If you are a B.Tech from any IIT, you are going to hit paydirt. An IIT is an IIT no matter which campus, it is the ‘brand’ that commands high salaries. All branches of engineering at IITs will open up to lucrative careers. A recent report by HirePro, a recruitment technology and assessment solutions company, has dispelled some of these myths associated with pay packages and an IIT education.

The report analysed placement data from 17 of the 23 IITs that have a large intake of students. The analysis reveals that only 5.5 per cent, 960 students, secure jobs with a CTC of ₹50 lakh or more. Moreover, it also states that ​​students from circuit branches such as computer science engineering, electronics and communication engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, AI and ML, and data science, secure the majority of high-paying job offers.

Computer science frenzy

Students from IITs in Mumbai, Madras, Delhi, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Guwahati, Roorkee, BHU Varanasi, and Hyderabad campuses receive job offers with higher compensation compared to other IITs in Dhanbad (ISM), Ropar, Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar, Jodhpur, Patna, Indore, and Mandi campuses.

Going by the report, a computer science engineering student from, say IIT Delhi, who has maintained a good CGPA throughout their time at college has the maximum chances of securing jobs with high pay packages such as ₹50 lakh or more. Because nearly 54 per cent of total students in the top tier of IITs and 50 per cent of students in the next tier of IITs receive job offers with ₹10 to 16 lakh salary package, states the report.

“The study is purely about placements and CTCs. It can be looked at from two different points of view — employers and IIT aspirants. The general notion is that when people graduate from IITs, they get paid very high. That creates a perception among employers that it is not possible to hire from IITs. On the other hand, from a candidate standpoint, it disrupts the idea that it is just enough to make it to an IIT to get high-paying jobs,” clarifies S Pasupathi, Chief Operating Officer of HirePro, an IIT Delhi himself.

Consistent effort matters

After cracking the competitive entrance exam, one still needs to keep the same effort going for the next four years and be a part of the top one per cent in the class to get lucrative opportunities, according to Ramakrishna Borra, campus recruitment expert at HirePro.

What can students in disciplines other than computer science do now to crack these jobs? “The course you are in is not a bad one, but if you want to make a pivot and access different kinds of jobs, then at IITs today, there is always access to learn. There are many opportunities to learn if you have the inclination — a friend in a different department, competitions, clubs, or take up electives. A variety of impressive soft skills and developing domain skills might help you make the cut,” says Borra.