No more high education dream for IIT graduates
By agencies   |   Monday, 16 May 2005, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: Top companies are luring IIT students like never before. This has lead to a decline in the number of students opting for master's degree in the U.S. While official figures are not available, it is said just 15-20 percent of IIT graduates are opting for higher studies abroad. "Jobs in India are of a better quality now," says Prof Ashok Misra, Director, IIT Bombay. In the year 2004-05, IBM offered 31 on campus jobs to final-year IIT Bombay students. Oracle offerd to hire 25 students while Intel went away with 16 graduates. "The number of major companies exploring India is growing," says Prof Misra. Though the majority of recruiters are from IT companies, major consultancy companies like McKinsey and investment banks like Morgan Stanley have also started hiring IIT students. Even the salaries are better than previous years. "IIT Bombay saw the average salary increase to approximately Rs 350,000-400,000 per annum from around Rs 300,000 per annum last year," says Anip Sharma, a student placement representative for IIT Bombay. Prof Narendran of IIT Chennai says "The choice for the students could be between spending their dad's money for a master's and earning Rs 450,000 per annum here." However with the domestic economy doing much better, the students are now opting to work in India right after college. The `dual degree' program introduced in some IITs has been of help. IIT Bombay offers an integrated bachelor's and master's degree along with its regular B.Tech programs, hence students dont feel the urge to study MS abroad. According to Prof Narendaran says "Some of our students think it's a good idea to work now and then consider doing an MS or MBA after a few years."

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