Thinking Beyond IITs and NITs

There is a common feeling among engineering students who get into Jamia’s Faculty of Engineering that he has been wronged by society because given his caliber, he should have been in a more reputed engineering college than Jamia.

During my initial days at college, every other student in my class told me about their academic brilliance in coaching institutes and school exams, and how destiny played a cruel trick on them and they ended up in Jamia. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them, because according to their own accounts they had put in many hours of hard study each day only to find themselves at Jamia, while there was always a less deserving schoolmate who got into a more reputed institute.

I began to ponder over what could be done now that we are all in Jamia and since there is no escaping this reality.

Some common things that I found on motivational websites and in my talks with my peers in different colleges (some of whom are in the IITs) made me think of a different, more positive approach to deal with this reality. Following listed points will help you appreciate your situation like it helped me.

1. Be Positive

There is hardly any chance of getting into the IITs in your second attempt with all the semester and sessional exams. The workload is enough to keep you busy throughout the year and you will not get time to prepare for a second attempt. So its better you accept the reality and adjust with the circumstances. A positive frame of mind can do wonders and you will see that Jamia is indeed a good place to be in.

2. Be a voracious learner:

Learning shouldn’t be limited to classroom learning, and there are a plethora of avenues outside your classroom once you start looking. Online education sites like edx (www.edx.org) (an initiative by Harvard and MIT), Stanford Online (www.online.stanford.edu/courses), Udacity (www.udacity.com) and Coursera (www.coursera.org)  are a good places to start your quest for learning and they award certificates on successful course completion which can sweeten your resume.

3. Be an active member of forums and clubs in your college:

Leadership qualities if imbibed early go a long way in turning you from a virtual nobody into a somebody, who can make a difference in any realm they step into, and such people are very much in demand in today’s job market (provided you don’t shun your college grades while being active in such forums).

4. Try to improve your communication skills:

A recent exercise in our language lab class involved giving a small presentation on a subject of your liking. The presentations given by many of my classmates would have shown them in poor light had they given the same presentation during their job placement talks. Therefore it’s important to buck up and start taking English seriously. A good old classic, a relevant new novel or even a good English movie can go a long way in cultivating in you a love for the language. One of the distinguishing factors between IITians and us is their ability to express their thoughts into concise statements which encompasses everything that they want and ought to say.

5.  Gain some hands on experience:

It always helps to be a person who knows about what actually happens in a company before you go for your placement. Talk with your peers about how best to go about your stint at the college. Try for Internships (paid or unpaid, it’s the experience and the testimonial that matters). Some sites like Internshala (www.internshala.com)  does put in a lot of information regarding internships in and around Delhi.

6.  Be Perseverant:

Its okay if your first placement doesn’t land you in one of those coveted posts in big MNCs. Even though Jamia witnesses big multi-nationals like Google, Microsoft, Adobe and Samsung visiting the campus every year during campus placements, the fact remains that only a small proportion of the students actually get into these companies. So if you aim to be in one of those companies it’s important that you begin putting in the efforts towards that direction from now, rather than lamenting over it if you end up in a lesser known company.