Between 40% and 50% electrical engineering (EE) and electronics and communication engineering (ECE) students to join placement drives at premier engineering colleges are yet to find jobs. Data from mid-April from Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and National Institutes of Technology (NIT) shows that even popular branches of engineering that usually see high rates of placement and salaries have struggled this year.

That said, the placement process which began in late 2023 – December 1 at the older IITs – still continues. Data on placements was accessed through applications filed under the Right to Information Act. Careers360 received responses from 10 IITs and NITs offering BTech EE or BTech ECE or both by May 2. None of the 10 had been able to place 100% of electrical engineering or BTech electronics and communication engineering students.

Unlike last year, till April 2024, IIT Hyderabad had a placement rate of 78.33% for EE; this was 93.18% in 2022-23, albeit at the end of the placement season. The lowest placement rate for the branch was at IIT Bhilai and IIT Jammu with 18% and 30.56%, respectively. The average salary package at both the institutes is between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 14 lakh annually.

The lowest average salary was found at NIT Patna with Rs 7.6 lakh per annum; the EE or ECE highest package was at IIT Palakkad – Rs 18.79 lakh annually.

As previously reported, even top engineering colleges have been struggling to place students this year. The placement season began in December at the most established IITs but saw a slow start with fewer and smaller offers; the NITs, too, saw declining placement rates and average salary packages. The problem afflicts even the most popular courses, including BTech computer science and engineering (CSE). The tepid response in the early stages of placements in the winter of 2023 made for a very stressful and hectic final semester.

“Companies are recruiting less this time. For instance, companies like large software companies (Microsoft) have not hired any full-time employees and just provided pre-placement offers (PPOs). Number of offers and hiring have decreased from last year. Around 20 companies came but didn’t select anyone. The scenario is not good at all,” said Rajib Kr Chatterjee, assistant professor and member of Career Development Centre, NIT Durgapur.

EE Jobs: More than half not placed at some IITs

IIT Jammu had an overall placement rate of 85% – across all branches – in 2022-23. This year, it appears to be struggling. In electrical engineering, it had managed to place just 30.56% of students registered for placement by mid-April. IIT Bhilai and IIT Palakkad had placed less than half.

Further, at NIT Uttarakhand, around 50% students were still without a job until April. The highest placement rate for electrical engineering was at NIT Durgapur with 75% students having accepted offers, a decline from 2022-23 which had witnessed 89.66 % of students from EE branch placed. However, that was at the end of the placement process. NIT Patna and NIT Raipur both had about 40% EE students seeking jobs in April.

Electrical engineering placements 2023-24

While several institutions have said the placement process is still on, it is at the very end.

“Students are out of campus as their exams are over, only results are left,” said Chatterjee. “While some results and selection from the companies are still expected, from January till April, the hustle and bustle at the placement centre is not the same like we usually have during the final semester.”

The lowest average salary was found at NIT Patna and NIT Uttarakhand, both around Rs 7 lakh per annum.

Electronics, Communication: 20%-60%

Electronics and communication are taught in various combinations. Here, “electronics and communication”, “electronics and electrical communication” and “electrical and electronics” are being considered together. Here, the placement rate varies widely, from 25% at IIIT Pune to 61.85% at NIT Durgapur which also has the highest average CTC per annum – Rs 16.19 lakh. That said, last year, NIT Durgapur had placed 88.37% of its ECE students.

Similarly, NIT Raipur had placed around 80% students from ECE branch at the end of 2022-23 placements; this year, it had achieved 57.73% by mid-April.

Of the institutes that responded, NIT Uttarakhand has the lowest placement rate within this set, 38%, and an average annual salary of Rs 9.08 lakh. The IITs that responded don’t have these branches.

ECE, EEC & EE placements 2023-24

For “electronics and electrical communication” and “electrical and electronics engineering”, only two institutes responded. IIT Kharagpur witnessed 80% of students from EEC branch placed by mid-April. But at NIT Uttarakhand, at least 50% students were still without jobs until April.

Note: This is the second in a series of three stories on placements in popular branches of engineering. The first was on computer science engineering.

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