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Pranav Kaushik Pidatala is a Food Science
Professional working in the Research and Development Department of SunTree
Snack Foods LLC. Pranav’s day is all about tree nuts and a happy
professional living and breathing in his favorite profession. Born into a
middle class Telugu family, Pranav became passionate about pursuing a career in
Food Science prior to under graduation and overcame several challenges to
become what he is today. This is his career story.
What is Food Science?
Food Science is a
multidisciplinary field involving biochemistry, nutrition, chemistry,
microbiology and engineering devoted to the study of food. Food Science is
relatively new and growing discipline. Compared to other disciplines, there are
very few institutions in India that offer educational programs in Food Science.
What is your typical day like?
I work in the Research
and Development Department of SunTree Snack Foods. Our company is a Tree-nut
based snack food manufacturing company. Using tree nuts like almonds, peanuts,
pistachios, cashews etc., we make delicious and satisfying snacks. My core
duties and responsibilities are developing nut-based snack products including formulation,
sensory analysis, and providing
technical support. Best part is that I am surrounded by healthy snacks all day.
Where were you born? Would you
please tell me about your family?
I was
born in Maharashtra, India. My maternal family used to live in Maharashtra because
of my Grandad's work. My father is a retired government employee. My mom is a
housewife. When I was a toddler, my family moved to Andhra Pradesh. I have a
younger sister who got married recently.
Tell me about your life after
High School.
I completed
my primary and secondary school education in Hyderabad, Telangana. I focused on
getting into a good university for my undergraduation and made a conscious
decision not to choose Computer Science or Electronics as my major. I learned
about BioTechnology’s growth and potential and choose to pursue an
undergraduate degree in Industrial BioTechnology from SASTRA University, a deemed
University.
Can you please tell us about your undergraduation?
I enjoyed
learning BioTechnology in Sastra University. During my undergraduate program, I
researched on downstream processing of whey proteins for my thesis in Sastra
University’s Research Laboratory and I became passionate about food science. I
became so interested in Food Science that I couldn’t stop myself from reading
all the books on Food Science. I enjoyed reading these books like fiction novels.
I decided to pursue master’s degree in food science after my undergraduate
program in Industrial BioTechnology provided, I get funding.
Where did you go for Post-Graduation?
Were you able to get full funding?
No. It
wasn’t an easy ride. Tuition fee is very high for Masters education. And I did not get an opportunity with full funding but I received a job offer
to join Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as Systems Engineer in India. I was heartbroken
that I was not able to pursue master’s in food science with scholarship. So, I accepted a job in IT and worked for TCS.
I didn’t
give up my dream and continued contacting professors from Universities in US,
Netherlands, Singapore, Australia and to learn about education/research opportunities with 100% scholarship. I wasn’t
planning to get into Food Science Master’s program at any University. I wanted
to do research in my Master’s program in a reputed research university and also
get full funding for my research. And after some serious hard work and
networking for 2.5 years, I received an offer to pursue Master’s by Research in
Food Science from Oklahoma State University, USA.
How is the Master’s program?
Were you glad that you reached your goal?
Master’s
in food science is a wonderful program and this is where my life in ‘tree-nuts
& peanuts’ started. I researched on peanut butter snack foods and my
learning curve went steep. Immediately after Masters, I received an offer to
work as Food Safety Quality Specialist in a tree-nut based snack food company.
After working for about an year, I was able to transition to Research &
Development in food industry.
You have a very inspiring and
successful career story. Did you face any challenges in this journey?
Yes. I
faced few challenges along the way, but I never gave up on my interest in
pursuing a career in Food Science.At that time I felt like I was wasting my good years in
doing a job in IT while my heart was set on Food Science research. But that
work experience helps in doing statistical data analysis in my
research today.
During formulation of new food products, we are also supposed to taste food products.So I had to pick
and choose vegetarian research products and pass multiple meat-based
research opportunities.
Also,
it wasn’t easy for me to get a job after graduation. Without much experience in
food industry, getting into R&D was not easy. Networking, working on
multiple roles and projects helped me get to where I am today.
Do you have any advice for our
readers?
Success
takes time but its important to work hard. Never lose hope and keep working towards your
goal. One day you will achieve it. It took 5 years to achieve my short-term
goal of joining prestigious university for MS food science and about 9 years to
achieve my long-term goal of getting into R&D while facing many disappointments. Stay focused and be patient. Hard work definitely pays
off.
