“Kids are encouraged to either study medical or engineering in most Indian homes.” This cliche continues to hold true in a lot of households in India even today. Last year, over 13 lakh students wrote the JEE Mains examination to get into the top engineering colleges in India. This indicates that Graduate Engineer courses are still one of the most popular undergraduate courses in India. One sixth of all students in India apply to engineering courses.
There has been a constantly growing demand for engineers in India and abroad. We explore why Engineering continues to remain so popular even today.
Variety of Career Opportunities
Engineering courses train students in various technical subjects and skill sets. Students develop skills that are transferable to almost all industries. Skills like problem solving, innovation, project management, decision making, team working and communication. Jimmy Carter (Former US President), Neil Armstrong (astronaut) and Alfred Hitchcock (film maker) all started out studying engineering?
Job Satisfaction
Studies and research shows that one of the top 3 reasons that can lead to unhappiness in life is job dissatisfaction. It is, therefore, important to find a career/job that is satisfying, engaging and rewarding. Engineering provides a chance to be skilled for a number of different types of jobs and an engineer in most cases finds satisfying field of work. Engineers, due to technical knowledge and an understanding of high level math, have a greater understanding of the world and application of this to real problems also leads to job satisfaction.
Financial Security
Studies show that engineers are the third best paid professionals in India, following management professionals and investment bankers. All 3 of these jobs can be got after engineering courses. Engineers also have the highest starting salaries for Bachelor’s graduates.
Prestige
Engineers are involved in sustaining a nation’s international competitiveness, ensuring national security and maintaining the standard of living, among other things. Most people also know that engineering requires hard work and strong technical skills. Due to this, engineers receive high amount of prestige.
Intellectual Stimulation
Students pursuing engineering develop the ability to think logically and to solve problems. These skills are valuable throughout
The Question of Stability and Perpetuity
It has to be noted that engineering and getting into the top B.E colleges itself is not the reason why it is viewed as the favorite career choice, but the job and income stability it supposedly offers (not anymore). Since the time of our Kings, later the British Raj and now the Republic, Indians have always vied for stable, government-office jobs which guaranteed perpetuity and stability with no uncertainties or risks attached, where life progressed in a predictive, linear and boring fashion with no creative destruction and a steady stream of income, the ultimate aim of which is to perpetuate ones clan and family with no hiccups in an uncertain and chaotic nation. And engineering always came close to these kinds of jobs. A career in say, fashion designing is much more risky and unpredictable even if it is more fulfilling to a person who has his heart put in it. Engineering is (relatively) cheaper, easily available, more “glamorous” than say, a B.A. or B.Com. In addition, everyone seems to be an engineer and in IT and making money and settling in America. So why the hell not? This preference for the “safe” option also goes a long way in the push for engineering as a preferred career choice, which has been for a long time the “high-class” life-time occupation that generated power, respect and wealth.
