A Trap

Earlier today, I was in a meeting with an engineering college director. During an informal discussion, the gentleman expressed his disgust at the way students behaved towards companies that visit their campus for placements. In a helpless tone he confided that the problem today is that the students today have very high and unrealistic expectations from a job. He went on to tell me how some students had declined to sit for a company because they had not heard the name of company or the other company was a KPO , not a core engineering company.  He added that the same students after 4 months of leaving college take up the same or even lesser paying jobs because by then they know the reality.

Even after I left from the place, the words that the director had said did not leave me. It had not been long back that I had graduated and I had seen it all happening. For some companies during my campus, I had not behaved any different. And I know why.

I have/ had not seen the advertisement of any college that they could not place 20% of the students, that 80% of their students that got placed were in unrelated sectors or that they have been offered as low as 5k per month as salary.

Apart from that, following are some of the headlines regarding placements in last few months-

"It's raining stipends for Delhi FMS students." (The Hindu, 15-Nov-2014)

"IIT Kharagpur Student offered 91-lakh salary package." (NDTV, 4-Nov-2014)

"Non-IIT Engineering student bags Rs. 1.44 crore offer" (India Today, 8-Aug-2014) 

I am not saying that this is not true. But the fact that the above statements hold true for only a very small percentage of students would perhaps set the expectations of the majority better. 

Dear Director Sir

You are only reaping the fruits of what you had sown. You laid a trap and now you find yourself in it. 

Regards.