Mentoring that Improves Quality of Life and Work

"After almost ten years out of school, I decided I wanted to further my education by earning a master's degree. Carnegie Mellon is one of the pioneers in the area of software engineering, one of the nation's top-tier universities, and its MS in Software Management program suited my personal and professional aspirations. The software management curriculum has had an immediate impact on my current position at Oracle where I focus on product management and product strategy. Not only have my technical skills improved, but my communication skills - including negotiating, writing, and presentation skills - have also improved. In addition, the faculty members at Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley have mentored me in a way that has improved the quality of my life and work as I've taken guidance from them at various times over the past two years.

Finally, I've also changed personally since joining the program - I've found that my daily planning skills have improved tremendously, helping me to balance work, family and school demands. Additionally, through the project-based curriculum, students become self-learners, and this has renewed my passion for reading and researching on various topics related and unrelated to work and school."

Chandra Yeleshwarapu earned his B. Engg. in Industrial Engineering in 2006 at Pune University and his M.S. in Software Management in 2008 at Carnegie Mellon University. He is currently the Director of Product Management at Oracle.