If you thought being an IITan is the ultimate ticket to a job in top tech giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft, its time you changed your perceptions. A 21-year-old Mumbai engineer, Abdullah Khan, has landed a job in Google with a whopping Rs 1.2 crore as salary. He is not from IIT and made his way to Google just through a game.
There are various online student competitions which give students a chance to explore new opportunities in a fun way. Some of the most popular competitions are:
Kaggle
Kaggle is one of the most popular competitions for analytics and predictive modelling. The online competition portal has been acquired by Google in 2017. Though it is perceived to be a difficult competition, many participate not just for the reward but for the journey and learning experience. It allows for free practise on real-life scenarios, builds skill like GIT, Deep Learning and cloud computing. It also gives you an opportunity to handle large databases (sometimes more than 1 million records). You can also sign up for competition on Kaggle to receive free and interactive tutorials on Data Science.
Model off
Modeloff is a renowned financial modelling competition conducted globally wherein the candidates are required to use excel to solve case studies and questions. The contestants aren’t required to build full-fledged valuation models but use the modelling and excel skills to solve independent questions and mini-exercises.
CFI Financial Modeling Competition
This is also a global financial modelling competition but a more advanced one. Here the contestants are expected to build a complete 3-step DCF model accompanied by a presentation and video of recommendations. The complete process can be done online. The rewards are attractive cash prizes and leading financial services companies are the sponsors of this competition.
The online student competitions open a world of myriad opportunities for you. It provides you with a chance to showcase your talent and get noticed. Student Competitions are an unconventional way to secure scholarships, internships, jobs and a simulation platform for understanding real-world scenarios. Here are some of the reasons why should opt for student competitions are:
1-Student competitions test real applications
Due to the stereotypical approach of the education system in India, there are limited ways in which students can showcase their talent. The exams and assignments do not always do justice to the unique abilities of each student or judge their capacity to apply their skills in real-world situations. In contrast to this, student competitions test real applications in the form of case study and real problems.
In addition to this, the rewards of student competitions can be tangible or intangible. Tangible rewards include cash rewards, gifts, sponsorships, etc. Intangible rewards include recognition, professional networking etc. It increases your scope for employability. You may land a dream internship or a job with a prestigious company.
2- It Paves way for potential employment
Not all global companies are accessible to potential employees, such that they can apply for jobs there. Top tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and IBM may not be accessible to all. A student’s competition provides you with a platform to get noticed by the top giants.
These competitions offer a real test of your skill sets. Many times, many candidates do not even get a chance to showcase your talents and get rejected because of formal educational qualifications. Student Competitions set a stage to showcase your talent irrespective of your educational qualifications.
Many times the conventional recruitment process is very cumbersome and focusses on academic excellence more than the skills. Many candidates may not be able to show their true talents or make it to the initial rounds of the interview also. But if he participates in these student competitions he may get noticed and be invited to apply for prestigious positions on the basis of his potential.
3-Prepares you to face challenges
When it comes to competition, it is the spirit that is important as opposed to winning or losing. Even if you do not win or receive any rewards, you will still learn many new things in a fun way. You will learn how to deliver results under pressure, to use your problem-solving and analytical skills to find a solution within the stipulated time and most of all, you will learn how to handle challenging situations. You can surely highlight your experience and learning on your resume and there is a lot you can talk about in your interview.
The experience of these student competitions helps you to understand your strengths and your areas of improvement. Once you have a reality check, you are ready to take on the challenges all by yourself.
4- Rewards you like never before
Student Competitions can help you realise your dreams in ways you never thought of. If you are an entrepreneur, you can get the required funding for your startup. If you are already into a profession, you can actually get financing for your ongoing project, if the financers like your skills and acumen.
For students who haven’t yet started in their professional lives and wish to acquire more of higher education, you can get noticed and get invited for applying for scholarships. What’s more, sometimes the rewards for winning the student competitions can be a sponsored trip to your favourite holiday destination also!
5-Serves as an Idea incubation ground
Nowadays students and young professionals are brimming with ideas, but they do not find fertile ground to nurture their ideas. Student competitions are the best way to realise these ideas. They offer a risk-free and pressure-free environment for you to test your ideas. You not only get to implement them but also receive healthy feedback from experienced and accomplished people in the industry. If you really dream big, you will utilise the feedback and work on the areas of improvement. The competition is nothing but an investment in your future.
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