Personalized Curriculum and Co-op Help Launch Cloud Computing Career
With a passion for cloud computing, Gauri Basutkar, MS’24, information systems, was able to personalize a curriculum and find a co-op to support her career goals.
Gauri Basutkar, MS’24, information systems, has harnessed the power of experiential learning and a personalized curriculum to transform her passion for cloud technologies into a promising career.
Basutkar earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and began her professional journey while an undergraduate student as a research and development intern at PTC. She later joined Credit Suisse as a site reliability engineer, an experience that sparked her interest in cloud computing.
Driven to expand her expertise, Basutkar meticulously researched graduate programs, ultimately selecting Northeastern for its blend of technical and management courses. She was particularly drawn to the Network Structures and Cloud Computing course taught by Tejas Parekh, adjunct faculty in the Multidisciplinary Graduate Engineering program, which laid a solid foundation for her journey to a career in software development and operations (DevOps). The flexibility to choose courses across multiple programs allowed her to craft a curriculum aligned with her specific career aspirations.
Northeastern’s co-op program proved to be the defining feature of her educational experience. She discovered the co-op application process, which she completed through the NUWorks portal, was straightforward and helped her find roles that matched her interests. As a result, she excelled in her co-op interviews. Basutkar secured a co-op position as a DevOps engineer intern at Omnic, where she implemented an auto-scaling mechanism using the AI Forge product, reducing cloud costs by an impressive 30%.
The flexibility of the MS in information systems program enabled her to take on another internship during the summer at Waters Corp., where she further honed her DevOps skills and cloud computing expertise. Basutkar was able to extend her education by one semester, which gave her the opportunity to pursue a seven-month co-op. This was a unique advantage that many universities do not offer, she notes.
“In today’s competitive job market, the additional hands-on experience was invaluable,” Basutkar adds. Her efforts paid off as she secured a return offer from one of her internships, a testament to her skills and determination.
Courses like Database Management and Design with Naveen Kuragayala, adjunct faculty in the MGEN program, also played a crucial role in solidifying her technical foundation. “The classes were instrumental in bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application,” she says.
Reflecting on her Northeastern journey, Basutkar credits the university’s hands-on learning approach, supportive faculty, and robust co-op program for shaping her professional trajectory. “This experience has been transformative and has equipped me with the skills and confidence to tackle complex challenges in the tech industry,” she adds.
Her goal is to become a cloud solutions architect, specializing in scalable and cost-efficient systems. She also hopes to mentor aspiring professionals and contribute to the broader tech community.