The reality behind engineering college placements: Ajoy Mohanta

Throughout my school, I was a good student. In Class 10, I secured 89% and so my private tutor suggested me to go with Science. I did so as I loved Physics the most. In Class 12, someone suggested my father to put me in a coaching for engineering. I joined Aakash Coaching Institute. I had to travel to another city (around 3 hours of train journey) for classes on weekends. It was not easy for me to manage all those things along with Board studies. As a result, I couldn’t perform well - neither in JEE nor in Board exams (I got 82%). Though somehow, I secured approximately 19k rank in a state entrance exam WBJEE. Basis this rank, I secured admissions at an average private engineering college in Kolkata. It was the biggest mistake of my life.

I came to a completely new city, stayed in a mess and started my college life. Everything was completely new to me - the lifestyle, the people, etc. Moreover, I had no idea about Computer Science. The first two semesters were easy but unfortunately, I got two backlogs in these semesters. Actually, at that time, I was completely addicted to free internet and laptop. Watching movies became a habit. I did not even miss a single Bollywood or Hollywood movie that released. As a penalty, I got back to back two backlogs. After this, I distracted myself from those habits by working out. When I concentrated on studies in the 3^rd semester, I found that all the CSE subjects were new to me and my CBSE or ISC friends had already studied those in their schools. I tried to understand those new concepts but couldn’t make them my passion.

Sometimes, I thought I missed simple Physics, Chemistry, and Maths. I wondered what it would it be like to study BSc. This is how I completed my 2^nd and 3^rd year. In this time period, I learnt all the tactics of engineering - how to study the night before the exam, how to stay up till late in the night, class bunks, etc. I realized that engineering is not tough; the reason students can’t score is they don’t study properly. Even the teachers in the colleges are not properly experienced, so they aren’t able to convey the subjects to us properly.

Somehow, I got interested in my books and in cooking. I used to cook every day to save some of my father’s money. I also started taking tuition to earn some pocket money. Right now, I am in the 7^th semester and I believe this is the most crucial time of one’s life. It includes final year project, campus placements, preparation for aptitude, technical skills, GD, etc.

Now, the first thing you have to do is talk to the final year college students and find out the truth before taking admission in any private college. (Don’t believe any faculty member; they say too many things). During my admissions, I searched about the college’s placements and found 65% success rate. They had even posted about so many recruiters and their logos on the college website. But I know the reality now.

Reality behind placements

In CSE and IT, the placement rate is 25% and in other core branches, it’s below 7%. Though being under the brand Techno, we got a few pool campus drives but the competition was harder there. Companies selected around 10-15 students or maximum 20 students out of around 600-800 students from all Techno colleges. Also, most of the companies offer 3-3.5 LPA as CTC, which is very less for staying in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, etc. Right now, I am preparing for GATE and am planning to get into a PSU. I may also opt for MTech in NITs or IITs, but I have understood one thing and would advise the same- Don’t study engineering from a state-based private college. It would ruin your whole life. Try to go for IITs or NITs or at least a good government college.

In the end, I would like to suggest one thing - Don’t take engineering for granted, take it seriously. Study hard and don’t just stick to your books. Learn new things of industrial interest, do training and projects. Learn real-life problem solving through coding. And the main thing - Keep in touch with your seniors. Learn from their failure or success and surely, you will find the result of your hard work.

About the Author:

My name is Ajoy Mohanta and I am currently in 4^th year of BTech. I am pursuing Computer Science Engineering from a state level college in Kolkata - Techno India College of Technology.