Engineering an all-time favourite

Updated on: Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Engineering remains the most popular choice among Chennai boys with almost 31% opting for a career in the subject this year. However, the number has gone down in the last five years. In 2006, 40% of boys opted for a career in engineering.

Experts say the large number of engineering institutions may be one of the reasons for the number of students opting for engineering courses. However, they say engineers may be suffering for the same reason. "The rise in number of engineering graduates has led to lower employability. It is not as easy for them to get high-paying jobs now as it was five years ago," says career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi. He says the trend is giving way to an increase in the numbers opting for finance and management careers. Among girls, engineering is the second option with only 19% wanting to become engineers. A career in art and design is most favoured, with 24% opting to study architecture, graphic design, jewellery design, fashion design and the like. In 2006, only 15% of girls had opted for these courses. Art and design is slowly growing in popularity among boys too with a small increase of 5%. Teachers say the rise in the number may be attributed to the fact that most students opt for sciences under parental pressure. "Many take up science but realise that it is too hard for them midway and switch to other courses for graduation," says Radha Sreekanth, teacher at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Anna Nagar.

Gandhi also says that graduates of engineering or medicine have to constantly upgrade their skills. "In engineering, the difference between the curriculum and market requirements is constantly widening," he says.
In a new trend, interest in offbeat courses like aroma therapy, cosmetology, dog training and tattooing is on the rise with almost 3% of boys and 5% of girls opting for such courses as compared to none last year.

Times of India

Engineering an all-time favourite

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