Engineers (B Tech and M Tech graduates) Take to Tuition as IT Firms Shut Doors

The New Indian Express |  By Express News Service  |  22nd January 2015 |

VISAKHAPATNAM: K Arun Kumar, a retired principal of VS Krishna Government College in the city, posted an advertisement in a vernacular daily inviting applications from BTech and MTech graduates to take tuition classes to his grandson studying Class III. Though the salary he offered was not lucrative, he was surprised by the volley of calls from aspiring tutors within a week. With the slowdown in the economy and companies applying brakes on fresh recruitment, particularly the IT industry, an increasing number of BTech graduates are turning to small and part-time jobs in a desperate bid to support themselves. Though they tried their luck in metros like Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, not many were successful to land a job. As major companies have stopped hiring while some started firing the existing employees, the unemployed engineering graduates are finding it difficult to land a job, forget lucrative salary. Many of them are forced to join BPO firms or conduct tuition classes for school and college students.

Speaking to Express, Arun Kumar noted that it was an open secret that many BTech and MTech students were struggling to find a decent job. “Though they do not have jobs, engineering graduates are good at mathematics and English. Hence, I gave the advertisement and was happy with the response,” he added. What Arun Kumar did not know was the fact that several tuition centres are mushrooming in Vizag and many of them are run by engineering graduates from their homes to meet their daily expenses. Consider the case of S Rohith Kumar who graduated from a city-based engineering college in 2013. He is currently taking tuition classes for Class VII students at Kirlampudi Layout where he takes classes for two hours a day for a salary of `6,000.

When asked about the reason for switching profession, Rohith said: “Where are the jobs? It’s better to earn at least your pocket money, instead of troubling your parents even after completing graduation.” Engineering graduates are not hesitant to take up jobs at business process outsourcing (BPO) companies for a meagre salary of `5,000-9,000. Due to the overwhelming response from engineering graduates who are highly qualified for the job, some BPO companies are advertising for candidates with just intermediate or degree qualifications. Not surprisingly, several engineering graduates are applying even for these jobs mentioning their educational qualifications as per the requirement of the companies. A recruitment manager at a BPO firm in Visakhapatnam said that almost 70 per cent of their employees is BTech graduates, though they have not asked for engineering degree as qualification. “As BTech degree is not fetching them jobs, candidates are opting for BPO jobs on the basis of their Intermediate qualification. A major BPO company pays about `9,000 and normal BPO offers them `4,000,” he added.

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