Employability of Indian Technical Graduates

NetfreakBombay · 1st December 2009, 10:55

Those jobs are in Mumbai/NCR. But job is not IT or Core technology. I think this figure of 44.5 lakh was inflated by journalist. Actual package would be around 20 - 25.

From IIT's placement brochure :

Quote:

Careers were offered in the following sectors: analytics, banking, consulting, financial services, IT , manufacturing, market research

Lets leave these astronomical packages aside.

Comping back to Employability of a Graduate from an average Engineering collage.

This is what I would suggest to those in IT/Comp Science:

1. Build Excellent technical skills
2. Build your "Online reputation"

This would be your key to jobs in these companies.

To do both these things:

1. Start contributing to Open Source projects
2. Start participating in Online coding competitions (Most of these are actually run by companies in hope of finding good candidates)
3. Start helping others in StackOverflow and other tech forums

This would give you real life experience of Technology / Politics (Getting your patches accepted in Open source projects) / Networking (to get in the door).

With this, a great job in 5 - 8 lakh package is not difficult.

alpha1 · 1st December 2009, 10:58

gawd, I should re-enter IIT.

StarVegabond · 1st December 2009, 11:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Comping back to Employability of a Graduate from an average Engineering collage.

This is what I would suggest to those in IT/Comp Science:

1. Build Excellent technical skills
2. Build your "Online reputation"

This would be your key to jobs in these companies.

To do both these things:

1. Start contributing to Open Source projects
2. Start participating in Online coding competitions (Most of these are actually run by companies in hope of finding good candidates)
3. Start helping others in StackOverflow and other tech forums

This would give you real life experience of Technology / Politics (Getting your patches accepted in Open source projects) / Networking (to get in the door).

With this, a great job in 5 - 8 lakh package is not difficult.

+ 1 to this.

I would add couple of additional points

1. Maintain Positive Attitude, Optimism, Cheerful personality

2. Develop your softskills : Spoken english (not sms/slangs), decent communication and presentation skill, basic analysis skills (going thought all Ws & Hs) and basic prioritization skills (Time, Cost oriented)

amitk26 · 1st December 2009, 11:42

Lot of genralities are thrown around when some honcho talks on employability and skills . What they mean by it differs as per the job.

Students need to think what they actually want to do in life or where their passion lies and choose the path accordingly.

Few examples.

1. Independent thinking and problem solving.

This really depends on kind of job , In most of the IT service companies ( termed as IT consulting ) this is not a desired trait
What is required is discipline and do what exactly is told this may sound ironical but it is fact of life and from what I know the various tests / tools employed by these companies is to filter out such candidates who may prove maverick.
The industry standard term is "Good Team Player"
So in these companies emphasis is on the past track record , Interpersonal skills and how you handle conflicts more then what kind of problems you can solve.

See the recruitment process and projects handled by top 5 MNC or Indian IT consulting companies and above seems to be true.

On the other hand product companies and what is termed as top tier companies in India and Start ups actually need individual performers and people with independent thinking and problem solving skills.
Invariably an individual performer and independent thinker comes with slightly inflated ego and that is OK here.

So in HR terminology they are "high achievers and independent thinkers"

Most of the product companies in the developmental roles welcome these traits and that is why profile of recruitment in start-ups and product MNCs is quite different.

2. Employ-ability :

It depends on type of employer , A person who is well rounded but average on technical skills is what a consulting company looks for ( be it IT or any other consulting) .
A person with good interpersonal skills is required for marketing and communication kind of jobs.

A not so well rounded but excellent technical capability is what you need for implementation project. So if someone says employ-ability is low it depends on who is talking.

3. How good Indian students or education system is.

Well basics should be sound and theoretical knowledge should be paramount for any kind of implementation job which involved engineering.

I remember asking a fresh Electronics and communication graduate what is Shanon's limit and he was unable to answer. It is not that in my company he is going to calculate bandwidth requirements based on signal to noise ratio and information to be transferred and that is why he need to know it.

But the fact is that he was supposed to know this basic theory for communication his study and if can not remember it there is no guarantee that he will ever carefully study any of the reams of protocol specifications and understand them.

On the other hand a guy who knows communication engineering but does not know how to talk without getting aggressive and how to start a conversation to strangers may be unemployable in a Telco marketing or vendor relation job such as in Airtel or Vodafone.

tsk1979 · 1st December 2009, 12:26

One very important thing got missed out. "Networking!" If you know people in industry, or if a particular company has alumini of your college at management level, there is a good chance for you to get in that company.

coolfyre · 1st December 2009, 13:05

Networking is good. But I have seen it in practice the other way.
The networking what I am talking about is regional, caste, community based networking.
Most Indian interviews that I have attended, the interviewers were interested to know if I belonged to their region / caste / community etc.

