Engineering is one of the few professions which fell victim to false advertising. I am a recent ME passout, so about my colleagues, most of them came here thinking its their ticket to a good respectable job, some of them are passionate about hands-on working with cars, others simply chose engineering thinking that its cool to work with machines and stuff. None of them (including me) had any idea what engineering really was, and that made their academic hours dreadful. Even after four years of college education, most of them do not have a good enough understanding of the fundamental concept of mechanics: newtown’s laws of motion. Sure, everyone knows that F=ma, but it takes a whole new level of understanding to actually apply them in this profession primarily because engineering deals with complex interacting systems. Most of the graduates end up in careers not related to their field, anyway.
The reason why there is so much hype around engineering is that in the past, engineering was a stable and respected career. That carried on to the development of the IT industry which saw an increased demand for skilled engineers, which led to the establishment of more IITs, IIITs and various private engineering institutes. Also the increased number of engineering aspirants led to a booming coaching industry. Everyone does their part in promoting engineering as something its really not because that is how they can maintain a sustained influx of candidates.
Those who are genuinely passionate about engineering are the ones most affected in this rat race. The heightened competition in JEE and other (graduate or undergraduate) entrance exams has reduced the exams’ relevance in gauging the engineering aptitude of aspirants. And as a result, aspirants have to devote about a year for preparations even though they are knowledgeable about the subject. This time could have better been spent in learning real-world skills through various school-level projects and science exhibitions, hackathons etc. Students who have memorised the patterns and formulas and are able to recall them as fast as possible have the upper hand in these examinations. No matter how hard the problem sets could be, it is always possible to find patterns, memorise formulas and do them. Sure, it helps institutes to find the best talents, but a lot of other much more capable and passionate students are left out due to the competition.
I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be exams and anything of that sort. I’m happy with the status quo. But, the problem lies in us: do you really want to pursue engineering? if not, please don’t pursue it. This makes way for those who want to pursue it for real. There are hundreds of options out there that it is unlikely that you won’t find a course that you like.
