Bharath Thippireddys Blog

Thanks to my Cousin Ramakrishna Tippireddy for sharing these details and his experience. He did his graduation and masters from India and is currently pursuing his PhD from the University of Southern California . The Important First Step Before you get started with the application process, it is important for you to be clear on why you want to do your PhD. Once you are clear start researching about your areas of interest and search for the Professors and research groups working in those fields. Contact the Professors with your CV and express your interest in their work. If they like your CV they may show special interest during the application process which makes a big difference to your application. PhD Application process: The PhD application process is similar to that of Masters (MS). At a high level these are the key areas which will be covered in detail in the sections below. 1) Decide on the area of research 2) Choose a University 3) Get in touch w...

Understanding the layers of the vendor onion is a must for every IT consultant .Though you have the required skills and work permits you can not just work as a consultant directly for a company in the US . Corporations in the US hire consultants only through a preferred vendor. Preferred Vendor is nothing but a business term for a body shopping company. And this preferred vendor will in turn have his preferred vendors who employ you. This can be compared to the Computer Networks OSI Model where the  layers below provide services to the layer above. The only difference in our case is that we are the only layer that provides services to all the layers above. Even when you get paid on a 80-20 percentage basis, depending on where you stand in the food chain you end up getting paid half or less than what the client pays the preferred vendor. So working directly for the preferred vendor or the client should be our goal as a consultant. Not all preferred vendors process our visas an...

One US Dollar serves 8 meals One Mouse click serves 1.1 cups of rice When we see a skinny  child  deprived of food  in a remote African/Indian village on TV we feel sympathetic and intend to help them. Let us take it to the next step of compassion by acting and making it a part of our life and we will eradicate hunger from this planet. One percent of the time and money we spend on celebrating a happy moment in our life, One percent of the time and money we spend on researching and buying electronics, One percent of the time and money we spend on our vacation is all that is needed. Read more on hunger around the world by going to bread.org and http://www.wfp.org/ . Here is how we can end hunger by making the steps below a part of our day - please remember and act. 1) What we and our family should do Assess how much food is wasted in our household and find a way to reduce it. At every meal time remember those without enough to eat.Serve more meatless di...

The journey Glasgow to Oban is a four hour mixed genre movie titled 'Scenic Beauty' watched from the window of the scottish rail. Off the train in to the Craignure ferry - water surrounded by islands or islands surrounded by water - its not time to decide but to just get lost in nature! The bus waits for the ferry to drive us on a single lane road with C-Sections:) for the oncoming vehicles to wait.As the top of the hills kiss the clouds tears of joy flow as tiny water falls. Though we see Iona from the other side its no time to swim but to wait for an other ten minute ferry to the Island The courteous hotel cab driver(owner of a restaurant) was waiting to pick us up to the Ardoran House! The Sacred Land with a population of one hundred and thirty five is full of spirit and isolated beauty. Scotland-The Land of scenic brilliance!  నాలుగు గంటలు స్కాటిష్ రైల్ కిటికీలోంచి చూసే సినిమాలో ఆ దేవుని స్రుష్టి లోని అందాని జుర్రేసుకుంటూ ఒబాన్ చేరుకున్నం. వో గంట ఫెర్రీ -...

Handing over the five pound tip to the cab driver we kick started our awesome trip with the smile on his face. On our way to the Manchester Piccadilly station he enlightened us that it is Edinborrow and not Edinburgh as its spelled. It’s a four hour UK rail trip to the historic city. We bought the tickets for a evening train to Glasgow at the Edinburgh station and Hopped on to the double-decker Hop on and Off buses after a China Buffet. We took multiple trips getting down at different places each time .As the guides went on explaining the historic significance of the various kings and buildings in the old yet beautiful city where Graham Bell invented the telephone and JK Rowling came up with Harry Potter. As we climbed up the hill to the Castle we took a break for a Scottish not Whisky but Coffee :) .Right next to the castle is the Weaving Mill where we dressed up as the Scottish (Kilt, Bagpipe etc) and got our pictures taken. That beautiful day faded out against...

1) The 'WHY' is important? Either quick money or exploring the planet, there is a reason why you want to travel abroad and it is important to develop clarity on this WHY. Knowing WHY will help you set your goals and also choose your path to go abroad. Here is my article on choosing your path . 2) Know the two types of companies Companies like Tata Consultancy Services will assure onsite opportunities with in a certain time period. Ask them clearly during the interview about their onsite rotation schedule and how long it will take for you to get there. The second kind of companies have good enough workforce employed abroad and their offshore base is mainly to get the work done for cheaper. These companies send you abroad on short trips which can range from a couple of weeks to six months. If your goal is to go abroad on lengthy trips then you should choose the former. 3) Make your Onsite goal time constricted Talk to you manager and understand how t...

Spend the last one hour of your long and tiring flight journey to freshen up, double check the I-94, Customs Declaration forms you have filled.Along with the passport keep all the documents that you took to the visa interview handy. There will be two lines at the port of entry. One for the US Citizens, Green card holders, and another for the Visa Holders. The Immigration officer looks at your passport, visa, and I-94 form,questions about the purpose of your visit, takes digital picture and digital finger prints, stamps your passport and provide a departure date on I-94. In some cases you will be sent for a second interview. And if that happens do not panic.You are not alone and there are many visa holders who go through this process each day. Look at it as a double check on their part. As soon as you get in, the immigration officer will take your documents and will ask you to wait as they pull up your immigration information. No matter how long the wait is , stay focused and r...

I am glad to inform you that we have received the Pan Card required to setup a bank account for our non profit charity organization  One Village One India . The next task we will be taking up is to extend our snacks during study hour program to four other schools in Vinjamur mandal. This will happen pre-exam season in March 2012. Schools that are  covered currently: Z.P. HIGH SCHOOL,Vinjamur Total of one hundred and fifty students. Schools that will be benefited in 2012 : Z.P. HIGH SCHOOL (GIRLS),Vinjamur Gundemadakala ZP High School Katepalli ZP High School Utukuru ZP High School Total of one hundred and fifty students. One time sponsorship for this event is five thousand rupees or hundred dollars per school. The permanent sponsorship for this costs one lakh rupees or two thousand dollars for these four schools. You can read more on the permanent solution by going to the following post . Providing snacks to students during the study hours. Your c...

At the end of a beautiful key west day! If there is place in the US that we would like to go back to, thats Miami/Key West. Not just because I love water/sea but it’s just a spiritual Nostalgia! Blue are the skies ,Blue are the clear water beaches surrounding us for the four hour drive to Key West; It’s a drive in and to the paradise. As we touch the southern most tip of US , Cuba was just ninety miles away.The street that never sleeps where anytime is party time! Though the south beach reminds me of the Maipadu beach back home, it gets deeper as soon as we step in. Weather reminds me of Bangalore as it rains every evening, but it only helped us drench further!. Dive in to the sea, off in to the swimming pool and then in to the hot water Jacuzzi right next to the pool. Lying back on the south beach chair listening to the waves that never stop talking we discover answers to every question that life has in mind. ఇక్కడ మేము ఎన్ని సార్లు అయినా ఎప్పుడైనా వెల్లిపోవడానిక...