A few months back, we were recruiting and we had shortlisted 2 guys to be hired. My manager hired one guy even though for us interviewers he was a second choice for the only reason that the guy was from Chennai. My manager is also from Chennai.

This is the ground reality.

tsk1979 · 1st December 2009, 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolfyre

Networking is good. But I have seen it in practice the other way.
The networking what I am talking about is regional, caste, community based networking.
Most Indian interviews that I have attended, the interviewers were interested to know if I belonged to their region / caste / community etc.

A few months back, we were recruiting and we had shortlisted 2 guys to be hired. My manager hired one guy even though for us interviewers he was a second choice for the only reason that the guy was from Chennai. My manager is also from Chennai.

This is the ground reality.

Yes, you make a valid point. That is also networking, albeit, regional/caste networking.
Its prevalent not just in engineering field, but everywhere, in govt, in business etc.,

bblost · 1st December 2009, 13:36

Networking helps
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Do a good job, no matter what it is.
I did not get any campus rec. Passed out in 2002. Worked among other things as a s/w salesman, wrote guide book etc. Then 2003 joined my present company. Been in the same place ever since.

I write code. I will not call it a job because I enjoy it so much.

StarVegabond · 1st December 2009, 13:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolfyre

Networking is good. But I have seen it in practice the other way. This is the ground reality.

This example demonstrates the one of th eage old fact of life,

"if two people are more of less equal, we prefer to work with people whom we know"

hence networking has become more important in the knowledge based economy as the information, knowledge is becoming a commodity.

Guanxi = (Govt) networking is extreemly important in China as well.
it opens doors for you. many MNC companies operating in China have dedicated department to take care of Guanxi.

NetfreakBombay · 2nd December 2009, 18:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Those jobs are in Mumbai/NCR. But job is not IT or Core technology. I think this figure of 44.5 lakh was inflated by journalist. Actual package would be around 20 - 25.

So the numbers were actually inflated. 10 Students got package of 22 lakh. Watch out for Day 3 tomorrow.

Samurai · 2nd December 2009, 19:30

I graduated in 1990, and my college started having campus interviews 1991. After working few months as TA in the same college, I finally got my first software programmer job with a salary was 15K per year.

Now my office cleaning lady makes more than twice that.

EssYouWe · 2nd December 2009, 19:47

Wow. People have such misconceptions about IIT.

Maybe sgiitk can help clear them.

My best friend is in IIT-D. He has a job offer of 40 lacs. But that is based in Singapore, includes relocation allowance etc. and has quite some amount of tech in it. I don't think it'd be proper to disclose the company's name, but its a big bank.

The 44 lakhs salary that is run in the papers is offered by Schlumberger and Baker & Hughes. If you are okay with working in either Nigeria or Siberia... they are ready to pay you that kind of money. Let me assure people that the average IITian does NOT earn more than 40-50k pm (tops).

Consultancies don't pick up B.Techs to do MBA work. They pick them up to make them work on Informatica or CR or some similar reporting s/w. A few of them take B.Techs as Knowledge Analysts (making ppts and researching stuff for real consultants).

The only non technical jobs on offer at a good engineering college deal with trading. Companies like Credit Suisse and FuturesFirst are the common recruiters in this field.

Samurai · 2nd December 2009, 19:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by EssYouWe

The 44 lakhs salary that is run in the papers is offered by Schlumberger and Baker & Hughes. If you are okay with working in either Nigeria or Siberia... they are ready to pay you that kind of money. Let me assure people that the average IITian does NOT earn more than 40-50k pm (tops).

I wonder why salaries are converted to Indian rupees when the job is not in India? It totally takes it out of context.

vivekiny2k · 2nd December 2009, 20:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by EssYouWe

Wow. People have such misconceptions about IIT.

Maybe sgiitk can help clear them.

Quote:

I wonder why salaries are converted to Indian rupees when the job is not in India? It totally takes it out of context.

probably they got tired of questions like, "so how much in rupees? ".

and then there is media which loves inflated numbers.

"Sir, i have news that IITs got the highest job offer of 90K USD(equivalent) in nigeria, almost 40 Lakhs. 40K of that is in joining bonus and relocation allowance. Should I put it in dollars..."

"No, make it 50L and put it in headlines"

NetfreakBombay · 2nd December 2009, 20:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by EssYouWe

The only non technical jobs on offer at a good engineering college deal with trading. Companies like Credit Suisse and FuturesFirst are the common recruiters in this field.

That is THE job from career point of view.

Even after completing MBA, usually Consultancy and IB (trading) are most sought after roles.

You are right, max salary in India is around 20 lakh. Figures of 40 lakh are simply exaggeration or jobs are not in India.

But even for jobs in India, 20 lakh (Tower Research) was unheard of till few years back.

Even PSU like NTPC are offering jobs in 10 lakh range to IIT.

