This story is from September 17, 2017

Dollar dreams of IITians stalled, focus shifts to EU, Japan, S’pore

Dollar dreams of some IITians who had bagged US offers from software giants in December 2016 are yet to materialise. Thanks to the Trump administration’s review of the visa policy, some of the best minds in the country who had bagged crore-plus offers are now settling for lesser placements.
Dollar dreams of IITians stalled, focus shifts to EU, Japan, S’pore
MUMBAI: Dollar dreams of some IITians who had bagged US offers from software giants in December 2016 are yet to materialise. Thanks to the Trump administration’s review of the visa policy, some of the best minds in the country who had bagged crore-plus offers are now settling for lesser placements.
While firms are trying their best to get IIT graduates on board as promised, many on campus are wary of US offers in the upcoming placement season.
The number of US offers had, in any case, dropped to single digits at leading IITs last December after the change in the country’s regime. Placement cells at IITs are now looking beyond the US for international profiles. Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Singapore and some European countries have begun to rise in students’ preference list.
Very few IIT graduates who were offered jobs last year have started work in the US. The remaining have joined the organizations’ India offices or are being offered alternatives abroad.
Microsoft, for instance, has offered Canadian positions to students. “The students are looking forward to joining the Canadian office soon. Though the packages are not the same, most organizations have a good reputation. And they promise to move students to US locations after they complete a year or two, when they manage the visas,” said an IIT-Bombay graduate. Some three to four students of IIT-Bombay have been affected.
A computer science and engineering student from the Powai campus said, “Students are always keen on US jobs, but many prefer to work for a year or two and then pursue higher studies. If it takes more than a year just to get US visas, the job location is of little consequence. Such students would rather choose better domestic opportunities. Getting student visas is easier than getting H1B visas now.”
Older IITs, though open to inviting US firms, are also treading cautiously to ensure students do not get a raw deal. At one of the older IITs, a student who had bagged a US job quit to join another company after his visa application was rejected. “He was asked to work in the Bangalore office. He was one of our batch toppers,” said a student from that institute. “Everyone, including the companies, are a little cautious about the visa policy in the US. Apart from the US, we are also increasingly looking at European firms from Germany and Amsterdam who have agreed to visit the campus. It is our policy to reach out to everyone,” said a student coordinator from IIT-Kanpur.

The placement cell at IIT-Bombay, too, intends to seek some kind of assurance from US firms visiting the institute this December, said a coordinator. “Many of these software giants remain students’ top preferences. IIT-Bombay is also reaching out to most of the Asian and European firms, apart from the US. Japan, Taiwan, Singapore have been showing keen interest in IITs,” said a student coordinator from IIT-B.
A member of the All India Placement Committee of the IITs said that students from the older, established IITs are hit by this crisis compared with newer ones. “The offers at other IITs were almost negligible last year. The ones in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kanpur are the most affected due to the visa policy,” said the member.
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