Hyderabad: Fresh B.Tech degree holders face a tough professional challenge now. A degree alone is longer a ticket to a successful IT career. With nearly 75,000 engineering students graduating in the state every year, IT companies have upped their requirement criteria. Additional skills and niche area specialization are the new mantras.
From the time IT boom started in mid 1990s, software firms have been recruiting fresh engineering graduates for entry level jobs. After an initial training of three to six months, companies used to place them onto projects. But the last few years have seen dramatic changes in the global scenario. Work challenges have multiplied; there has also been a shift towards automation. Now companies are working with a tighter budget and therefore are looking at a more refined level of entry-level graduates.
Anil Yamani, MD of OSI Consulting, Madhapur stated that software companies had been offering jobs to freshers with good academic record and communication skills. “Freshers were given a basic salary and were honed in technical skills by companies at their own cost for few months before placing them onto clients’ projects. The situation is changing now. Employers now want even fresh graduates to come in with an in-depth knowledge of any technology or vertical along with the B.Tech degree. They will definitely be preferred over ordinary B.Tech graduates”, he said.
Engineering students, even those from CSE and IT branches, lack expertise and thorough knowledge in their core subjects. A number of surveys and findings have shown that fresh graduates are not industry ready.
“Earlier IT firms and other core companies had taken the onus of training freshers on themselves. But with priorities of IT companies changing, engineering students have to look beyond just passing the exams”, said G.V.K.Reddy, a IT professor. He emphasized the need for students opting for a vertical in their second year and continuing with its advanced studies in the third and final years. This would prepare them for their journey ahead. But to make this a reality, students needed to be correctly guided and counselled so that they opt for the right electives .
