INDIA TODAY
Mon, Jun 15 11:22 AM
The slump may have dented the golden software industry a bit, but in the long run it still remains your ticket to good
money. To woo the best of the breed, IT giants like Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys are willing to
shell out Rs 3-4 lakh per annum as a starting salary.
Multinationals like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo go up to Rs 6-7 lakh per annum in addition to some delectable perks
- foreign travel and a great work environment are just some of these.
Although giants like Infosys and Wipro offer many challenging avenues for computer science engineers, most Indian
companies are not the most preferred employers.
'These companies use already existing technologies to develop a solution thereby posing no great challenges, unlike
a Yahoo or Google that routinely develop technological solutions themselves and thus offer aspirants immense scope
for original work,' says Pankaj Jalote, Microsoft chair professor, department of computer science and engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi.
While a B.Tech in computer science could fetch great salaries and job openings at international firms, a master’s
programme does not enjoy the same popularity among students.
To woo more students, institutes have started offering a variety of electives which make these programmes
specialised and industry-oriented. M.Tech courses that are applicationoriented are usually preferred over MS
courses, which operate more in the realm of concepts.
'M.Tech in India has more course work (project work) than thesis compared to MS,' says Jalote. On the other hand,
MS is a programme that naturally gravitates towards PhD as it requires more independent research work. A PhD in
computer science engineering is highly desired by most companies operating in the space.
The fact that these are in short supply means better salary packages in comparison to the B.Tech and M.Tech/MS
students. There is a demand for over 200 PhDs in a year. Of these, almost a hundred can be readily absorbed in the
corporate sector. Packages offered to them range between Rs 8-10 lakh per annum.
With more research labs being set up in India, there are a lot of challenges floating around. 'PhDs get to do
interesting work unlike many B.Techs. The interest in PhD programme is on a rise,' says Manindra Agarwal, faculty,
computer science engineering department, IIT-Kanpur.
Subhash Rao, Director, HR, Cisco India, says, 'Since the focus today is on product-oriented innovation, there is
tremendous scope for students who build on their theoretically acquired skills and knowledge. Aligning these to the
industry requirement would be of prime importance to their growth.'
Career options: Software companies and independent labs. The focus is on product-oriented innovation.
Starting Salary: Rs 3-4 lakh per annum
Institutes...
* IIT (Chennai, Delhi, Kharagpur, Mumbai, Roorkie, Kanpur, Guwahati); www.iit(m/d/kgp/b/r/k/g)
ac.in* National Institute of Technology (Durgapur, Rourkela, Warangal, Calicut, Bhopal, Jalandhar);
www.nit(dgp/rkl/w/c/jsr).
ac.in
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