Distinguished Invincibelle: Neerja Raman

The Beginnings

Q: What brought you to this country?
A: Graduate School. I was born and brought up in Dehradun, went to Miranda House, Delhi and after finishing my Masters in Chemistry, I found there was nothing much to do in India in technology at that time. There were no jobs, Post Graduate programs, or research opportunities. When I applied to Stony Brook University here for the graduate course I got in with full scholarship.

Q: What problems did you face when you got here?
A: Actually I didn’t face any major problems. The issue that every body faces is loneliness. Life here is so much more isolated. I was the only single Indian woman in my class and hostel. The other issue was I was a hardcore vegetarian. I couldn’t eat anything in the hostel dining room.

Q: What were some of the things you learnt on the way?
A: I learned to put the things that I took for granted into perspective. In India, we are recognized for who we are in the context of our family, father’s name and family’s standing in society automatically. But when you come here and you find yourself walking through the streets of New York, every body ignores you. And at that time, the Indians were assumed to be poor and not conversant in English.

You learn not to get attached with what people think about you or else you would end up hurting your morale. I taught myself this life long lesson to never stereotype anyone. Also, I learned to assume that people mean to do the right thing, until proven otherwise.

Soft skills are important. Initially I was of the opinion that for a technical researcher, people skills are not necessary but I found I had the knack for knowing how to get things done in group situations. I understood, to make high impact decisions you have to know management and switched from a technical to a management track.

The Transition

Q: What challenges did you face in the transition to get to where you are today?
A: It has been hard work. I have this equation about energy. The people who do more are the people who have more energy. If you are tired and exhausted you are not at your best. I think the trick is in recognizing how much energy you have to do anything well. Because, it is better not to do it, than to do it badly.

The other challenge was to change the image of Indians as not being results oriented.  There was also a perception about Indian women as being barefoot, pregnant and dependant; I found people could not relate to an Indian woman doing well in the high tech field.

I was very good at research at intersection of disciplines. I understood chemistry, biochemistry and its applications, and also software programming. I decided to specialize in automating instruments for chemical analyses. My first job at HP was real time automation and reporting—a new field at that time. I had planned for it and was ready for the opportunity.