The Road Ahead after JEE

Qualifying in an engineering entrance exam like JEE is nothing short of an achievement, but there are bigger decisions and choices that follow in terms of career and job prospects. In an exclusive interview with click4college.com, Dr. Saif Khan Mohammed, Associate Professor - Electrical Engineering Dept, IIT Delhi sheds light on industry requirements and options that students should consider to push their careers in the right direction.

Q. What, according to you, are the best engineering courses in India today in terms of better job prospects?

A. In terms of better job prospects in India, the best engineering courses would be Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Chemical Engineering. Due to the IT revolution in India, students graduating in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering have more options compared to students graduating in other courses. However, even for students graduating in other disciplines there are several possibilities both in India and abroad, especially if the student gets a good post graduate degree in their discipline (for example from IITs) and gets some years of work experience. It is also expected that even in the non-IT disciplines, there is going to be a huge demand for skilled people in India, in the near future.

Q. What are the most popular options, other than MBA, for engineering graduates when it comes to doing Masters?

A. Apart from MBA, students interested in postgraduate studies usually do so in the same area in which they completed their Bachelor's degree. Many students also switch to a related discipline for their postgraduate studies. For example, it is very common to see an Electrical Engineering B.Tech student pursuing postgraduate studies in Computer Science.

Q. What do the employers look for when they come to engineering institutes for placements?

A. For short-listing students, employers generally put a qualifying limit on the cumulative grade point average (CGPA). A good candidate is also expected to have a strong hold on fundamentals of the discipline. As most employers are looking for hiring entry-level engineers, they generally do not ask very advanced questions, what they are looking for are individuals who have basic knowledge of their discipline, have descent IQ, good communication skills and can work in a team.

Q. How should the students prepare for placements?

A. The placement generally involves a written test followed by personal interview. The written test could involve a mix of general aptitude/IQ type questions and technical questions related to the disciplines in which the employer is interested. To clear the written tests, one must revise the fundamental concepts/courses of his/her discipline with more emphasis on topics, which are of greater important to the employer. Students must also practise aptitude/IQ type questions. The written tests are usually followed by one or more levels of personal interviews in which, apart from assessing the technical knowledge of the candidate, the employers also assess other soft skills of the candidate, e.g., communication/presentation skill, inter-personal skills, team player and other behavioural traits such as motivation, time-management etc. Therefore, in addition to studies, students should also strengthen their soft skills through seminars and training sessions, which are organized at all IITs from time to time.

Some students develop the misconception that employers are looking for students with stellar achievements in co-curricular activities. Having co-curricular achievements is definitely a plus, but is of not much use to a student who has poor knowledge in his/her discipline and/or poor CGPA. Students must therefore strike a balance between how much time they spend on studies and on co-curricular activities.