Job crisis at IITs? 38% of the 2024 batch still awaiting placements

An RTI by Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur alumnus has revealed that over 7,000 IIT students are yet to be placed across all 23 of its campuses

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The class of 2024 at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has hit a roadblock at the start of their professional careers. According to disclosures under the Right to Information (RTI) Act filed by IIT Kanpur alumnus Dheeraj Singh, around 38 per cent of IITians across all 23 campuses are yet to get jobs.

In a post on LinkedIn, Singh revealed that over 7,000 IIT students remain unplaced through campus placements this year across all 23 IITs. Two years ago, this number was about 3,400, indicating that while the number of students participating in placements has increased by 1.2 times, the number of unplaced students has more than doubled, now standing at 2.3 times the previous figure, Singh said.

In the past, recruiters would arrive at the IITs the day before the hiring season began, leading to the creation of the renowned ‘day zero’.

IITs seeking help from alumni for placements

IIT Delhi has contacted its alumni for assistance in placing the current batch or recommending graduates to firms seeking engineers. IIT Bombay and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science have also reached out to their alumni.

As the placement session for the academic year 2023-24 at IIT Delhi concludes, the institute is facing a significant challenge. Despite extensive efforts, approximately 400 students have yet to secure job placements. Therefore, IIT Delhi is appealing to its alumni network for help in providing job opportunities for these graduates, as revealed by RTI responses.

The appeal requests alumni to support students by offering jobs, providing referrals and recommendations, and extending internship opportunities. The Office of Career Services (OCS) at IIT Delhi emphasised the importance of alumni support, stating that their assistance would be greatly appreciated and serve as a crucial stepping stone for the students’ professional journeys.

Other engineering institutes, like the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, also reached out to their alumni two months ago, some formally and some informally.

IIT Bombay also solicited assistance from former students. While the placement process continues until the end of June, about 10 per cent of the batch, or 250 candidates, remain unplaced. Singh’s RTI revealed that last year, 329 candidates were not placed, with 171 from the class of 2022 still jobless.

Why are IITians struggling with campus placements?

Placements are 20 per cent to 30 per cent lower everywhere, the newspaper reported citing V Ramgopal Rao, vice-chancellor of BITS Group. He mentioned that if an institute claims all students are placed, the quality of jobs might be questionable. 

Rao explained that this year marks the significant impact of ChatGPT and large language models, noting that if two people can do the work of three, hiring decreases by 30 per cent. He also mentioned that due to over-hiring and the election year in many countries, companies are adopting a wait-and-see approach.