Concerns are rising among IIT students from the Class of 2024 as they navigate the final placement process at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). With over a week elapsed since the commencement of final placements, there is a discernible drop of approximately 30% in the number of students securing job offers compared to the previous academic session.
According to the Economic Times, members of the placement teams at the older IITs have observed a decrease in the number of students receiving job offers this year, despite the institutes anticipating and preparing for a challenging placement season. Notably, even some computer science engineering students, traditionally highly sought after, have remained unplaced for over a week—a departure from previous years when these students secured placements within the first three to four days.
The situation is particularly disconcerting because the older IITs in Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Madras, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Guwahati, and Varanasi (BHU) are considered the standard-bearers for engineering placements in the country. Thousands of students vie for admission to these prestigious institutions, viewing it as a gateway to lucrative careers. Despite performing well in last year\’s placements amid the tech slowdown, even these IITs are grappling with challenges this year.
Several factors contribute to the difficulty, including a lower number of applications per recruiter, some companies opting out of placements, and an overall subdued hiring sentiment, partly influenced by the tech slowdown. An IIT-Kharagpur student mentioned that recruiters who used to hire around 10 students are now only taking 1-2 students each, and some companies are leaving the campus without hiring any student.
“This year, job offers are down by 30%,\” remarked a student from an older IIT. The final placements at these institutions began on December 1, 2023, and the slowdown in job offers is evident across various sectors, including consulting and technology.
Rajib Maity, chair of IIT Kharagpur\’s career development center, reported that by Day 7 of this year, the university had received 1,181 offers. In comparison, by the end of Day 5 last year, the institute had received 1,300 offers. Professor SK Shrivastava, coordinator of the training and placement cell at IIT-BHU, mentioned receiving 850 offers as of Friday morning, down from about 1,000 offers in the first four days of the previous year.
