Why IIT-R? Why Applied Mathematics?

I cleared JEE back in 2010. 4839 wasn't exactly a very good rank, which meant I did not have much choice during the counseling. Consequently, I ended up being enrolled in an Integrated M.Sc. course at IIT Roorkee. 5 years hence, I have graduated this year. I have fond memories, great experiences and above all: a fairly decent job.This post was written way back in 2012, with the objective of creating awareness regarding Applied Mathematics at IIT Roorkee. I keep updating this post almost every year, and this year, an FAQ section has been added. 

Quoting from my own experience, I believe clearing JEE is a lot easier than the counseling procedure followed by it, especially if you have a 3000+ rank. While choosing a branch, you need to keep the following things in mind:

1. Getting into an IIT does NOT guarantee a job at the end of 4/5 years.
2. NOT everyone is placed at an IIT.
3. All the packages offered at the IITs are NOT in the excess of Rs.10 lpa.
4. The placement in the core branches viz. Mechanical, Civil, Chemical and the Electrical Engineering is NOT 100%.
5. Of the most sought branches only the Computer Sciences, ECE and Electrical Engineering are the well-off branches when it comes to placements.
6. India lacks in manufacturing industries and as such there is little or no demand of engineers outside the IT sector, which explains the preceding point. 
7. Most of the recruiters come from the non-core background, like IT, Finance, Banking and Consultancies etc.

Every other day dozens of IT based startups are springing up in the country. There is an increasing demand for technical analysts, software engineers, app developers and data analysts. Therefore, it is advisable to opt for a branch with opportunities in the IT Sector.

Most of you will agree with me that CSE is currently the most sought after branch at the present. But, there are only limited seats offering CSE in the IITs. As such, with a rank as much as above 3500 you cannot expect to get into CSE at the original IITs, even BHU or ISM. This is where Applied Mathematics comes into play.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are the course contents and the course structure to be followed?

You can go through the course structure and the list of the electives offered over here:

Applied Mathematics - Course Structure.

Applied Mathematics - Electives.

What are the Course's Placement Statistics?

Packages Offered

Placement Percentage

What are the companies that usually recruit students from Applied Mathematics?

The students are mostly recruited by IT firms, Financial Institutions and Consultancies.

Following is the list of recruiters for the past 4 years:

2011-12

PayPal (2)

InMobi(1)

Flipkart(1)

Deloitte(1)

Oracle(2)

Cognizant(1)

CA Tech(1)

Tavant Tech(1)

2012-13

Goldman Sachs(1)

Microsoft (1)

Royal Bank of Scotland(1)

Oracle(2)

TCS(2)

Mu Sigma(1)

Sapient(1)

Grey B Technologies(1)

Futures First(1)

2013-14

Royal Bank of Scotland(1)

Oracle(1)

Groupon(2)

Axtria(3)

Indian School of Business(2)

Capgemini (1)

Teach For India(1)

2014-15

Visa Inc.(2)

Housing(2)

Oracle(1)

DocSuggest(1)

Policy Bazaar(1)

HackerEarth(1)

MuSigma(1)

Cognilytics(1)

Beehyv(1)

MeritNation(1)

What are the opportunities offered to a student enrolled in this course?

Phoren mein Internwa!

There is a multitude of opportunities for the students enrolled in this course:

• Internships are an essential part of the college life today. (How else are you expected to flaunt your visits to foreign lands otherwise?) Being a basic sciences course there is no shortage of internship opportunities both in India and abroad. Students from the branch have interned at Canada, UK , Netherlands, Italy (the gentleman in the photo), Germany, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Spain, Singapore and New Zealand.
• The placement stats suggest that the average packages are significantly above the Institute average which remains at about 6-6.75 lpa.
• The placement stats also suggest 100% placement from the first 2 batches to pass out. Whereas the the placement at the institute level remains at 60-65%.
• The good thing about Applied Mathematics is that you can always diversify. You can always pursue a career in diverse fields like, Computer Sciences, Finance, Economics, Operations Research or Academic Research. 
• Another good aspect of the curriculum is that the contact hours are comparatively very less, which will let you spend more time on learning other skills or even prepare for competitive exams such as the CAT or GRE. 

What is the INSPIRE Scholarship?

INSPIRE is a Scholarship offered to all the students enrolled for Applied Mathematics by the Department of Science and Technology. The students receive Rs. 60,000 p.a. if they can maintain a CGPA above 6.000.

BOTTOMLINE

Do not consider an Integrated M.Sc. course as your last resort in accordance with your JEE Rank, these courses esp. those in Mathematics and Economics are very much at par with the B.Tech courses.

