Training a fish to climb a tree is a futile endeavor because, no matter how hard the fish may try, it will never be able to achieve that ability and will only see itself as a failure, in fact it will die. This is exactly what has been going on in our current educational sphere. Without gauging the caliber, passion and areas of interest, young minds in peer pressure are asked to follow a set pattern of success – the majority of which goes through the gates of Engineering institutions.
Engineering students Choosing Non-Technical Careers: A worrying trend
A study by the Centre for Policy Studies at IIT-Bombay has highlighted a worrying trend that needs to be resolved before it becomes a terminal cancer. The study found that between 2014 and 2018, over 60% of IIT-Bombay graduates took up more-core jobs.
The study defines core jobs as those related to the students engineering discipline. For instance, a chemical company might hire mechanical or electrical engineers to maintain equipment, but the job still requires the application of knowledge from their respective disciplines. So, it will be considered as a core job for them.
The study showed that this trend is seen across all disciplines except for Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering.
The study categorically stated that higher salaries may not be the dominant factor affecting students’ choices. Rather it points to other factors such as “cultural issues” and the pressure to get a placement “at the earliest” as contributing to the trend.
Source – The Indian Express
The study raises pertinent questions as to why so much energy and resources are spent on engineering training when students end up working in non-core fields. The findings are based on placement data of 2,109 students, with factors behind their choices being identified through responses from 269 of these students.
The outline causes
Lack of practical education. Engineering students in India often receive a theoretical education that does not adequately prepare them for the demands of the workplace.
Read more: Medical Education in Hindi is a solid step towards reviving the legacy of Charak Samhita
Other significant reasons include poor faculty, insufficient infrastructure, high competition, rigid curriculum, lack of research opportunities, poor industry-academia interaction, brain drain, low salaries, corruption, mushrooming of engineering institutes have lowered the credibility of engineering degrees.
The result is that students are drawn away from pursuing careers that are a good fit for their unique skills, abilities, and interests. Sorry for sounding alarmist, but till this sorry state of affairs continues, our country can’t achieve its full potential.
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