For years, engineering has been worshiped more than any other course under the sun. Every family, irrespective of their social or financial background, always dreams to see a BTech degree on their sons forehead (Okay, some daughters as well). While engineering has always been rated top notched, over the last decade, an MBA degree on your profile can augment your career tremendously. And a combination of the two is considered lethal. NOT ANYMORE.

This week when the first Round results of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were declared, it created a huge uproar in the education circuit. Reason? Approximately, 769 seats were left vacant or as many education blogs quoted "769 students refused to join the IITs". Okay, it's big. I admit it. Come on! Who doesn't want to study here? Getting into the IITs is tougher than US Ivy League Schools (I still don't believe this crap). So what's the reason for rejection?

Many students do not want to join the newer IITs. So, technically, they'll not join the newer National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and this will be carry forwarded to the state engineering colleges (Oh god! One can write a book on vacant seats in state engineering colleges). Though many students claim that they did not get their desired course and bullshit, we all know that every year there are over lakhs of seats vacant. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka together contribute over 60% of Indian engineers. Despite a never ending demand, why is there such a huge downfall?

First and foremost is the unnecessarily increased seat intake. Every college on an average, now, has an intake of around 400 students per batch as compared to 200-250 in 2011. When the demand is less, why the hell does the AICTE allows the existing colleges to escalate their intake? Second of all is the addition of atleast 10 to 15 colleges in one big city every year. Next is the terrible scenario of quality placements. I am a mechanical engineer who is going to be placed in TCS. No, Accenture. Infosys. And the hot favourite trend of several popular banking companies have completely ruined the sensible 'ideal' job. I mean how can Ernst & Young (Oh btw, now, they are just EY) recruit a Telecom Engineer? That, too, a fresher.

While an average engineer fights to get ANY job, a true engineer struggles to find a relevant job. More colleges, more vacant seats, less interested to teach, lesser interested to learn and the '100% placement' gimmick has certainly taken a big blow on the most respectable career.

So what's up with M B A? While much has been spoken about engineering, the most desirous degree - MBA - is facing tough times as well. Statistics show that over 50% students across did not get a job post completion of the course in 2012. Now for those who did, aren't satisfied. Come on! When is your soul going to relax?

Some of the top B-Schools, too, had a tough time while recruiting the previous batch. IIFT Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad and some of the lower Indian Instiutes of Management (IIMs) just managed an average pay package of around 7.5 lakhs per annum. Though experts blame it on the economic slowdown, there's definitely much more to it. There are crores of B Schools in India where a student gets a package of around 3 lakhs per annum. Now that's an engineers salary. To top it all, every year AICTE approves atleast 1000 institutes across the country where the situation is horrible. Don't believe me, just go to Pune. Oh wait, read about Pune B-schools.

An insider from the B world secretly overheard a frustrated candidate saying "It's over bro.... I dreamed of a luxurious honeymoon in Mauritius. Might have to settle with Mussorie"

Another major blow is the Return of Investment (RoI). Learning is surely secondary. Just tell me how much am I going to make? Investing over 12 lakhs for zero knowledge and lesser package have been the major reasons for the sudden decrease in lesser MBA graduates. Dreaming of a mouthwatering salary, thousands of vacant seats, lack of quality jobs, rather any job, and the new keeda - StartUp - have led to serious downfall to the most sought after course in the world.

With two powerful degrees falling like a pack of cards, it's easy to witness that the stereotype Engineering to MBA route is surely a bumpy ride which should be avoided. A detour to this route might be a sensible risk.

Image Credits: bewakoof.com