Indian students often find themselves at crossroads when choosing the stream of education, they want to pursue at the higher secondary level. Without much guidance and strong peer pressure, most deviate towards the science stream and unwittingly embark upon a journey that leads them towards engineering. While very few have the tactical acumen to ace a field that makes the world go around us – the majority find themselves confused, dazed, and cussing the field for wasting their precious youth years.
The journey usually starts with a couple of years or more of coaching that eventually culminates with the Joint Entrance Exam popularly called JEE. The JEE Mains exam is the first parameter for gauging the student’s aptitude for the Engineering field.
A tiny minority gets into the top institutes
In 2021, over 9 lakh students appeared for the Mains exam. However, only 1.4 lakh qualified for JEE-Advanced and roughly 41,000 passed it. Out of the 41,000, only 16,000-odd will ever have a chance to sit in IITs and pursue Engineering.
Even then, most will not have the chance to pursue their preferrable course. In an attempt to have the IIT name in their CVs, most change their core engineering area without wasting a heartbeat – forgetting the repercussions of it in the near future.
The JEE Mains rejects and their engineering journey
While most reaching the IIT gates are the cream of the crop, the rest of the field that was segregated after JEE Mains is often forgotten. These students are forced to join private colleges at highly astronomical fees. Very few have the courage and common sense to hang back and pursue a course that suits their strength.
The next four years see them pursuing a course without gaining any practical knowledge. Engineering courses especially those relating to the core background (mainly mechanical, electrical, civil, and electronics and communication) are highly practical subjects and require good knowledge of theory as well as practical on part of students to be skilled enough to be offered a job.
However, if the last two years of the pandemic are any indication; the quality of engineering students will only have dropped down. The students were forced to sit in front of laptops and smartphones and told to rote learn the subjects when it is the practical knowledge that can only help them land jobs.
The unemployable engineers of the country
A survey by IT industry body, NASSCOM, said that of 1.5 million engineering graduates churned out that year, only 250,000 found a job. The picture of the employability of an Indian engineer was even worse according to another survey by Aspiring Minds, an employment agency, which said that 80 per cent of engineers in India were unemployed in 2019. Leaving aside top engineering colleges like IITs, the rest struggle to provide placements.
The lack of employability means that the popularity of engineering courses has faded. At the turn of the millennium, engineering was the money-making avenue for the Indian middle class. But the same cannot be said in the third decade of the 21st century.
Dwindling popularity of Engineering
According to data released by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE, the total number of engineering seats in India has fallen to the lowest tally in the last 10 years in 2021-22 – suggesting that the sector has lost its sheen that pulled the crowd earlier.
A total of 23.6 lakh seats were available in engineering courses across the country for 2021-22. This is the lowest tally since 2012-13 when 26.9 lakh seats were available. The peak of the last 10 years came in 2014-15 when 31.8 lakh seats were offered by engineering colleges.
The management route – An engineer’s cheat code
Engineers are not getting jobs after graduating, so they are going for an MBA. The civil, mechanical, and other engineering graduates do not end up getting a job in their core area, hence they think they want to be in the corporate side.
It is often a given that an Engineering student will have to go for management studies, immediately after completing graduation. Most B-schools in India have an abundance of engineering students.
Unless one can crack the code and get themselves enrolled in top engineering colleges, following the herd mentality may cause more problems than solving them. The students and more importantly parents should have a heart-to-heart with their wards and choose a career field that gives the best return on investment.