India's engineering frenzy is legendary. Half the students are either studying for JEE or are already waist-deep in differential equations that they'll never apply. But here's the twist: a huge percentage of these engineers become business consultants, not engineers. Why?
Let's face it — the Indian engineering degree is no longer about engineering, but survival + adaptability. What was once a road to technical brilliance is now a glamourized stepping stone to B-school fantasies and management consulting assignments.
Consulting: The "Real" Career for Engineers?
It’s just ironic:
You work 4 years figuring out heat transfer issues and now suddenly "synergize client growth potential across verticals" with not a single idea what that really is.
But here's the provocative part — perhaps that really is more intelligent.
Consulting offers:
- Better pay
- Faster growth
- Exposure to top-level business issues early in your career
Contrast that with a mechanical engineering core placement job, where the two-year olders typically get ₹3-5 LPA, between rusted machines and red-tape-infested public sector dreams.
Do we really blame students for switching?
Colleges Sell Dreams, Not Reality
The majority of Tier-2 and Tier-3 engineering colleges continue selling the dream of core placements, R&D labs, and innovation.
But reality bites.
- Lack of industry partnerships
- Old curriculum
- Professors with no industrial experience
- Internships that are essentially "sit and watch someone else do their job"
All this leads to a pipeline of degree holders but no direction. So, when the consulting companies arrive with:
- Higher salaries
- Clearer paths of growth
- A hipper image
— who wouldn't jump at it?
But Are Engineers Really Good for Consulting?
Surprisingly, yes. They bring:
- First-principles thinking
- Structured problem-solving
- Quantitative ability
- Tech-savviness
But there's a catch: most don't take communication, stakeholder management, or storytelling — all which are so much more important in consulting.
That’s why organizations like 180 Degrees Consulting are a treasure trove — they provide you with actual, messy, client-facing experience.
Yet it leaves you wondering — if engineers do want to be in business, why not just learn business to begin with?
Or is engineering merely a "prestigious pre-MBA"?
So, Is the Indian Engineering Degree a Waste?
Not a waste — but overpriced and oversold, certainly.
For too many, engineering is no longer a vocation — it's Plan B in disguise as Plan A.
Students don't fantasize about engineering anymore; they grit through it, looking for an escape ramp to consulting, management, or tech.
Let's Start Asking Better Questions
- Why do Indian engineering colleges not evolve with market needs?
- Should students be encouraged to switch tracks sooner?
- Is it time to cease shaming engineers for making the switch to consulting?
- And most importantly: Should the AICTE and government revise the entire model of engineering education?
Conclusion
Indian engineers are abandoning machines for meetings, thermodynamics for thumbnails, and AutoCAD for Excel sheets.
And perhaps… just perhaps, they're smarter than us.
