“There was no hierarchy and it was like being in my element” 
Vaishale Mahadevan

Bachelors in Computer Science and Engineering, Final year, College of Engineering Guindy 

Intern 

Visa Inc., Bengaluru.
Interviewer: Niveddita (GT)
Interviewee: Vaishale Mahadevan

GT: How did you manage to acquire this internship at Visa Inc.?
Vaishale: I came to know about this internship through the college. I took part in their selection process and managed to crack the coding round. Thus, I acquired it.

GT: What were the projects you were working on at Visa Inc.?
Vaishale: I was working on Merchant Scoring where merchants were boarded and assigned a risk score each, with the aid of machine learning. The project had both a static part and a dynamic part. Boarding of the merchants classified under the static part and monitoring their transactions & giving out a risk score was categorized under the dynamic part. I was working on the dynamic part of it.

GT: Brief us about the work culture at Visa Inc.
Vaishale: It’s pretty relaxed and there was no hierarchy. Anyone can be approached for help and this provided me with a sense of comfort.

GT: How did you demarcate your time for other activities during this period? Were their timings very stressful?
Vaishale: We had to work from 9 AM to 5 PM and the weekends were off. So that finding the balance between interning and other activities wasn’t challenging. Also, I found the work pretty manageable because we didn’t have to perform it all the time. Arrangements were made to recreate us and to keep us active. So, I didn’t find anything difficult.

GT: What was your favourite part of the internship?
Vaishale: I would say it was food. We had a pantry that was absolutely free. The lunch cafeteria comprised of various cuisines, catering to the tastes of different people. The food was both delicious and quite affordable, which made it more preferable.

GT: What is the biggest challenge you faced during the internship?
Vaishale: We were prone to certain minor setbacks. There were technical issues like few errors in coding, calling the search parties, API and so on, which are very common for a novice. Otherwise, it was good.

GT: Did they take care of the arrangements for food and accommodation?
Vaishale: Yes, actually VISA provided us with food and accommodation for the entire 12 weeks, which relieved us from that additional responsibility. It is seldom that a company would offer an intern full accommodation and food.

GT: Could you please brief us about the lessons you learnt through this internship?
Vaishale: If we are unsure about certain things, the best way to get it cleared is to ask people about it. Learning through others’ mistakes is one of the best ways to grasp things quickly. Also, I learnt to be independent. Initially, I was homesick and I found it difficult to look after myself. Later, I got used to it.

GT: What do you plan to do after graduation?
Vaishale: I would like to go for a job that is in pertinence with what I did in the internship, as the kind of work I did there was more appealing to me.
The Guindy Times thanks Vaishale for spending her time with us and wishes her all the best for all her future endeavours.