Over 8,000 IITians couldn’t get jobs in 2024 campus placement drive, pay scale dipping below ₹10 lakh: Report

Gone are the days when students could say that entering any 23 Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) would guarantee placement at a well-known IT company with a lucrative salary package upon completing their engineering degree. The latest report revealed 8,000 IITians have not found a job through campus placement this year.

In a LinkedIn post, IIT Kanpur alumnus and placements mentor Dheeraj Singh shared three years' placement data based on 23 RTIs (Right to Information), annual reports, media reports, and student insights. In 2024, 21,500 were registered at IITs, of which 13,410 were placed while 8,090 were yet to find jobs.

The number of unplaced students almost doubled this year as compared to 2023. As many as 20,000 students registered themselves to appear in campus placements. Of these, 15,830 got jobs with an average annual package of 17.1 lakh per annum, and 4,170 did not find jobs through campus facilities.

Similarly, in 2022, more than 3,000 students out of 17,900 registered students remained unplaced through IIT campus placement. Singh wrote on LinkedIn that the median CTC for the year was 17.2 lakh per annum.

“Typically 70-80% of those graduating sit for placement. Above data is only for those who sit for placement and NOT for the entire graduating batch. Remaining 20-30% pursue options such as higher studies, civil services, entrepreneurship, do nothing, etc,” he clarified. 

While a few IIT graduates making headlines for securing packages exceeding ₹1 crore or even ₹2 crore is common, the lower-end salaries are quite surprising. Various media reports indicate that some annual packages are dipping below ₹10 lakh, with figures ranging from ₹3.6 lakh to ₹6 lakh, CNBC reported. 

Singh further urged IIT Directors to start rolling placements so unplaced students can sit for placement in the next session and solicit work opportunities from the alumni/association for the unplaced students.

He also requested the parents of unplaced students to provide much-needed emotional support to their children who might be reluctant to discuss this issue.

“Dear Unplaced students, Please use this rough phase to think through and align your career goals with your core values and strengths. And then work on the career plan. You will surely get success in coming days,” Dheeraj added.