India’s elite engineering colleges are worth their weight in gold.
The average salary offer received by graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology is Rs 11.1 lakh (around $16,000) per annum, nearly 140% higher than the Rs 4.7 lakh that entry-level engineers make in the country, a research by online assessments platform Mettl said.
The research is based on the responses collected from 114 engineering colleges across India during the first six months of 2018.
Employers are mostly drawn to the IITs because of “their penchant for quality intake, top-notch infrastructure, and fine faculty,” the report said. Not just the top Indian companies but even international behemoths like Apple and Microsoft, too, come to IITs for recruitment.
The older IITs – Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kharagpur, Roorkee, and Kanpur – are deemed “top.” The salary offers at the new IITs, formed in and after 2008, are far lower.
Among the various streams of engineering, computer science or information technology are the most lucrative. On average, IT engineers make Rs 6.7 lakh a year, while those pursuing electrical, mechanical or civil engineering earn far lesser.
Among computer science and information technology roles, machine learning offers the most rewarding jobs with an average annual pay upwards of Rs 18 lakh.
IIM the best
At the master’s level, too, there’s a clear leader.
Touted as the world’s toughest B-schools to get into, the Indian Institutes of Management far exceeds other management colleges in terms of pay scales.
Those from the top IIMs like Ahmedabad or Bangalore earn Rs 20.6 lakh per annum at the entry level, which is 121% higher than the Rs 9.3 lakh graduates get on average in India, Mettl’s survey of 80 MBA colleges revealed.
However, unlike the IITs, the IIMs are not beating the rest by a mile.
Students from the country’s top private colleges, such as Management Development Institute, Gurugram, and Mumbai-based SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, make nearly as much as those from IIMs.
The technology domain, which includes roles like IT consultant, product head, and chief technology officer, has the most attractive pay packages, Mettl found. These are ideal for candidates who have both, an MBA and a B Tech degree.
While they face criticism for the high-pressure and sometimes uninspiring learning environment, the resources and networks available to students of the IITs and IIMs are priceless and securing a job or funding comes easier to them. Higher pay scales are add-ons.
“The philosophy behind this practice is that these candidates have gone through more severe competition to secure admission and must get compensated differently,” said Sujaya Banerjee, founder and CEO of Capstone People Consulting.
This article first appeared on Quartz.
