While higher salary packages were usually secured mainly by engineering students up until a few years ago, now, students of other combinations are also bagging packages above ₹20 lakh per year. Private universities in the city have recorded 80–90% placements this year with the average Cost to Company (CTC) lying somewhere around ₹5–5.5 lakh per annum. Those graduating from commerce and management subjects seem to be the favourites for hiring companies, while those who study theoretical science and arts subjects are experiencing a bit of a struggle to get jobs.
Unlike IT companies where there is not much change in the salary packages, under the other streams, now, there is at least a 20-30% hike as even start-ups have begun hiring from college campuses. Compared to last year, most colleges have seen a 20–25% increase in the number of offers they have received. Computer applications, Business Administration, Psychology, Mass Communication, Visual Communication, Digital Marketing, Data Science, Cyber Security, AI & ML are some of the courses/subjects which were in great demand this year during hiring season.
“We offer six months of training and six months of placement and this year, we saw a 50–70% hike in CTCs offered by startups and new tech companies. For arts courses, the number of offers and salary is lower and stagnant, but commerce and management (100% placement), social work and human resource students were hired by a variety of companies,” said G. Lakshminarayana, Director and Professor, CMR University. The highest package secured at the university was ₹18.25 lakh while the average CTC was ₹5.5 lakh.
Industrial skills
Even as placements improve, there are worries about the industrial readiness of students passing out of universities. The placement directors seem to think that those who study theoretical subjects are not being taught industrial skills, which makes the hiring companies hesitant to employ such students.
“While most courses are getting good placements, we are somehow struggling with natural sciences like zoology, botany and also electronics and mathematics. These are not market-oriented and the curriculum does not prepare students to compliment the industry needs. There is a gap between academia and industry which should be corrected. Colleges need to prepare students for industries by imparting skills. Otherwise, it becomes a nightmare for students to find jobs and that affects placement percentages too”, said Kiran Jeevan, Placement Officer, St. Joseph’s University.
The university, however, secured 85% placement this year with a salary range of ₹4.5 lakh to 23 lakh. The highest packages of ₹23 lakh and ₹21 lakh were bagged by a student of BBA and BCA respectively.
Freshers sought
While there was some hesitancy amongst companies to hire freshers, this year the trend has changed a little bit. “There has been an increased demand for skilled manpower. The demand for entry or fresher-level candidates has increased as compared to previous years,” said Rohan Prem Sagar, Trustee and Board of Governors, Dayananda Sagar University. Here too, 90% placements were recorded this time with an average salary package of ₹4-5 lakh per annum for non-engineering streams. The highest package was ₹15 lakh.
Universities reported that during the two years of pandemic, there was a slight dip in placements of around 5%. The average CTC had also reduced by ₹50,000 to 1 lakh. “The lowest offer we saw during that time was of ₹2.5 lakh per annum,” a placement officer said.
In demand
Computer Applications, Business Administration, Psychology, Mass Communication, Visual Communication, Digital marketing, Data Science, Cyber Security, AI & ML.
