Placements in India:
When the son was sitting for his placements in IIT-Roorkee in December of 2022, he had little clue of how it would work. He did his series of written tests for many companies and always got shortlisted for the next round. The difficulty was not getting shortlisted for him, rather it was what came later after the shortlisting that mattered to him the most. In the first week of placement interviews (which he was always shortlisted for! :)), multiple rounds of interviews were held at midnight or at odd hours like 3 a.m.! He was exhausted from the tiring rounds of placement procedures. He got placed alright but was exhausted by the whole experience. I don’t think he will ever forget his placement experience, and neither will we! 🙂
You can read more about his placement saga at IIT-Roorkee in my book which is available from this link
https://www.amazon.in/Keep-Calm-Like-Roorkee-IITian/dp/B0FC1F8X99/
Next my daughter has also started her engineering journey and I am sure she will encounter these experiences too (if she decides to sit for placements)
In the course of my observations of college years in India, I can see that in most premier engineering colleges in India, “placements” are a regular activity. Companies visit the campus and final year students vie and compete for the open positions in the different companies.
In IIT-Roorkee for instance, I know the college will invite companies to conduct tests and recruit their students. Companies will also oblige and visit the campus on set days and first give the “pre-placement talk”, followed by multiple rounds of written, oral or/and HR rounds.
I am not sure what is the method that is followed in other engineering colleges in India, but in IIT-Roorkee, the companies offering the highest salaries come in the first week of placement drive which usually happens in the first week of December.
From the second week of placement drive, the salaries start dropping.
The bottom line is that, in most premier engineering colleges in India, placements happen and companies actually visit the campus to recruit students.
After he completed his placements at the undergraduate level the son completed his Masters degree abroad as well. He started the whole process of looking for a job again…but this time in the US.
Placements in the US:
There are no placements in the US or any other Western countries like in India. Period.
Career fairs will be organized regularly at many colleges and Universities in the US and students are advised to take advantage of such fairs and circulate their resumes to them. US job hunting process is about having a good CGPA, networking, technical skills and talking confidently with potential employers. As in the current AI age, if the economy is bad, you will have to network more and apply to more positions. In addition, immigration issues will also be having a separate field to be encountered.
There will be no companies lining up outside the college or University to recruit anybody irrespective of academic strength or skill. It is just a matter of skill, networking and luck in the US to get a good job.
After understanding the new ball game, the son did get a job but reminisced the Indian path of getting a job so easily in college in India.
After seeing the son going through both job processes, the geographical location that serves opportunities on a golden platter seems to seal the deal for me. So, wherever you are, if opportunity knocks, seize it and make the most of it!
This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2.0