A few years before moving to New York City to pursue a career in cybersecurity – specifically within the specialty of bot mitigation – SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) alumnus Niranjan Addanki could be found scrambling between classrooms in Donovan Hall, eagerly working to tackle his next big-data research project.
A native of India, Niranjan first enrolled in Hyderabad’s Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology in 2008 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering Technology, graduating in 2012.
After receiving his diploma, he landed his first job at Bank of America in Hyderabad to work as a Senior Tech Associate, later advancing to the position of Senior Software Engineer in which he streamlined ETL flow using big data techniques.
After three years of working for Bank of America, he decided it was time to take his skills and interests to the next level.
“I thought of having a master’s degree in Computer & Information Science because I didn’t interact with the basics of computer science while studying electronics,” Niranjan said.
Like many prospective graduate students, Niranjan found himself whittling down a lengthy list of potential colleges and universities. Among those were several institutions within the State University of New York (SUNY) system, and specifically, SUNY Poly.
“I would say the opportunity to have a lot of research work was the driving factor because I wanted to learn at the same time by actually doing so hands-on,” he recalled “I’m fortunate I chose SUNY Poly because it was a game changer for me.”
In 2016, Niranjan became enrolled in SUNY Poly’s Computer & Information Science M.S. program where he honed in on functional programming, big data, and machine learning, studying under Dr. Andrea Dziubek, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Physics, Dr. Edmond Rusjan, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Physics Bruno Andriamanalimanana, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Dr. Chen-Fu Chiang, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, and Dr. Michael Reale, Assistant Professor of Computer Science.
“I received a lot of support from them which I am very grateful for,” Niranjan said. “They were all there from the beginning and guided me with the research work and most of the work I’m doing right now is based on those fundamentals.”
When he wasn’t studying, Niranjan was busy working as a Graduate Research Assistant, representing SUNY Poly in CS Hackathons and information technology intern for Utica Mutual Insurance Group. He later interned as a data engineer intern for The Walt Disney Company in Orlando, Fla.
Upon graduating from SUNY Poly in 2018, he received a job offer from New York-based cybersecurity firm White Ops where he currently works as a Data Platform Engineer.
While he has enjoyed success as a student and in his career so far, he found himself returning to his alma mater on a recent, snowy November Day to offer current Graduate Research Assistants advice on applying for jobs after college and tips to build solid resumes.
“I didn’t get a lot of feedback when I was applying for internships,” Niranjan recalled. “I thought of helping by giving something I didn’t receive and offering them that opportunity.”
He offered one piece of advice for any student following the same career path as him:
“Just go for it.”