5 Tips For Engineering Students

5 tips for engineering students who are not going to an IIT
Here are some tips from engineers who did not go to an IIT and still managed to have successful careers.

Every year more than 12 lakh students attempt JEE Main but only 20,000 make it to an IIT.
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People usually think that good and successful engineers come out of IITs alone. Well, neither is every IIT engineer good, nor is every good engineer from an IIT. They are certainly prestigious institutes and have a great track record, but a great engineer can come from anywhere. Every year more than 12 lakh students attempt JEE Main but only 20,000 make it to an IIT. It cannot be believed that there are only 20,000 bright young minds that can be moulded into great engineers each year. If you did not make it to this acclaimed ‘hall of fame’, it’s alright. Here are some tips from engineers who did not go to an IIT and still managed to have successful careers.

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1. There are other great institutes that produce great engineers
   Some of the most renowned engineers in the industry don’t have an IIT stamp on their resume. Whether it’s Satya Nadella from Microsoft or Kalpana Chawla from NASA, they’ve gained their knowledge at other institutes that have a lot to offer. Here are some great colleges that have produced legends:

— Anna University – Verghese Kurien (Milkman of India), Mylswami Annadurai – scientist in ISRO
— Institute of Chemical Technology – Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani – Reliance industries
— BITS – Sanjay Mehrotra – President of SanDisk, Sunil Duggar – CEO of Dabur
— NIT Trichy – Natarajan Chandrasekaran – Chairman of Tata Sons, Rajesh Gopinathan – CEO of TCS.
— NIT Rourkela – CP Gurnani – CEO of Tech Mahindra

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1. Resources to learn on your own
   The most lucrative part about an IIT is the quality of education. They have a coveted faculty, but it’s not necessary to study at an IIT to access quality education. Many professors form various IITs upload their lectures on NPTEL. You can enrol for any course by renowned IIT professors, where you can access; videos, assignments and discussion forums. Infact, you can aim higher than an IIT, by accessing lectures of professors from the best universities, worldwide on EdX. If you want to learn all about Python, JavaScript or Machine Learning, you can even pick a course on Udemy. If you’re enthusiastic to learn, resources are available in abundance, irrespective of your college.

2. Get the exposure you deserve
   What you learn in lectures is great, but every students needs a little edge over the competition. It’s during college that you realise what you’d like to do after graduation. You can’t decide that purely on the basis of which subjects interest you, you need exposure. Every college has tech fests, however, you can do a lot more. Write a research paper and submit it on relevant platforms to get industry wide recognition. The best part is, you can pick a topic that interests you and explore it beyond the classroom. No matter which field you come from, doing an Internship can help you learn a lot, especially at a startup, and it looks great on your resume.

3. Work with industry giants
   Another star in IIT’s belt are the stellar placements. However, your dream company isn’t limiting itself to an IIT, they’re just looking for awesome engineers. Infact, some engineering colleges have better placements than the newer IITs. Here are some of the best colleges for placements and the giants that have hired students from there.

— Anna University: Google, Adobe Systems, Amazon, eBay, Flipkart, Ford etc.
— Jadavpur University: Deloitte, Facebook, Reliance, Pepsico etc.
— NIT Trichy: Microsoft, Oracle, Tata Motors, Godrej, Sony etc.
— BITS Pilani: Bain, McKinsey, Mahindra, Schlumberger etc.
— VIT: Myntra, Godrej, PayPal, Honda etc.

1. Benefits from an IIT even as an outsider
   You can get access to IITs even without being a student at one of them. Every IIT has a dedicated tech fest. This a great place to meet your peers and see where you stand among the competition. Participate in hack-a-thons, workshops and other competitions, and win some goodies while you’re at it! In the academic space, there are a variety of week long courses that you can sign up for. You can even do an internship as a research or teaching assistant under your favourite IIT professor. Don’t let an institute define the kind of engineer you’re going to be. It’s your skill, enthusiasm and passion that can make you successful.