Which Company or Sector Hires Maximum IITians?

While IT/software companies have always extended the most offers in the past, this was the first time core companies accounted for almost 40% of total job offers at major IITs. 
There was definitely a shift in student preferences this year. Of course, many students still prefer consulting, finance, and software engineering roles over others. But the division of sectors offering roles at IIT campuses surely looks different than in previous years.
And this got me thinking. While most of the high-profile companies hog the spotlight during placements, which sectors hire the most students? Conversely, what sectors, roles, and industries do IIT students prefer most? And finally, I wanted to see general trends for ex-IITians and where they work now.
So, I decided to dig a little into a fairly reliable source like LinkedIn, and the result of that digging turned into this article. Here I’ll present a short analysis of hiring trends at the top 3 IITs and which sectors employ these folks.

IIT Madras

Last year, the HRD Ministry released its first ever ‘India Ranking Report 2016’, and IIT Madras topped the list. Below is a break up of 5 sectors where most IIT-M alumni currently work.

Total IIT-M alumni (on LinkedIn) – 37,313
The ‘Common job functions’ column is indicative of the roles IIT-M graduates currently hold. It’s not a definitive resource to judge the job profiles graduates end up working in.
Similarly, the ‘Where they work’ column also lists companies for each job category in which maximum graduates are currently working. It’s also only indicative and not definitive.

IIT Bombay

IIT Bombay alumni distribution looks pretty similar to Madras. However, the figures show that IIT-B alumni favor entrepreneurial ventures over conventional IT jobs. There’s a slight change in percentage across sectors as well.
Total IIT-B alumni (on LinkedIn): 43,866

Entrepreneurship comes out as a big winner for IIT-B graduates. The data for ‘common job functions’ is indicative of the most common job titles held by IIT-B alumni in each industry. Similarly, employers in the ‘where they work’ column also list the companies where most graduates are currently working.

IIT Delhi

Graduates from IIT-D pick up almost similar roles as their peers from IIT-B and IIT-M. However, the last spot in sector-wise distribution is totally different from the other two. Operations rank as the 5th most popular sector among IIT-D students, but entrepreneurship is a close sixth.
Total IIT-D alumni (on LinkedIn): 42,288

Surprisingly, IIT-D graduates favor public companies more than their peers from Madras and Bombay. Moreover, in contrast to the other two IITs, more students chose a career in education than in research.

Alright, let’s focus on key takeaways from this data

1. The core engineering roles are still the favorite sector for IITians. But the core technologies and skills have shifted towards Software development, analytics, and machine learning.
2. The appeal of management consulting profiles and financial firms is still strong among students, but these sectors don’t employ the majority of graduates.
3. A significant number of IITians are building startups, but the entrepreneurial activity varies with location. For instance, Powai’s easy access to capital and resources has helped IIT-B become a breeding ground for entrepreneurs. Another important shift you can see is that many graduates are ditching high-salary offers to start up on their own.
4. While students still pursue education and research sectors after graduation, the majority of them land high-ranking jobs at big companies (Not academia).
5. The number of students going for a job at a PSU is rising gradually. Major PSUs returned to IITs for placements this year after a 2-year ban. What’s more, many PSUs were given slots for Day 1.

Wait! Before I finish up this piece – Read where IIT JEE Rank 1 from the last 5 are working right now.

Conclusion

The best talent in India is shifting its work preferences. While computer science graduates have increased opportunities in big brands and startups, the rise in core sector companies is proving favorable for other branches. And as more and more students start up new ventures, the number of opportunities for their peers and juniors will improve rapidly. We’ll just have to wait and see if the popular sectors will still hold the same charm when graduates get access to a pool of companies that provide the same opportunities for growth.
Note: Hey! Are you an engineering graduate from a Tier-1 college? Yes? Then hop in and check out Un-Campus Placements – the first online hiring event conducted especially for IIT/NIT/BITS. Join more than 1,500 bright folks like you who want to explore better opportunities and don’t want to settle until they find the work/company/package they love.