market of recent years and came out with three internships - that lands differently.

If you're in the middle of the US job hunt, or planning to be - this episode is probably the most honest, practical conversation I've had with a student who's lived it from day one.

Watch here → Podcast Link​

Explore Purdue MEM → MEM Program Link​

And if something from this resonated - hit reply. I read every one.

Keep going.

- Yudi J