Young engineering aspirants who took part in The Hindu Education Plus career counselling session organised at the Siddhartha Academy auditorium on Thursday emerged clear-headed after overcoming the volley of inhibitions that had been threatening to bog them ever since they qualified for an engineering course.
A brainstorming session with a panel of experts representing various streams of engineering, who threw light on the emerging opportunities in their respective fields, following by a question-answer session that served as a perfect platform for students to have their doubts clarified, did the magic.
Insisting that the students must pursue their own interest instead of getting carried away by the herd instinct, the resource persons said it would help them chart out a successful career path.
V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College Principal A.V. Ratna Prasad said there was a huge demand for Computer Science as it was thought to bring a lucrative job in the software sector. “Choose any institute or discipline where you can acquire skills and knowledge. A skilled graduate can excel in career regardless of college affiliation. However one should constantly upgrade skills to keep pace with the change.”
Dean at NRI institute of Technology K. V. Sambasiva Rao warned students against opting for engineering courses if they were not passionate about them. “Many engineering graduates do not have jobs today. Only 20 per cent of the graduates are able to find jobs, as not all of them are industry-ready”, he added.
For choosing a college, said M. Kamaraju, Head of the Department, ECE, Gudlavalleru Engineering College, one must take good look at the faculty, infrastructure, placement records and certifications of the college. Graduation in ECE lets students choose software or hardware as it is a mix of both, he added.
L. Koteshwar Rao of ICFAI rued undue influence of parents. “All engineering branches are equally important and interlinked. A computer is used to design a mechanical device. CSE or ECE are not the only streams available,” Prof. Koteshwar said.
CEO of Better Castings and Vice-Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-Andhra Pradesh J.S.R.K. Prasad gave a clear view of industry and its progress in the past few centuries. There is a lot of scope in Cyber Security as millions of devices in the World are connected via Internet and there are a lot of opportunities overseas, he added.
The ICFAI University sponsored the event while TV 5 was the television partner and Red FM was the Radio Partner. ICFAI representative M.R.K. Prasad and others were present.
