Campus placements at IITs getting tougher as placement stats raise eyebrows

Getting into an IIT is one of the toughest challenges for aspiring engineers. Reports suggest that the acceptance rate is even lower than that of MIT.

While MIT has an acceptance rate of about 6.7%, IITs range between 0.5% and 2%.

After the 2024 placement season at IIT-B, it seems fewer students got placed compared to last year. On the bright side, the average salary package did see an increase, according to a report from the Times of India.

This year, the average annual package was 23.5 lakh, up from 21.8 lakh last year. Still, there are some concerning points to note.

Around 10 students ended up with annual packages between 4 to 6 lakhs, and the minimum salary was slashed from 6 lakhs to 4 lakhs.

During the recruitment phases, 78 international job offers were accepted, along with 22 offers boasting salaries over Rs 1 crore annually.

“In 2021-2022, out of 2,256 registered for placements, 1,615 got jobs, which is 71.5%. In 2022-2023, 2,490 registered, and 1,675 were placed, making it 67.2%. Last year, in 2023-2024, only 1,564 out of 2,660 got placed, dropping to 58.7%,” shared a response from an RTI petition filed by an IIT-Kharagpur student in May 2024. While this data is specific to IIT-Kharagpur, students across various IITs are feeling uneasy about the current placement trends. Additionally, entry-level salaries have taken a hit compared to previous years. Experts suggest there are deeper issues at play.

Experts point out that there are a bunch of underlying factors at play, like the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, economic instability, and more. Plus, during the COVID-19 pandemic, IT companies went on a hiring spree, which eventually led to the need for restructuring and a spike in employee turnover.

The Deloitte Campus Workforce Trends 2024 report shows that more companies are focusing on hiring based on skills these days.

An official from Deloitte India mentions, “This year, campus hiring is seeing a slight dip… firms are leaning towards candidates with experience rather than fresh graduates. Additionally, campus salaries for the top 10 colleges, including IITs, have seen a small drop for the first time in five years.”