1st December 2009, 13:36	#83
bblost Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 6,345 Thanked: 1,805 Times View My Garage	Networking helps Do a good job, no matter what it is. I did not get any campus rec. Passed out in 2002. Worked among other things as a s/w salesman, wrote guide book etc. Then 2003 joined my present company. Been in the same place ever since. I write code. I will not call it a job because I enjoy it so much. Last edited by bblost : 1st December 2009 at 13:38.

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1st December 2009, 10:58	#77
alpha1 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: pune Posts: 742 Thanked: 103 Times	gawd, I should re-enter IIT.

1st December 2009, 11:42	#79
amitk26 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,627 Thanked: 119 Times	Lot of genralities are thrown around when some honcho talks on employability and skills . What they mean by it differs as per the job. Students need to think what they actually want to do in life or where their passion lies and choose the path accordingly. Few examples. 1. Independent thinking and problem solving. This really depends on kind of job , In most of the IT service companies ( termed as IT consulting ) this is not a desired trait What is required is discipline and do what exactly is told this may sound ironical but it is fact of life and from what I know the various tests / tools employed by these companies is to filter out such candidates who may prove maverick. The industry standard term is "Good Team Player" So in these companies emphasis is on the past track record , Interpersonal skills and how you handle conflicts more then what kind of problems you can solve. See the recruitment process and projects handled by top 5 MNC or Indian IT consulting companies and above seems to be true. On the other hand product companies and what is termed as top tier companies in India and Start ups actually need individual performers and people with independent thinking and problem solving skills. Invariably an individual performer and independent thinker comes with slightly inflated ego and that is OK here. So in HR terminology they are "high achievers and independent thinkers" Most of the product companies in the developmental roles welcome these traits and that is why profile of recruitment in start-ups and product MNCs is quite different. 2. Employ-ability : It depends on type of employer , A person who is well rounded but average on technical skills is what a consulting company looks for ( be it IT or any other consulting) . A person with good interpersonal skills is required for marketing and communication kind of jobs. A not so well rounded but excellent technical capability is what you need for implementation project. So if someone says employ-ability is low it depends on who is talking. 3. How good Indian students or education system is. Well basics should be sound and theoretical knowledge should be paramount for any kind of implementation job which involved engineering. I remember asking a fresh Electronics and communication graduate what is Shanon's limit and he was unable to answer. It is not that in my company he is going to calculate bandwidth requirements based on signal to noise ratio and information to be transferred and that is why he need to know it. But the fact is that he was supposed to know this basic theory for communication his study and if can not remember it there is no guarantee that he will ever carefully study any of the reams of protocol specifications and understand them. On the other hand a guy who knows communication engineering but does not know how to talk without getting aggressive and how to start a conversation to strangers may be unemployable in a Telco marketing or vendor relation job such as in Airtel or Vodafone.

1st December 2009, 12:26	#80
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: New Delhi Posts: 17,568 Thanked: 4,277 Times View My Garage	One very important thing got missed out. "Networking!" If you know people in industry, or if a particular company has alumini of your college at management level, there is a good chance for you to get in that company.

1st December 2009, 13:05	#81
coolfyre BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 67 Thanked: 2 Times	Networking is good. But I have seen it in practice the other way. The networking what I am talking about is regional, caste, community based networking. Most Indian interviews that I have attended, the interviewers were interested to know if I belonged to their region / caste / community etc. A few months back, we were recruiting and we had shortlisted 2 guys to be hired. My manager hired one guy even though for us interviewers he was a second choice for the only reason that the guy was from Chennai. My manager is also from Chennai. This is the ground reality.

2nd December 2009, 19:30	#86
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: B'lore-Manipal Posts: 15,378 Thanked: 2,741 Times View My Garage	I graduated in 1990, and my college started having campus interviews 1991. After working few months as TA in the same college, I finally got my first software programmer job with a salary was 15K per year. Now my office cleaning lady makes more than twice that.

2nd December 2009, 19:47	#87
EssYouWe Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Lucknow Posts: 1,393 Thanked: 15 Times	Wow. People have such misconceptions about IIT. Maybe sgiitk can help clear them. My best friend is in IIT-D. He has a job offer of 40 lacs. But that is based in Singapore, includes relocation allowance etc. and has quite some amount of tech in it. I don't think it'd be proper to disclose the company's name, but its a big bank. The 44 lakhs salary that is run in the papers is offered by Schlumberger and Baker & Hughes. If you are okay with working in either Nigeria or Siberia... they are ready to pay you that kind of money. Let me assure people that the average IITian does NOT earn more than 40-50k pm (tops). Consultancies don't pick up B.Techs to do MBA work. They pick them up to make them work on Informatica or CR or some similar reporting s/w. A few of them take B.Techs as Knowledge Analysts (making ppts and researching stuff for real consultants). The only non technical jobs on offer at a good engineering college deal with trading. Companies like Credit Suisse and FuturesFirst are the common recruiters in this field.