THE PRE-PLACEMENT SURVEY

The placement season has once again arrived to haunt the campus. Amongst the tensed faces and anxious hearts, the Media Club tried to decipher the mindset of the brightest students of the country. The campus is abuzz, with the placement season just around the corner, and we present before you the complete scenario like never before with this year’s Pre-Placement Survey!

Remembering that statistics are used much like a drunk uses a lamppost: for support, not illumination; let us try to understand what we can conclude out of the Pre-Placement Survey conducted by the club.

Core Jobs or Non-Core Jobs?

About 42% of the students are inclined towards having a non-core job. I am sure that this large portion opting for non-core sector is no surprise. Core sector stills lags behind with a share of about 23%. Though the share of people interested in core sector has increased significantly from last year, the huge gap between core and non-core jobs is still alarming and speaks volumes about our country’s education system.

Out of all the responses we received from different branches of our institution, 7% of the contribution was from computer science and engineering department. Amongst computer science students, a majority show inclination towards their core sector, while a few show interest in higher studies and in civil services as well.

Among other branches, non-core sector remains the student’s favorite.

But what is the reason for this? The statistics is enough to tell us just where we are going wrong as a society.

Out of all the students, 42% have said that they want jobs for good placements and high salary. And among those who opt for non-core sector; majority have confessed that they opt for it only because of high monetary returns. This again raises a question on our education system and our society, where the best minds of the nation are forced to take up certain sectors only because these fields are much more developed than others in our country. The phrase ‘Follow Your Heart’ is as hollow as the advancements in sectors other than engineering, management and medicine.

We asked students about their dream companies, and we got a variety of answers. While some said they want to work in companies like SpaceX, Tata Steel, Samsung etcetera; about 9% of the students said they want to work in Microsoft, while about 6% wanted jobs in Google as well as in Goldman Sachs.

Around 37% of the students want to do software development and about 33% want to go for finance and consulting.

Nonetheless, still a large number of students opt for this sector because they are genuinely interested to work here.

A student from ceramic engineering who is inclined towards getting non-core job and wants to work in Walmart described himself as — “I am highly adaptable and carry a very good exposure in terms of understanding people. I possess good technical knowledge and experience. I can deal with situations even under pressure and find a way out while leading a team with different background to work together for same goal. I am a person who actually loves to see and feel the difference created by the work done and the effort put in.”

Higher Studies

A bit over 10% of the students this year are interested in pursuing higher studies in their respective fields of interest, which is a slight increase as compared to last year’s data. This includes not only those who want to continue work in their own fields in which they did their bachelors, but also those who want to try something completely new, like finance and management.

This slight increase in people opting for higher studies gives much reassurance about a change in trends in coming years. Students are exploring within their own fields and into other areas as well, owing to their genuine interest in learning. Higher education skills helps find a lucrative career while teaching how to deal with a variety of other real-life situations. The ability to solve problems and the ability to communicate with other people are even important in personal relationships. Higher education is more than a stepping stone to a career. It’s about learning how to develop a better you.

Another great observation is that interest in research and higher studies and CGPA have no relation whatsoever. Students want to go to universities and institutes like IISc, MIT, University of California, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon etcetera for higher education.

A ceramic engineering student who has always been interested in synthesis of new materials and hands-on applied work in the laboratory and wants to go to MIT said — “I have a penchant towards academics and research. My ultimate goal is to stay in close touch with research, for which I would like to take up an academic faculty position at any of the renowned universities in the world. I believe that by becoming a professor, I would be able to impart the knowledge gained by me during my studies to the future generation of students for further groundbreaking research. Therefore, I believe that earning a graduate degree would be perfectly aligned with my goals. It would enable me to take up a faculty position and continue further research.”

Following Your Heart

Almost 12% of the students choose to pursue management, and majority of them choose it only because they are following their passion; though some claim to want to do management for a good job and high salary. Management requires not only hard-work, but also the ability to adapt quickly under any circumstance. Mostly students are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and are able to judge whether they are suited for a field or not. This fact remains intact for not only management but other areas as well.

3–4% students wish to join civil services because they want to serve their nation.

A computer science student who wants to join civil services said that he has a strong desire to help others and wants to create an impact. He added — “I am fearless ,adaptive and innovative . I like to challenge myself to do difficult task very often otherwise it gets boring (my worst nightmare)”

Other 3–4% students showed their interest in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs can change the way we live and work. If successful, their innovations may improve our standard of living. In short, in addition to creating wealth from their entrepreneurial ventures, they also create jobs and the conditions for a prosperous society. Thus, entrepreneurs are vital for an advancing society. This year, very few students have showed their interest here, but we can hope for many more successful entrepreneurs in the coming years.

In Conclusion

This year’s statistics in the Pre-Placement survey has improved from last year in terms of diversity in choice of field opted. All our beloved seniors are confident with their skills and knowledge in their respective fields. They are ready to take on whatever the placement examinations and interviews have in store for them. We can expect an even more amazing result this year!