Engineering Students: Career aspirations, expectations & needs

As a part of our campus outreach program, we have been interacting with students from various engineering colleges all across India. On of our primary objectives has been to understand the mindsets of young graduating engineering students’ vis-à-vis their career aspirations, expectations and needs. We are in the process of compiling the findings and implications from a very extensively commissioned ethnographic research and we hope to share it with you soon.

Meanwhile, i would like to dwell upon a few very interesting observations and revelations that came out in the process.

One very heartening trend we noticed is a strong 'anti-IT' sentiment that is brewing among most students. I could never fathom how and why half my mates from regular engineering disciplines ended up with a software company! Perhaps the economic recession and saturation in the IT sector are accountable for this change. But most students we spoke to were pretty uncluttered in their minds - they didn't want to pursue a career where their core academic expertise had nothing to contribute.

Students today take a much more proactive role in planning their careers. The Internet epitomizes information for them and they are adept at using it for academic and professionals reasons too. They have increased awareness of career choices coupled with better exposure and understanding of most industries. They consequently seek information that will help them make more informed career choices. However the Energy industry still seems to be in an information black hole - they encounter only a few sources on career related information and none of them is detailed and credible enough.


Another finding of the research was the emphasis students placed on maintaining an equitable work-life balance, even though they haven’t entered the workforce yet! Money is important, but they also feel the need for quality time to actualize themselves. Students also rate work satisfaction as more important than remuneration packages and are keen on seeking out challenging work environments and getting to a personal sense of fulfillment.

To be continued...