How a Fresher From Mumbai Became an Engineer at NVIDIA

I am Chirayu Choudhary. I am a senior Application Specific Integrated Circuit Design Engineer (ASIC) at NVIDIA. I completed my master’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at  Austin. I spoke with Leap about my journey for their student expert series—Indians who had studied abroad recently and are still in that country pursuing their dreams—because I want to help others wanting to take the same career path that I took.

Q. Tell us about your background: 

I was born and brought up in Mumbai. So, till the age of 17, I was studying there. And then I did my undergrad from BITS Pilani, Goa. I did my undergrad in electronics and electrical engineering, and then I moved to the U.S to pursue my master's. 

Q. Why did you want to pursue your master’s abroad? 

To be honest, when I joined my college, the mindset was to get into the job life as soon as possible. But then, as time progressed, I was touched when I was receiving good grades,  so I asked my seniors what people with good grades usually dothey take then; they told me to take the study-abroad path. I researched online, and I felt that the education system in the US is much different from India, and it will be a refreshing change to study there, understand the lifestyle, and get a new perspective. Plus, even from a job perspective, I felt that the headquarters of most of the multinational companies are in the US. So I wanted to work here on higher visibility projects and grow as a person.

Q. How did you narrow down where to go and study?   

I believe in a herd mindset. I sometimes feel that if a lot of people are going to a particular country, there might be something in it that draws those people. So yeah, the US was always my first consideration. I've heard good things about Germany, too. I have done a research internship in Europe. So I'm fairly familiar with the culture there, but I felt the US culture suited me a bit more. 

I am not a very big fan of rankings because I feel rankings involve a lot of parameters. There are a lot of universities that have amazing rankings, but they might not cater to my requirements. For me, there was a group where all the alumni who went for a master's.  They shared their profiles and the colleges they applied to, and where they got admitted. So through that forum, I made contacts, and I figured out the target universities. And these universities have good funding. These universities are highly competitive. And so I felt that was the best way to go.

Q. What was your student life like? 

Here, you have a lot more assignments, homework, and lab work compared to India. Instead of a single exam carrying most of the weight, we had ten labs with fair weightage. The motivation here is that consistent hard work is rewarded.

Most universities offer plenty of opportunities for socializing, with events for freshers and new graduates, like board game nights or dance parties, where you can meet new people. It's relatively easy to make friends. Many Indians feel naturally drawn to connect with other Indians, given our shared background, which is another advantage of studying in the US, as there’s a large Indian student population in most colleges.

Q. Can you break down your expenses? 

One of the reasons I chose Texas was that the rent was relatively student-friendly. In Austin, during my one to two years there, I paid around $800–900 (₹66,000–₹75,000) per person for a 2BHK (total ~$1,800 or ₹1.5 lakh). Rent was my biggest expense. Some students shared rooms to cut costs, but I had my own.

Apart from rent, groceries, and other essentials cost around $300–400 (₹25,000–₹33,000) monthly. Transportation was covered by the university, so my total monthly expenses were around $1,200–1,300 (₹1–1.1 lakh). Once internships began and income increased, so did expenses.

As for financing, I initially took an unsanctioned loan from an NBFC to show proof of funds for my I-20. Fortunately, I secured a teaching assistantship every semester at UT Austin, which covered my tuition and provided a stipend sufficient for living expenses. I was able to repay the loan during my master’s itself.

Q. How did you land your job? Any tips? 

So, for an internship, I had my fair share of struggles, but I got an internship 20 days before it started, around mid-April. People with work experience got it much earlier. 

I landed my job mostly through off-campus efforts. Unlike in India, where companies often visit campuses for recruitment, in the U.S., the process is largely self-driven. You have to be proactive, for example, we have to network with people, seek referrals, and take advantage of opportunities like career fairs. At UT Austin, the career fairs were especially helpful because I could directly speak to recruiters, hand them my resume, and make a personal impression.

My internship at AMD California came through a bit of timing and initiative. Someone from my college referred me to a recruiter, and I followed up with an email. Fortunately, my resume reached them just as a role opened up, and after two to three rounds of interviews, I got the offer. For my full-time job, I received an offer fairly early, about eight months in advance, but it involved going through seven rounds of interviews. So persistence matters.

From my experience, career fairs are the most effective way to get noticed, followed by strong referrals. LinkedIn can help if you use it strategically, for example, by messaging hiring managers directly with a tailored note and resume. Cold applications without any referral generally have lower success rates, so I wouldn’t rely on those alone. 

I strongly believe in talking to people who are already on the path you're aiming for. Hearing multiple perspectives helps you avoid a one-sided or biased view. Lastly, it’s important to stay consistent and visible in your job search. There might be phases where you won't receive any calls, and you might be demotivated. However, the best way is to stay persistent and make sure that your resume reaches the right hands at the right time.