The Larger Dilemma Of Getting Admission Into Engineering Colleges

Every year, approximately 10lakh students appear for engineering exams across the country. With almost all the engineering entrance exams coming to an end, students are eagerly awaiting the arrival of counseling season. Where students are looking forward to getting admission to prestigious engineering colleges, it is imperative to be well-informed about the process to make a wise decision at the time of admission.  

Considering that the leading engineering colleges offer a good range of courses, it sometimes becomes overwhelming for students to choose a suitable branch. As courses in Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Information Technology, and Software Engineering are popular, it makes the students wonder even more which is the right path for them.  

Understanding the dilemma of the students, let’s look at some of the factors that should be considered while selecting a branch for specialisation. 

1. Interest - Without a doubt, interest in a particular course should be given the utmost priority. It makes the learning process enjoyable while paving the path to a successful career. Most of the time, students are worried about their future and get carried away by peer pressure to take a course that is not of their interest. Here, it is important to recognise that future prospects are lucrative only when a person has the desired aptitude for working in a particular field. It might seem overarching, but there are decent job opportunities for every branch.   

2. Job prospects - After taking into account the interest, gauging the job prospects of the particular specialisation also helps a lot in putting a rest to the confusion. For instance, as compared to other branches, the Computer Science and Engineering course offers far better and more lucrative job opportunities to students. Also, with the fast pace at which digitization is materialising, AI, ML, cybersecurity, metaverse, etc. are emerging as the next big thing in the space. Students can consider pursuing the relevant courses to make a career in these fields in the future.  

3. Salary - Salary is another driving factor that bodes well for making a decision. Looking at the industry trends over the years, it is evident that petroleum engineering comes with a good pay package. In addition to this, as stated above, where the majority of the students go for Computer Science Engineering, one can even opt for B.Tech courses in Data Science and AI for a gateway to highly paid jobs with promising career options.  

4. Work-life balance - There is a high possibility that aspirants fail to take this factor into account at the time of selecting the course. Having stated that it is purely subjective to one’s personal choice. Depending on their priorities, they can go ahead with any particular course of their choice. For example, a job such as civil engineer expects one to dedicate long working hours. On the other hand, software engineering comes with flexibility in working hours. Therefore, analyzing one’s abilities, one should prefer a branch accordingly.  

Having talked about the course, choosing between college and course is another big confusion amongst children. They find themselves at a crossroad, unable to choose one over the other. There is always a tussle at the back of the mind that gets swayed by the popularity of legacy engineering colleges over second-generation colleges. Though the old engineering colleges have a long history of experience, placement, resources, and faculty, second-generation colleges are also good options for students.  

Students coming with a course-specific mindset can invariably go for second-generation colleges without a doubt. These colleges have good prospects of flourishing given to their potential to adapt to new technologies, and laboratories with the latest facilities, and offer good research work. They are well supported by better infrastructure, have experienced faculty, and provide an industry-oriented curriculum. At the same time, the colleges come with more affordable fee structures as compared to legacy colleges. One can take the example of IIT Gandhinagar, Mandi, and Hyderabad which are doing some remarkable research work.  

Taking the instance of IIT, second-gen colleges are beneficial for students with 2000-3000 ranks, who are unable to get top branches in the old IITs. One can explore Computer Science, Electronics & Communications, Mathematics & Computing in the second-generation IITs. In addition to this, students can even consider courses in Data Science, AI, etc in 2nd gen IITs to pursue a career in CS, IT, or software department. The colleges pay intensive attention to quality project work during 4 years course.  

Looking at the complexity of the situation it is recommended that before coming to a conclusion,  

• students first identify their interests with the help of online quizzes and assessments.  

• Following this they can do thorough research on different engineering branches along with their job prospects.  

• Attending engineering fairs and exhibitions is a good way to learn more about different specialisations.  

• Along with this, reading books and articles related to engineering courses can be very insightful.  

• If possible, students, can try and connect with faculty or students studying there, and alumni through social media or any other channels to get first-hand information about the overall prospect.   

• In case, nothing works taking the advice and guidance of teachers, counsellors or parents is always a good option.      

Nitin Viijay

Guest Author The author is Founder and CEO of Motion Education