It just had to happen some time didn’t it…sooner or later. Well, it happened sooner than I thought it would (before I sit for my campus placement that is :( )Yes, I would very much prefer a core job but think about it…not everyone is assured a job in a core company. You need to pass written exams and get through multiple interviews, and oh, have something like a 9 point GPA. For most college students, the only thing which is likely to touch 9 is their blood alcohol level during weekends ;), and that’s not gonna get them a job in a brewery let alone a core company.

I might be wrong about the exact statistics in this particular piece of information, but this year, IBM recruited 106 students from a particular city, and a couple of months after being handed the offer letter, they were called for yet another set of interviews, where 60 were eliminated and only 46 survived with job in hand! Now that really sucks for those poor guys. And from my college placement list, the number getting placed in MCRs (Mass Recruiting Companies) has come down visibly, and I’m told the case is the same everywhere. Anna university vice chancellor actually advised students at the time of counseling not to take computer science this year because the sector seems unstable.

I was at the RTO waiting for my driving license last month, and a pleasant man next to me who introduced himself as an income tax advisor got chatty with me. We exchanged pleasantries and when he learned I’m an engineering student (sigh…isn’t everyone these days?), he clicked his tongue in a sympathetic manner and said something which sounded like this.”Last year, numerous students who received jobs in a major company (read IT), were given a joining date which was sometime in August 2007. A couple of months later, they received another letter from the company which said their joining date has been postponed to January 2008! Come January, and another letter makes its way home saying their date has been further postponed and they will be intimated about the same when the company sees fit. So obviously, many of these boys have either found other jobs in the past year, or they’re sitting through every course offered by NIIT, or worse still, they’re rotting at home in the hope that they will be called by the company soon.”

I don’t know how much of his story is true but he seemed to know his stuff and looked respectable enough.

We’re not yet there but I guess we’re all soon going to say “Gone are the days when you can bank on SWITCH (Satyam, Wipro, Infosys, TCS, CTS, HCL) to give you a job when you pass out”.

But wait, seems there’s a good side to this story too. Core companies have started increasing their intake (or so I heard).It might not be proportional to IT but its something to hope for right? And I’m not talking through my hat either…it seems true.90 guys out of 150 from my branch (mech) in final year in coll have been placed in core so far, the remaining either have software jobs or are not planning to sit for placements, or are not eligible for placement as they don’t have the minimum 6.0 GPA required for placement application, and companies are still coming.

So now you might ask yourself, why is this guy bummed out about it then? Ill tell you why. New rule enforced here cos of the sudden reduction I the number of jobs. Only 1 job allowed per head! That’s right, you get placed in one company, even if that company is a dhaba on the roadside, you’re done. It might not sound like a very bad thing but it can seriously screw your life up. Because earlier, when you were allowed 2 jobs, you could get placed in an MCR and at least ease the tension a bit, cos you have something in hand. And after, you can sit through core and hope for something good.

The crux of the problem lies in the time of arrival of the companies. Software comes towards the wee end of your 6th sem, whereas core arrives in the beginning of your 7th.Get the picture?

Hypothetical situation: Mr. X is a student of, say chemical engineering, in his 6th semester. He really loves his branch and wouldn’t dream of working in any other line. His grades aren’t that great but he has hopes of getting into core. SWITCH and others comes and recruit, X leaves all of it cos he doesn’t wanna get stuck with them without an option. He goes home, chills during his vacation, gets bored like he always does, and comes back for his last stretch in coll. Cometh the ppl he has been so eagerly waiting for. He applies for the biggest of them, doesn’t get in, no problem he applies for the smaller ones too with less attractive packages. Bad news, he doesn’t make it through any of them, he’s now extremely low on confidence, has to face his parents who shelled out for his not so cheap college education.And to add insult to injury, his classmates with grades lower than his own probably have a job in hand.Nice soup hes in

Whatever it is, the road ahead seems dark for students of CSc and IT. We can only but hope that the situation improves before our time comes, so keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best,or SWITCH to a line which holds better prospects.

P.S: Comments welcome. Please give me your opinions, more info, and point out factual errors, if any, in my post.