GATE-way to high paying PSU jobs!

By Abhijeet Chaudhuri

Apart from admissions to M.Tech/ME/MS courses, GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is also the qualifying test for many Public Sector Units (PSUs) like BHEL, NTPC, IOCL etc. So if you want a high paying job with the security of a PSU, GATE is a great option for you. The vacancies and remunerations for various jobs in PSUs through GATE 2013 are listed below:

Name of PSU	No. of Vacancies	Disciplines Applicable for	Relevant Dates	CTC (in Rs per annum)
PowerGrid Corporation	NA	EE	7 Jan - 8 Feb	12.7 Lakh
Indian Oil Corp. (IOCL)	400	CE, CH, CS, EE, IN,EE, ME and Metallurgy	10 Dec - 19 Jan	NA
Mineral Exploration Corp. (MECL)	20	ME	1 Jan - 31 Jan	4.8 Lakh
Delhi Development Authority (DDA)	NA	CE, EE, ME	24 Dec - 14 Feb	4.8 Lakh
Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL)	150	EC, ME, CS	28 Dec - 14 Feb	4.8 Lakh
Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL)	NA	ME, EE, CH, IN	6 Dec - 15 Jan	NA
Bharat Petroleum Corp. (BPCL)	NA	ME	5 Dec - 9 Feb	10 Lakh
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL)	500	ME, EE, EC	1 Jan - 31 Jan	8-9 Lakh

Since GATE is also the entrance test for M.Tech/ME/MS courses in India, let us explore why these courses are a very lucrative career option.

Better and more meaningful job profile

Just think – most large IT companies in India hire thousands of graduates every year. How do you stand apart? How do you make yourself seen?

While the IT industry is the prominent sector driving the employment boom, the job profiles and abilities required are primarily generalist in nature. More often than not, there is no differentiation in the job profiles being offered to the recruits based on their qualification. Hence, these jobs do not do justice to the knowledge picked up by a student during his/her undergraduate studies. Masters students, however, are offered core jobs which are undoubtedly much more satisfying, intellectually as well as financially.

Research and Development opportunities

Almost all global technological companies like Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, AMD, Intel, SUN Microsystems, General Motors, General Electric have shifted a significant portion of their R&D activities in India. These research establishments recruit only masters or doctorate students for these jobs. Furthermore, GATE is a prerequisite for eligibility for CSIR labs in India for the Junior Research Fellow program, after which you can pursue your PhD in any good university. To do a PhD in the best institutions of the world, you need recommendations from IIT and IISc professors. So M.Tech in these institutions is in a way a gateway to acquiring a PhD in the best institutions of the world.

Entrepreneurship as a career

Worldwide, a lot of technical companies trace their origin and evolution to the research labs of universities. Companies like SUN Microsystems, Google, Yahoo, were conceived at various university campuses. Back home in India, companies like Strand Genomics (voted as the Technological Startup of the Year, by World Economic Forum, Davos) evolved out of IISc campus. There are various other examples where a number of IIT/IIScians have started their own companies based on the technical foundation obtained at IITs/IISc. A large percentage of Indian software companies have been founded by IISc/IIT postgraduates. A list of IIT/IISc alumni who have done it big includes N R Murthy (M.Tech IIT Kanpur) and Sudha Murthy (M.Tech, IISc Bangalore), Ramadorai (CEO of TCS, M.Tech from IISc Bangalore).

About GATE

• Conducted by an organising committee represented by the IISc Bangalore and seven IITs, and headed by one institute every year in rotation. GATE 2013 is to be conducted by IIT Bombay.
• Conducted in 21 disciplines – six offline (ECE, EE, CS, ME, IN and Production Engg.) and the remaining 15 papers are online. Online test for GATE’13 will be held on  January 20, 2013 and the offline test will be held on February 10, 2013.
• Paper consists of 65 questions (55 technical or subject based questions and 10 General Ability questions) totaling 100 marks. Penalty for a wrong answer is 33%.
• Click for GATE online application form 2013.

The author is director, GATEFORUM

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- GATE 2013 to go online in 15 streams

- Management exams beyond CAT