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Monday, December 26, 2011

Job vs Mtech

This is easily the biggest dilemma for people thinking of doing M Tech from IITs. I am frequently bombarded with questions which go: "I am a B. Tech CS graduate who has an offer of n Lakhs per annum from XYZ company, should I go it or should I go for M. Tech". However frequently this question might be asked, unfortunately it has no simple answer. The answer to it is extremely subjective and too personal for me to even make any suggestion. However in this post, I will discuss things that can help one make a decision one way or the other. Most of the points would perhaps be a repetition of what I have said in my previous posts, but anyways, I will reiterate them here.



Note: Please take the views expressed in this post with a grain of salt. These are my views and you may or may not agree with them.


M. Tech is not that bad

As I have tried to explain in my previous posts, M. Tech from IIT doesn't mean that you will end up doing teaching in some college. Placements for M. Tech CS can be very good, it all depends on how much you take it seriously. So if you are worried that doing mtech will mean you will have to sacrifice on your career, that is not correct. Refer the placements section of my post on Computer Application, IIT Delhi

M. Tech is very demanding

Dont forget that M. Tech is not easy, at least if you plan to do it well. You have to put in a lot of hard work and you have to study a lot. Make sure you are prepared for such a commitment for a period of two years. If not, perhaps its better you take a break from academics and go for a job for a few years and then come back again with a fresh mind set.

Set you priorities

What is your principal aim for going for M. Tech? If it is just that you want a higher salary, then I think there is something wrong. You should NOT be going for mtech. I am not saying you will not get a good salary after M. Tech, but that is not the correct way to approach it. Your primary aim should be research or interest in academics or working for a core CS company like Google/Amazon/MS/Adobe etc. If you are only concerned about salary, then you can get that by working hard for two years in an IT company or going for an MBA (which, lets face it, has a lot of demand in IT sector).

Remember, IITs are a research institute, and you are joining a research institute at masters level, so it wont make much sense if you are not interested in research.



Mtech vs 2 years work-ex

A lot of people ask me whether its worth sacrificing two years of work experience for doing mtech. If you think about it, 2 Yrs of work-ex is a "cost" you are paying for doing mtech. It is the cost you pay for getting opportunity to appear for placements at IITs, for getting opportunities to study under some of the best professors in the country and for getting better opportunities for Phd later on. Also you get an additional degree which you dont get after doing job for two years. What you need to decide is whether you are getting enough in return for the "cost" that you are paying. If you have done reasonably well in mtech, you shouldn't be at least lagging behind people who went for job for two years, and if you have done really well, you could be way ahead.


Are you in a position to take risks

If you have a job in hand, and you plan to go for M. Tech, all said and done, you are taking a risk. You are risking your two years of job security for better prospects in future. What you need to decide is whether you are in a position to take such a risk. Your financial obligations and commitments to yourself and to your family come into picture here.

Take your time

Who says you have to decide whether you want to do M. Tech or not as soon as you step out of engineering college. If you have a job offer and are not sure if higher studies is good for you, take your time. Take the job. Work for a year or two. See if you are satisfied with the job. After a couple of years service, you would be in a better position to decide between job and mtech. People say that once you get into a job, its hard to quite and go for higher studies. I dont agree completely. If you are really made for research, you will one day definitely get bored with the monotonous work given by IT companies.

Hope the discussion helps. The whole point of writing this blog is to help people make an informed decision about going for M. Tech.
For more information about M. Tech, refer my post Is it worth doing M. Tech at IIT



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20 comments:

  1. hello sir . i have problem with TOC subject . i have lot of textbooks like ullman,peter linz, sipser,martin and chandrashekar. i have big confusion about which book to follow . i have only basic knowledge about TOC . so please suggest me how to crack TOC subject and good text book to follow .
    I am waiting for your valuable suggestions please help sir..........

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  2. I studied from John Martin and I think it was sufficient. Apart from that you should refer the kentucky notes here http://www.cs.uky.edu/~lewis/texts/theory/front/contents.pdf

    After you are done with these two, solve questions from previous GATE papers to know your understanding.

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  3. Sir I have ofnly heard from som1 that NIT Trichi,Warangal r vry gd 4 M.tech CS placemnts.Is it true? ehat placemnt record in pastthey have?

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  4. sir
    i want to know what are the courses in iitd in which energy eng can aply for m.tech admission
    in 2011 m.tech broucher they are not given about energy discipline...

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  5. @saurabh, yes placements at NIT warangal are good too. dont know the details but i have heard they are good.

    @above,
    if its not in the brochure, how would even i know. what you should do is call the admission office at IITD and clarify your doubts.

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  6. hii Sir.. some days b4 i heard that companies usully give the prefenc 4 B.Tech nt intrsted in M.Tech nd M.Tech students prepar theislf 4 PSUs, other competion..is it true? what placemnt record all IITs,NITs hav 4 M.Tech CS.? is it almost 100%? i hav throughout 60% criteria so m i eligibl 4 almost all brand companies? remove all my dilemmas...eagrly waiting 4....

