66% IITians prefer jobs related to their fields

Nearly 40% of students surveyed from those graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) this year said they were reasonably satisfied with job offers they had got, according to data in the institute’s latest student newsletter, Insight.

Nearly 40% of students surveyed from those graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) this year said they were reasonably satisfied with job offers they had got, according to data in the institute’s latest student newsletter, Insight.

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Average salaries rose by 10% to 15% this year at the institute.

Released on Sunday, the newsletter which polled 200 students of the 1,400-odd eligible for placements this year, found that 39% said they were “just about satisfied”, while 37% said they were “extremely happy.” While 16% said jobs “fell short of aspirations”, only 8% fell into the “deeply unhappy” segment of the “happiness index”.

IIT-B began the placement process on December 1 last year, and is among the first campuses that recruiters visit. The placement process is still going on at the institute, and unhappy students will have a chance to get better offers, with 80 companies left to visit.

The survey also found that 66% of students said they preferred “core jobs” (those related to their department) to non-core jobs such as marketing, finance or consulting. The newsletter observed this was “an overwhelmingly positive trend that would make our tax-payers happy”. Around 20% however, said they had to settle for non-core jobs because they had to weigh their options or core jobs were unavailable.

“Every year we have been noticing an incremental increase in the number of students opting for core jobs,” said Ravi Sinha, professor in charge of placements at IIT-B. “Maybe people are getting to understand that what they study at IIT will give them a competitive edge.”