THE ENGINEERING VS DENTISTRY CAREER CHOICE
The Engineering Vs Medical career choice debate
Engineers have jobs !
Dental Graduates Don’t Have Jobs !
( NOT TRUE !)
Let’s come directly to the point of jobs !
That’s one point my friends & relatives talk about a lot. So I researched some of the statistics that have come up in the last few years ! .
In the last decade or so, engineering colleges have sprouted in every nook & corner of India. By an estimate, by 2014-15, there are around 3000 to 4000 plus engineering colleges all over India (as per a survey by Economic Times ). Due to economic growth and the out sourcing market, there was steep rise in the number of engineering colleges. So, it didn’t matter what was the branch in which the student did the engineering – every one just wanted to be in IT/software professional at the end of 4 years !
Total Number of engineering graduates passing out each year is around 1.5 million which is more than USA & China combined.
Thousands of engineering colleges & you can divide them in to many groups. There are the top layer of colleges attracting the best minds like IITs/NITs.
After that comes the 2nd & 3rd tier of engineering colleges. The top layer of students in all the IITs, NITS & other reputed private colleges have more chances at getting jobs with a package extending till 9 to 10 lakhs INR (10k to 20k USD) per year in top companies. Also for being the best minds in the country they have more chances at getting through other central government engineering posts.
What about the remaining engineering graduates ? Here comes the truth !
In campus placements (in most of the 2nd or 3rd tier colleges) companies verbally give campus placements to the students. The moment a student is hired he/she can’t sit for further campus selection. Then the long waiting period for official call letter begins. Some times the waiting period is around 2 to 3 years !
And after 2 to 3 years waiting period a call letter is given with a salary of 15,000 to 25,000 INR ! Many engineers in such a case are forced to work below their expertise. Company takes them and put in the BPO/ Call center section of the company. Engineers who used to dream of working in swanky offices, living in penthouses and driving luxury cars are now concerned about finding ‘decent’ openings as they get into their final year at college.
In the current scenario 5 out of 10 engineering graduates (from the non premier engineering colleges) are going job less for an extended period of time.
Not surprisingly, engineers are taking up jobs for which they are not qualified. The logical Indian, a huge Facebook community which started their own website some time back, wrote about a mechanical engineer who is driving an auto rickshaw in New Delhi because he has hungry mouths to feed and a family to look after and the salary being offered to join an IT company was much less that he is making now running his own autos !
My own cousin got a call letter after 3 years of campus selection with a salary package of 1.2 lakhs per year ! But she was smart enough to clear banking exams and is now working in SBI.
She saw the company call letter and said – The companies and their campus selection give the students a false sense of hope and security. They are just for promotion of the engineering college to get the admissions for a new batch ! In reality the companies give the call letter depending on their profit or loss. That’s why she got the joining letter after 3 years ! And they don’t care if the candidate doesn’t join. There are hundreds more waiting in line.
Summary & Comparison with Dentistry :
The myth that all engineers get a job and start a jet set globe trotting life
is a myth.
Yes if the student has graduated from the premier colleges like IIT/NIT then the prospects are bright right after passing ! But how many of your cousins are from IITs/NITs !
A regular fresh engineering graduate gets an average of 20,000 to 30,000 per month (few companies give even less than this)
The notion of job security after engineering graduation is a false sense of security. In 2015 with so much supply of engineering graduates, the companies can dismiss any number of graduates and get new.
More over the companies only give chances to the best minds (students from top colleges) to be part of active thinking group. Rest of the new joiners are just treated as exchange money.
Compare this with dental career – A fresh dental graduate also within a year of opening his/her clinic can make the same amount or more as an engineering graduate. From personal experience I can say that within a year a fresh dental graduate can monthly make an income of 40,000 plus. And what’s more they are no one’s slave. They are free from the slavery of huge corporates.They are themselves corporates from the word go – handling their own ventures.
