Placement woes: IIT graduates land salary packages below Rs 10 lakh this year

MUMBAI/DELHI: The pursuit of high-paying jobs has hit a roadblock this placement season at the premium Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). With companies scaling back on hiring and offering lower salary packages, students at the tail-end are being offered annual packages below Rs 10 lakh.
Organisations that would usually pick half-a-dozen students have picked one or two at best, forcing colleges to reach out to more companies.And many of those are offering annual compensation of Rs 10-15 lakh. Students who have bagged campus jobs at what they believe is a lower pay scale, are still in the market looking for better prospects on job portals and travelling cities to attend job fairs and interviews.
“The global economic slowdown has significantly impacted the campus placements for the 2024 graduating batch of IIT Indore. The reduced hiring numbers of recruiters compared to the previous year have resulted in a challenging placement season. To offset the impact, IIT Indore has taken early steps by tapping into alumni networks and has broadened its pool of potential employers, including PSUs,” said Professor Suhas Joshi, director, IIT Indore.
A student at IIT Bombay said, “Companies that till last year picked 5 to 8 students are picking 1 or 2 this year. Several are still not yet hired. From coaching classes to start-ups, some have recently been picked for salary packages of Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000 in phase 2.”

Another student from an IIT-Kharagpur said, “Spectrum Technologies offered Rs 3.6 lakh for trainee engineers and Rs 6 lakh for trainee design engineers. Startoon Labs and Gem Machinery offered Rs 5.5 lakh annually. Skyroot offered Rs 5 lakh. Sri Chaitanya and Next Education offer Rs 4.8 to 6 lakh per annum.”
“The scenario now is that many students are taking up jobs offering the bare minimum threshold salary of Rs 6 lakh a year but are looking for other jobs,” a source said. Students and placement office staff are trying to attract more companies, negotiating packages with NGOs, reaching out to job portals, and providing guidance to final-year students. Praveen Tyagi, owner of IITians’ Pace, a tutorial for entrance tests, said, “While AI has reduced jobs and international FANG companies did not come to the campus, we saw this as an opportunity to pick up talent. We conducted tests to hire IITians, and hundreds of them took our test. Students conducted mock online lectures, and those who had good communication skills were picked. We have offered 25 students Rs 12 lakh per annum.”
At IIT Delhi, a significant number are still seeking employment through the Office of Career Services (OCS). As of April 5, out of 1,814 students registered with OCS, 1,083 have secured jobs, leaving approximately 40% yet to find employment.
However, the situation appears more favorable for those in undergraduate programs (BTech+dual degree), with 81% of the 903 participants having received job offers. R Ayothiraman, professor-in-charge of OCS, mentioned plans to conduct separate placement drives specifically for PhD candidates.During recent placements, students at IIT-D were introduced to a variety of job roles. Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd proposed an annual package of Rs 19.5 lakh, while HCL Software offered Rs 21.9 lakh, Tata Consultancy Services and Larsen & Toubro presented annual packages of Rs 9 lakh and Rs 7 lakh respectively.
The placement process at IIT Delhi is rigorous, with each phase lasting about 15 days. Students diligently prepare for interviews. “We are mentally prepared for a set pattern of questions, but this time the companies were more demanding, seeking fewer candidates with specialized skills in artificial intelligence and machine learning for annual packages ranging from Rs 10-50 lakh,” a student said, adding that he lacked the skills required because his interest lay in software development.