Experts find huge opportunities post reform

Updated on: Thursday, June 07, 2012

The sea change experienced by the country post economic reforms and the quantum of infrastructural aspirations its growth rates promote, have in them, boundless opportunities for the present generation of IITians, assured experts at the ‘Choice 2012' counselling session for IIT and NIT aspirants held here on Monday.

Organised by ‘The Hindu Education Plus' in association with ‘TMI e2E Academy', the session had hundreds of students and their parents listening with rapt attention to the eight professional practitioners, all of them former IITians. The scope of various Engineering streams such as Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, Electronics and Communication, Computer Science, Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering were explained in detail apart from nuances of narrowing down upon the suitable stream and institution.

Dismissing the concern about job opportunities as parental fetish, Chairman of TMI, T. Muralidharan said every graduate from IIT has multiple job offers. Choice of institute should, instead, be driven by the kind of peers one would be keeping company with, as their influence is paramount in the coming four years. IITs are known to be cauldrons of multiple cultures, and offer tremendous scope for upscaling one's abilities, he said.

Entrepreneur and expert in Engineering Mechanics Venkatesh dwelt upon the focus of Mechanical Engineering in the country which was limited to Manufacturing and Maintenance earlier. Post economic reforms, it has expanded to include Design too, but requires improvement at conceptual level.
Choosing options

While Physics as a subject has a lot more relevance in Design, Chemistry lovers can do better by keeping away from Mechanical, he advised. The pros and cons of each sub-speciality were explained in detail. Elimination was forwarded as the best tool for arriving at the course option.

One Trillion US dollars to be invested on infrastructural development over the next five years indicates the scope of opportunities for Civil Engineering graduates in the country, said R.V. Chakrapani, the Managing Director of Aarvee Associates.

Aptitude in Mathematics and Physics is very important for Civil Engineering, as the stream requires excellent analytical skills, he said. One can find innumerable opportunities in sub-branches such as Building Sciences, Geotechnical Engineering, Structural Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Environment Engineering, Construction Management, and Transportation Engineering, he said, before explaining the job roles and key challenges in the field.

Throwing light on the Electronics and Communication Engineering, Sriram Jayasimha from Signion said the stream offers specialisations in VLSI Design, Mixed Signal Designs, Computer Architecture, and Embedded Designs among others.
Interaction with seniors

Hari Prasad Devarapalli from Tata Consultancy Services, while dwelling upon the Computer Science stream, assured of jobs aplenty in Information Technology. The field is poised to generate 2.3 lakh jobs in the current year, he said.

Ajay Antony from TIME advised the aspirants to interact with their seniors already studying in the institutes before making a decision. Do not take advice from unqualified people, he warned parents, while providing the range of ranks accommodated in each of the IITs last year.

H.S. Kalsi from BHEL and G. Sridhar from Air India respectively counselled the students about Electrical and Aeronautical streams, after which the ‘Question and Answer' hour followed.

Experts find huge opportunities post reform

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