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  7. @saurabh, btechs and mtechs get the same preference, iits/nits have 100% placement record for mtech cs. the eligibility criteria for campus is based on your mtech cgpa and not your btech percentage.

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  8. Sir i m a MCA student from Uttar Pradesh technical University..so i will b given same prefernc as B.tech studnts..in Placements? do state university's college Pre Degree nt copnsider major role? Do the M.Tech guys get higher package than b.Techs..?

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  9. @saurabh,
    some core companies like google, MS, amazon etc. want btech + mtech, so there you will not be eligible. but a lot of companies will allow you. dont know about pre degree. mtech guys almost get the same package as btechs only slightly higher

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  10. hello sir ,,i just went through your blog..I appriciate your work...sir i have a question in my mind and want to get solution from you.currently i am doing Btech(Rajasthan Technical University) .my aggregate is about 78%..and my last year is going on..nd i've not placed any where ...i want to do mtech and i want to ask that should i join any college of M.tech or i should prepare for the Gate first and give the exam next year...in this way i will drop one year......please suggest me in this way..waiting for your suggestion.
    thanx

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  11. @above, i dont know what colleges allow mtech without gate. but in general i would suggest you get a good score in gate and try for some reputed college. if you really dont want to sit idle, get mtech admission now but prepare side by side for gate 2013.

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  12. Hello sir,

    I am Amit, B.Tech CSE 2011 Passout from a UPTU colg

    I need your suggestion for my current situation :
    I am currently working for a MNC with now I year of experience and having a package of 4.2 lacs p.a. and working in Core Java Technology with XML.

    I am interested in only technical field and dont have any interest of MBA. means If I go for higher studies then I will be M.Tech or M.S. but never MBA.

    I want to work in some gud companies like Adobe, Amazon and other but as I have done my B.Tech from a UPTU colg, its not possible to land in these companies with experience.
    If I go for M.Tech, there after M.Tech I will opt for Job in companies and not interested in PhD.
    May be after M.tech I would like to work for these core companies like Adobe, Amazon and others.
    If I will appear for GATE 2013 and start prep now then during joining any IIT I will have 2 year of exp

    My Question is :
    1) If I continue to work in my current company and then is it difficult for me to get a job in good companies like Adobe, Amazon as I dont have b.tech degree from gud colg but I will have four year exp. ?
    OR
    Should I start prep. for M.Tech now and appear in GATE 2013 then after 4 years (2yr job + 2 yr M.Tech), It would be easy or better for me to get job in Adobe ?

    2) I dont want to do M.Tech only to get 6 lacs package after 4 years even I have spend 2 years on M.Tech and have not earn anything during that period in terms of money.
    Could you please suggest me average package at IITs Is it around 8-10 lakhs for M.Tech CSE ??

    Please guide me.
    Thanks for your help.

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  13. hello sir,

    please help me/

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  14. Hello Sir,

    I have 6 yrs of work experience in IT, but i have strong desire to join an NIT clearing GATE and not interested with the job. But my problem is i forget concepts easily. I have studied OS atleast for 2 months now and when i turn back after 2 weeks, it will go out of my mind. I have written GATE thrice and have scored only 20+ all the time. I should fault myself as i dont concentrate much everytime and only thing which keeps coming to my mind is to crack GATE. Please suggest personally,can i continue to look to crack GATE or go ahead with the job

    Thanks,
    Rajesh

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  15. Sir, i have completed my B.Tech in IT Branch(2012) from such a kam chalayu college with 76% marks and didnt placed. My soul motive is to work as a researcher. So i started preparing for GATE, but now i am afraid from not getting good score because my preparations are not so good..but i really want to be in IISc or IIT.

    Sir suggest me what to do?

    either i should go with a normal NIT or Private college or i should wait for one more year with hard core studies??

    is there any problem in getting into the IITs or in any college, if i got a gap of 2 years without having any job experience..will it affects my profile for job or anywhere??

    please suggest me sir, i really need your advise..

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  16. Sir,
    I am a student of Electrical Engineering in an IIT with CGPA of 7.1
    .I want to work in core companies.Does doing M.tech from IIT gives benefit of getting job into core companies????

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  17. SIr I am a student of Electrical engineering B.tech of an IIT.Does doing M.Tech from an IIT will give me more opportunity to get placed in core companies with better salary???

    ReplyDelete
  18. i am a btech IT 2013 passout , i have a exp of 9 months as of nw .
    but nw i want to leave the company and go for mtech only keeping in hand a work experience of 9 months , is it a wise decision ?

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  19. it should be ok. If you do well in mtech and get placed in a good company, your experience before mtech will be mostly irrelevant.

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  20. your post is very nice thanks for the post .A little Option for finding the jobs as per as your skills .Jobs in Delhi/NCR

    ReplyDelete