The English Press Club interviewed Prithvi Gowda C. from the Junior Placement Committee (JPC) to gain insights about the various fields available to students during their placements, as well as the pathways typically pursued by those who choose alternatives.
The JPC relayed that in 2023-2024, BITS Pilani Campus saw 825 first-degree students register for placements, of which 705 were placed. Of those who chose not to opt for the traditional placement route, many pursued alternative paths such as off-campus placement and higher education, or had a pre-placement offer (PPO). The JPC mentioned that even students who wanted to pursue higher studies often sat for placements.
Within regular placements, students opted for IT, ET, core (Mechanical, Chemical, and Civil), DSA, finance, and other non-core jobs, which the JPC mentioned was an umbrella term for jobs surrounding product management and consulting. Roughly 40–45% ended up placed in IT companies, while the second most competitive were claimed to be non-core jobs, with 20–25% students getting placed in those roles. The JPC explained that the reason for this was the fact that recruiters from such companies considered BITSians to be of ‘higher aptitude’ than students from other universities. Due to this, students got placed in these non-core roles where the recruiters believed the students could acquire the skills on the job and adapt effectively.
The JPC also mentioned that ET had been a rapidly growing industry with an increase in both the jobs offered in the field and students interested in joining. Around 80 students this placement season cited ET as their priority. Alongside ET, product management roles have also seen a surge during placement cycles, owing to the growing startup culture in India
On the other hand, the JPC said that there hadn’t been any industry lately that had been depreciating. Any variance could be simply attributed to the shift in the students’ interests in said fields. They explained by giving an example of students starting to opt for non-core roles post-COVID to attain higher packages, which they may not have gotten in core placements.
When asked what unconventional career paths they had seen students go forward with right after finishing their university degree, the JPC mentioned the role of the founder’s office internships at startups. They described it as a general role where the intern’s exact job description was not restricted to a single domain and was highly dynamic. The intern worked directly under the founder, with a target to help the startup grow in any way they could. An intern often started their career working part-time during their time on campus, which then translated to a full-time job. This path was often taken by those whose career aspirations did not align with the ones offered by corporate companies.
Another non-traditional field students opted for was UI/UX. The JPC mentioned that engineering students brought a more technical perspective than a student with solely a design background. The interested students pursued a higher education in areas such as computer interaction, which translated into a UI/UX job.
In the end, the JPC stated that CTCs were a big driving force for students deciding their career paths. Many students in branches such as Mechanical or Chemical opted to go into non-core fields, since the packages they could avail in these fields were almost double what they could expect in branch-specific placements.
Revisiting the previous question, the JPC added that perhaps going into core was unconventional now. They explained that apart from students studying CS and Phoenix, most competed for non-core or IT placements, or pursued a masters after their bachelor’s. In the years after their graduation, students learn more about other fields as well as their own, through first-hand experience, gain clarity, and only then do they pursue core roles.