Lower salaries & placement woes: Why 2024 is a tough year for IIT graduates

We often hear about those few IIT graduates bagging packages over 1 crore, even 2 crore rupees. But the reality for many is starkly different. According to recent reports from Deloitte and TeamLease, the class of 2024 from the IITs is seeing a drop in annual pay, now ranging between 15-16 lakh rupees.This isn’t just about salaries.

There’s also a noticeable decrease in the number of students being recruited. This raises concerns about the current state of affairs at India’s premier educational institutes.As per a reply to an RTI query filed by IIT Kanpur alumnus Dheeraj Singh, 22% of IIT Delhi students registered for placements between 2019 and 2023 remained unemployed.

In a LinkedIn post in May, the IIT Kanpur alumnus and placements mentor Singh shared three years' placement data based on 23 RTIs or Right to Information, annual reports, media reports, and student insights.In 2024, out of 21,500 students registered at IITs, 13,410 secured placements, leaving 8,090 still seeking jobs.

This marked a significant increase in the number of unplaced students, nearly double that of 2023. In 2023, 20,000 students registered for campus placements, with 15,830 obtaining jobs at an average annual package of 17.1 lakh rupees, while 4,170 remained unplaced.

In the previous year, that is, 2022, over 3,000 out of 17,900 registered students were unable to secure placements through IIT campus facilities. Singh noted on LinkedIn that the median CTC for that year was 17.2 lakh rupees per annum.

The job scarcity affecting top engineering graduates has led to immediate worries about oversupply, skills mismatches, and unrealistic salary expectations.

This has also sparked AI-led existential concerns for a talent pool that's been a cornerstone of India's software services industry, contributing 7% to the country’s GDP.

Every year, the 23 IITs produce about 25,000 engineers. While this is only about 2% of India’s national total of 1.5 million engineers, the impact is profound.