Students entering IITs come with the perception of studying core engineering subjects and foresee the next four years of their life as a tedious journey of learning. Many of these students are often baffled to see the variety of extracurricular activities IITs have to offer. Most of the IITs today have established clubs for students to pursue their hobbies and participate on a national/international level. These clubs, which were initially started off as a stress busters for students, are now driving their focus away from academics. PaGaLGuY found out how several students in such prestigious institutes have altered their career paths in the course of 4 years.  

Pratha. B, a third year student from IIT Madras works as a freelance singer who has done a couple of recordings for budding lyricist and web developers in India. She says, “I used to like singing as an adolescent, but the pursuit of engineering didn’t leave me enough time to hone my skills. Last year when I participated in Saarang, our annual cultural fest, I was highly appreciated for my talent. I realised if I could earn enough remuneration as a freelance singer, my pursuit of engineering was moot.”

Aditya Vallabh, an ex-student of IIT Bombay, left his degree in the second year and started taking lessons in music composition from Bangalore. He says, “In the middle of my second year, I realised that I was not cut out for engineering. While participating in the performing arts festival, I discovered my singing talent and have been on an exploratory journey ever since.” Aditya then went to do an internship with Reliance Big Cinema. His song ‘Screw the Engineers’ was picked up by Artists Aloud for a music video this year.

Arushi, another student from IIT Bombay who is in her second year says, “I am currently pursuing an applied diploma in Graphic Designing and simultaneously preparing for my entrance exam to NID. I keep participating in our college club events to improve my designing skills.” Sharang Dedhia from IIT Kharagpur says he was able to discover himself 360 degrees through college clubs. When he joined IIT his focus and expectations were solely academia, but the institute initiates students to procure hobbies parallel to their studies. Many of his friends are now more interested in experimenting with their talents rather than doing scientific experiments.

Although students say they have found their true passions through IIT clubs, and some are even successfully pursuing them, there are also a few who feel they have been divulged from their goals due to the overwhelming influence of these clubs. A second year student from IIT Roorkee, Lokesh. P, failed his first year of BTech due lack of time to focus on studies. He says, “I like playing tennis and joined the Hobbies club with a similar notion, but the influence of the club drove me away from academia. I still want to pursue engineering and regret getting carried away with the club.” Several students complain that they don’t get enough time to prepare for exams or practical, especially when events are around the corner. The colleges spend enormous funds on providing facilities to run the clubs and expect participants to bring trophies for the college. The motive of these clubs is no longer recreation but to bring more prestige to the institute. Earlier IITs were deemed to be institutes that channeled the student’s knowledge and creativity into right direction, but now more students are diverting from their engineering goals.

Along with students, their parents too go through a lot of travail to achieve an IIT seat, not to forget the non-refundable finances that go into coaching classes and college fees. Despite that, some parents have been supportive of their child’s choices and have given them the leeway to alter their career. “My parents suggested that if I like music so much, I should go to Bangalore to study it,” says Veer. On the other hand, some other parents are panicking equally as their wards like in the case of Lokesh who failed his first year of BTech.

Manasi Gawde, MD, of Careerfutura Counselling Centre says, “This dilemma is common to students across most professional courses. Students are at an age of exploration and are easily attracted towards other career options. This scenario may be rampant in engineering colleges since these students haven’t had enough time to consider other opportunities. Those who follow their gut and leave engineering may not always be successful. We see several cases of students with fickle personalities who cannot be tied down to a single profession for a long time.”

IIT corridors are filled with stories of such students, some of whom have the courage to give up their IIT education and follow their hearts, while some others keep looking out for an opportunity to change their life around.