From Rancho's question in 3 Idiots to Gen Z's choice: Is the engineering dream finally faltering?

There is a moment in 3 Idiots when Rancho asks a basic question in an engineering classroom, why are we learning this? The question hangs in the air, unanswered. Years later, Kota Factory captures the same discomfort in black and white: rooms full of students chasing ranks, not clarity. These stories worked because they reflected something Indians instinctively recognised but rarely said aloud.For decades, engineering was not just a career choice; it was reassurance. If everything else failed, this wouldn’t. For middle-class families, it was the closest thing to a guarantee. But as the Class of 2025 steps into adulthood, that guarantee is starting to feel negotiable.Engineering has not lost its prestige, but it has lost its certainty. Young people today have grown up watching graduates do “everything right” and still struggle—low starting salaries, long hours, jobs disconnected from what they studied. The degree still opens doors, but it no longer decides what happens after you walk in.That gap between effort and outcome is what makes Gen Z uneasy. The fear is not competition. It is committing years to a system that may not keep its side of the bargain.Kota Factory ends at results, not reality. And that is precisely where Gen Z’s questions begin. What happens after the celebration fades? What happens when the syllabus ends but the job market demands something else?Many students now realise that industries evolve faster than universities. Skills go obsolete. Technologies change. And yet, the structure of engineering education remains stubbornly rigid. The result is a growing sense that preparation is intense, but relevance is uncertain.This shift is no longer anecdotal. According to the Deloitte Global 2025 survey, 94 percent of young Indians prefer picking up relevant skills while working rather than prioritising hierarchical job titles or rigid degree structures. The message is blunt: learning matters more than labels.More tellingly, the same survey shows that about 11 percent of Gen Z respondents in India are skipping formal higher education altogether, choosing to enter the workforce directly because the traditional path does not feel worth the time or cost. That number may look small, but in a country built around degrees, it is a significant psychological break.Indian Gen Z is not thinking in isolation. Globally, young people are redefining what security looks like. A Harris Poll in the US found that 60 per cent of Gen Z believe they can achieve financial independence without a traditional 9-to-5 job. Stability, for them, comes from adaptability, not permanence.Seen through this lens, stepping away from engineering is not a rejection of discipline. It is a hedge against unpredictability.For parents, engineering represented order in a chaotic economy. It was a ladder they trusted because it worked for their generation. Watching their children question it feels like watching them discard a safety net.But Gen Z is not opting for shortcuts. They are choosing speed, relevance, and control over delayed rewards. They are more afraid of being stuck than of starting small.The engineering dream is not dying. It is being demoted, from destiny to one option among many. Like Rancho walking out of the classroom, Gen Z is not abandoning hard work. They are abandoning unquestioned obedience.And that may be the clearest sign yet that the dream was never about engineering at all, it was about security. Today, security simply looks different.