Arya Reais-Parsi wrote

"I didn't know what to do with myself after graduating. I had a lot of plans about doing postgraduate study overseas (particularly in the US), but they fell through for various reasons.

I was scheduled to start a three-month internship at the Google Sydney office after my summer research scholarship at ANU, so I went ahead and did that. But I haven't given up on that PhD.

Google was great: I was a Software Engineer, which was not my field (ECEN and NWEN), meaning I had a lot to learn. I noticed that Google's vast resources extended to research and emphasis self-development, so I reconsidered my options. However, after looking into it, I realised I could not start a PhD in the US until September 2013.

So I decided to work full time for a while. I'm hoping it allows me to figure out what I want to study and what path I really want to take, so that I can focus on it. I'm now a Software Engineer for Google, back in Sydney. Once I've settled in I hope to make the most of Google's resources to this end (including the option to transfer internally). Again, it's not what I studied nor is it what I'm most passionate about, but it's exciting nonetheless. There's a lot to learn. I feel encouraged to better myself, too.

After graduating, I undertook a research scholarship at ANU for the summer, which was lots of fun, and then a 3-month internship at Google in Sydney. I'd wanted to do a PhD for a few years, but I wasn't sure when, where, or what in. I decided to take some time to figure out what I love most, so now I'm a full-time Software Engineer for Google, working in Sydney. I'd say that I get a chance to experience the real world but working for Google isn't really anything like the real world, at all.

Arya"