In case you have further queries, kindly drop in a mail at: Mathematiciansiniitr@googlegroups.com

You may like the followup post to this one, the one about fresher life-hacks at IIT-R:

http://crankyanimesh.blogspot.com/2012/06/survivor-roorkee-freshmans-guide-to.html

Lastly, I would like to thank you all for your overwhelming response to this post.

The Avengers Initiative

Now that "Avengers", has smashed all the previous records at the box-office collections, they (Disney. Yes Disney owns Marvel) have confirmed the production of a sequel. Now, this blog concentrates, rather touches on those points which might have actually confused the viewers (or irritated the author).

So, I have compiled a list of such occurrences in the entire Avengers movie franchise:

• TESSERACT CUBE: 





Red Skull holding the Cosmic Cube

The Tesseract Cube was first seen in the post-credits scene of Thor. When Dr. Eric Selvig is requested by Director Fury to take a look, also in the room was Loki invisible to the other two. Next, we see the cube in Captain America: The First Avenger, where the Red Skull and Arnim Zola study the cube to manufacture energy weapons. The cube apparently kills the Red Skull (although I say, transports him into some other dimension) and then it drowns into the Arctic Ocean along with the Captain and the monstrous airship he was piloting. However, the cube was recovered by Howard Stark, tracking it from the unique gamma ray signature emitted by it. Sadly, Captain America wasn't that lucky.
Now, for the question as to what is the cube? The cube, is an Asgardian artifact, which is an unlimited source of energy, it can also be used to open inter-dimensional gates.
My guess, is this Teserac thingy is the movie equivalent of a Cosmic Cube with reality altering powers as shown in the Marvel comics itself.




Thanos: The Mad titan. Does that ridged purple jaw seem familiar?
Only, if you waited till the post-credits scene!!



• WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LOKI:
Towards the end of Thor, after the destruction of the Bifrost Bridge, Loki was seemingly lost in the endless space, but he somehow managed to survive. He ended up in yet another dimension inhabited by the Chitauri, and their mysterious leader (whom I believe, is the mad titan: THANOS).
Although, an accomplice of Thanos mostly appears in the AVENGERS movie, acting as the spokesperson and the negotiator both on behalf of Thanos. This, unnamed accomplice I feel is the Red Skull, going by the reddish teeth (the only facial features visible) it may well be Cap's long lost arch enemy!!



• STEVE ROGERS: CAPTAIN OR CADET AMERICA? 


Throughout the 2 movies, Chris Evans has been highly disappointing in Captain America's role. No glimpses of leadership, his part resembles more like that of Toby Maguire from Spider Man-2. Lack of confidence, Self-Doubt and boy he is confused like hell!! Or, maybe Robert Downey Jr.'s antics and/or the Hulk's smashing over-shadowed our very own "First-Avenger". I liked Evans better as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four franchise, but I actually hate him now, for his SUPER-AWFUL portrayal of Cap. *sigh*



MARVEL UNIVERSE (DIS)CONTINUITY:
Now, for those who are familiar with the "normal" Marvel universe, the storyline of The Avengers and the related movies is well, a bit awkward. They didn't have a Cheer-leader dressed in the American flag for Captain America. Or, the Avengers working as government operatives. This, movie franchise is loosely based on the "Ultimate" Universe and all these characters are a part of the Ultimates or the Avengers of their respective universe.



WHY CAN'T WE HAVE WOLVERINE AND SPIDEY IN THE HOTSHOT SPANDEX CLUB?
Well, the answer is pretty obvious. Although, both Wolverine and Spidey are actually on the Avengers roster in the comics, but the rights to feature them in movies are held by movie studios other than Paramount,  so No SPIDEY, No WOLVY for the Avengers!!



SPECULATIONS FOR THE SEQUEL:

1. It is most likely that The Avengers would face Thanos in the sequel hence there is a high possibility that Ms. Marvel (and, you know what, SHE'S SMOKING HOT!!!) lands a place in the Earth's Mightiest Team of heroes, owing to her Cosmic Powers!  Moreover, Carol Denvers a.k.a. Ms. Marvel is a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, and we don't seem to have any female member other than the Black Widow on the team!
2. There was a mention of "Vibranium" and "Wakanda" in Iron Man 2, a clear indication that we may soon hear from the Wakandan monarch T'Challa better known as the "Black Panther" (Marvel's answer to DC's Batman).
3. Return of the Red Skull, is yet another highly probable prospect, hopefully Red Skull'll inspire Evans to enact a better self-confident Cap.

Finally, a note to those readers who imagine an impossible team-up of the "Goddamn" Batman with the Avengers!!

PLEASE DIE!!!!