Wastage of engineering talents in Bharat...

Several studies and reports give a clear picture of the trend in India (Bharat). The numbers are quite striking.

1. How many engineers actually work in engineering?

• India produces about 1.5 million (15 lakh) engineering graduates every year.
• However only around 10–20% end up in core engineering jobs.
• Some studies say only about 7% are suitable for core engineering roles due to skill gaps.

👉 So roughly:

Category	Approx %
Core engineering jobs	10–20%
IT / software jobs	20–30%
Non-engineering careers (MBA, UPSC, banking, etc.)	40–60%+

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2. Engineers moving to MBA

This is the largest migration from engineering.

• Around 75% of MBA aspirants in India are engineers.
• Many top MBA institutes historically had 60–70% engineering students.

Reasons:

• Better salary growth
• Management roles
• Escape from low-pay engineering jobs

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3. Engineers moving to UPSC / Civil Services

Engineers dominate the civil services exam.

• Share of engineers among selected candidates increased from 46% in 2011 to about 65% by 2020.
• In recent years over 70% of civil servants come from science/engineering backgrounds.

That means a huge fraction of India’s best engineers move to bureaucracy instead of technology.

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4. Why engineers leave engineering

Several structural reasons:

1️⃣ Massive oversupply

• India produces far more engineers than industry can absorb.
• Only 300k new tech jobs vs ~900k–1.5M graduates yearly.

2️⃣ Salary problem

Typical starting salaries:

• Core engineering: ₹2.5–4 LPA
• MBA roles: ₹10–25 LPA (top colleges)

3️⃣ Poor quality of many colleges

Thousands of low-quality engineering colleges produce graduates with weak practical skills.

4️⃣ Social prestige

Families prefer:

• IAS / IPS
• Corporate management
• Banking

These roles are seen as higher status than engineering work.

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5. The paradox of India

India produces one of the largest numbers of engineers in the world, yet:

• Many engineers never work as engineers
• Top talent moves to UPSC, MBA, consulting, finance

This is why some policymakers even call it “waste of national technical talent.”

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✅ Simple takeaway

Out of 100 engineering graduates in India:

• 10–20 → core engineering
• 20–30 → IT/software
• 40–60+ → MBA, UPSC, banking, consulting, entrepreneurship, etc.