The process of becoming an engineer begins at a tender age. With the multitude of cheat codes i.e. coaching classes obtainable nowadays, the success rate of the students skyrockets. Inevitably, by hook or by crook, every student who dreams or aspires to become an engineer ends up being one. I feel for MBBS aspirants, though. It is a do or die situation for them.

So, the first question that arises in the to-be-engineer’s mind: Do I start taking ‘expert’ backing from the 8^th grade itself or do I start off after 10^th? Most of the hopefuls opt for the latter but the numbers opting for the former are on the high rise since students have realised that 10^th grade marks have only face value.

Then comes the next question, Question no. 2. The junior college. Since most of the students have slogged their heart, mind and body out, they end up getting brilliant percentages in the 10^th. Nowadays, getting a 90 is a paltry accomplishment. 95 is the new 90. 25-30 years back, the best of students barely managed to reach that celebrated 90.

With the junior college admissions being done, there are comes another biggie: - The decision to study for a distinct entrance exam. This turns out to be another quandary in the student’s mind. Most of the brainy opt to study to get into the IITs; some go for the NITs while most of them try to get into their neighbouring engineering colleges. At this point, no one really knows if their choice will bring those luxuriant rewards or no. The cloud of ambiguity darkens and continues to darken.

Once the to-be-engineer has made up his/her mind, then comes the time of selecting the precise cheat codes. The coaching class. The million-dollar education industry in India. There are so many options on hand for the students that they are spoilt for choice. So many parameters go into selecting the right coaching institution. Be it the class of teaching, distance from home or college, number of weekly and monthly tests, past results, the number of toppers from schools joining a particular coaching, the parameters to choose one are ceaseless. And though one might have selected their coaching institute, to get into a coaching class, they have to end up writing an entrance assessment, yes, that’s right, to get into a coaching class!

So, everything is set. That’s what the students think. That’s what I thought too. Everything will be taken care of. Timings synchronized between colleges and class, shifting into batches with school toppers, one feels to have dominated the whole lot. As the programme gets on the move in tutorials, some students opting to study for tougher examinations drop down to study for a lower level examination. Some still continue; persist with it till the end. In the intervening time, board examinations come in, myriad digits of prelims, assignments, mock tests go on to put them through the mill.

Well then, once the preparations are done with, the edginess begins amongst the students. The final scurry for magnificence. The great adrenaline rush that can drive someone to great heights or bring them down to the lowest lows. The years of preparation for engineering entrance exams will remind you of a sinusoidal curve. The highs and lows. The crests and troughs. Rarely does someone find himself to be walking on an exponential curve.

Once the exams are written, the IIT-JEE, AIEEE (now called ISEET probably), various states CETs, BITSAT, etc. there is a transitory tranquillity in the mind of parents and students alike. But the results come out and so does contentment, ecstasy, disillusionment, wretchedness, murkiness, etc. The emotions are wide-ranging and eternal. Beyond words to say the least. Or maybe too many to list.

The results are done with and an extra chief question mark arrives. The option to go for private institutes or Governments ones. Scores of dynamics come into deliberation. Hostel facilities, infrastructure, history, repute, peer group, faculty, setting, accessibility, etc. This can turn out to be even more incredible and arduous since it will have a bearing on the four most imperative years of your life. More and more people get into this sphere of mystification. Incalculable, free advices will be given. Well-wishers will be a load. All this only adds to the obscurity of the indecision that exists.

But come what may, some way or the other, things begin to straighten out. Some have to face the unsympathetic realities of their under-performance while some get what they aimed for. The opportunities are endless. The choices are unbounded. Rarely do people end up not doing engineering if they really want to do it. Another question that arises is the picking of branch. The advantages, disadvantages of one over the other, the placement opportunities for a certain branch, and the amount of study required to do for a particular branch, the fashion, there are so many things to look after. The students and their guardians lose sleep over discussing, debating, arguing and cutting and dissecting every infinitesimal facet that could possibly concern academics.

I am so sure that while reading through this, engineering aspirants will foresee such moments in their life whereas the ones who have already become engineers or are in the process of becoming one will have definitely gone through most of these circumstances in their life. As I end this article, I would like you to contemplate over this quote by Bill Beattie: The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.