IIT-JEE,the entrance examination for the IIT's is considered to be one of the toughest examination in Asia. Students study really hard to clear the exam and those who deserve to qualify do so and reserve a berth in one of the most prestigious colleges in India. Parents are elated to see their kids succeed because they know the type of platform or the initial drive given by the IIT's to the students in the start of their professional lives. Parents believe their kids are going to end up in premium industries and organisations with a very good compensation and they are not wrong because it has been the case for the past 2 decades. The placements in the IIT's have always been mind wobbling and a person who has cleared IIT-JEE is bound to get placed in a very good organisation.
I studied really hard for around 2 years, had no contact with any of my school friends, concentrated only on clearing the exam and i finally cleared the exam with a decent rank. My parents were among the happiest people in this world with both their children getting into IIT's. I ended up in the prestigious electrical engineering branch of IIT Roorkee. 2007 and 2008 placement seasons in the IIT's are considered to be the best placement seasons till date. The placements were wonderful and the average package for our branch was around 7.5 lakhs. People with a decent gpa expected no less than 10 lakhs per annum and we were among the happiest people believing that the initial pay would rise over the years.
Then the tables turned and the world economy shattered because of the century's biggest economic recession which saw several organisations going bankrupt and many more getting to the verge of bankruptcy. The effect was horrible and the immediate effect fell on our senior batch which experienced horrid placements. More than half of the batch was not placed and the world of elite section suddenly started looking for jobs which would pay them something with which they can hide themselves. The aftermath was horrible and it completely destroyed the placements all over the country. The circumstances lead to a very bad placement season and we knew it was not going to be any good for our year too. People started cutting out expenditures, started firing people and cost cutting measures were at its peak. We were being too optimistic in believing the things to get better,but they remained the same, the economy did not cope up,the policies of the organisations to cut the costs remained the same and we knew that the placements were ought to be sunken for our year too.
Circumstances like these forced me to take a pre placement offer given by Reliance Industries for a compensation of 5 lakhs. My parents never thought i would work for a company which would pay me so less. They were also very much influenced by the colourful placements in IIT's and raised the bar in their minds. Mom always says;why should have this happened? why only for you? then i told her that all i need to see is the competition in the present condition and my job in the present situation is not that bad. I was brave enough to face the facts and moved forward.
I joined Reliance Industries and after coming here i witnessed how the things were changing all over the world and how the placements started flourishing again. The placements this year are better than that of 2007-08. Now what should i say when my mom asks me the same thing again? i can't give her the same answer because the world is moving forward and i am stuck here. I or rather our batch definitely dint get the initial boost that generally IITians do get. So it finally comes down to the easy conclusion that "we are the sufferers of the aftermath".
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