Engineering: What Next?

Four years of vanished nostalgia, four years of ultimate and unexplained bliss; is what we call engineering. Maybe you’ve already made it big or yet to pull the trigger, at some point you’d know you’d be standing at the edge of a cliff which spells the end of engineering and wonder: What Next?

 And that’s exactly when the numerous options will start falling in place.

Many of us would start working; take up a campus placement job. But frankly, as Mr Narayan Murthy had quoted in early July 2010, the IT industry has taken away many engineers away from the core stream.

Choosing what decision to make after engineering depends a lot on how you see yourself in the subsequent ten years post engineering.

If it’s a stable job along with steady growth that you’re looking for, campus placements, which would mostly place you with the IT Cos., would be just fine. But if you’re more ambitious, and by ambitious I mean specific non-IT, a host of careers await you; careers which could be core engineering or completely of the alternative genre like writing, music, entrepreneurship etc.

The figures speak for themselves: Almost 70% of Indian bloggers today are engineers; if you were to dig deep into an Indian metal band, there is a strong affirmative tendency of all or some of the band members being engineers!

Today, alternative careers have become a trend after engineering, since engineering as a process has become a 360 degree learning program, in evidently based on real and practical life.

The second option would be further flexing your learning curve; a la higher education.

Here too, we’d either remain faithful to engineering and pursue a masters in engineering or technology or divert from it, in such a way where in the best of engineering could be used to develop a host of other skills like management.

If you had a particular affinity to your core subjects in engineering, a masters in the same is a natural choice. In India, the options to the same can be achieved by answering exams like GATE. If studying abroad is your preferred option, you have to prepare for the GRE, which could be a general one or a specialised subject of your choice. This has to be backed with English eligibility exams like TOEFL or IELTS.

Another popular choice is the MBA. Ideally, to pursue a masters in management, one would require work experience, but today, a fresher’s mind and attitude is what institutes look out for perfect moulding. In India, to pursue a degree in management, there are innumerable colleges, but the smart decision is knowing and choosing the right one. The IIMs, IITs and other elite colleges like MDI and XLRI feature in the best of the lot; which open their gates to aspirants on the basis of exams like CAT, XAT, MAT etc. But the actual test is getting past through the Group Discussion and Personal Interview that the institutes conduct. Hence, it so boils down that along with academic eligibility, it is very much necessary for an aspirant to have a strong all round profile which reflects extra-curricular activities and the passion to succeed.

Specially, if one is interested studying abroad for the same, it is absolutely necessary to have a competitive edge over the numerous applicants that apply. This can be only achieved by steady profile building; by following one’s passion and constructing a concrete plan for the same.

To sum it up, I’d say an engineer has a lot to choose from, given the diverse set of skills he possesses. All that is ever going to steer his way is his passion!