Core engineering is still top draw, experts say exposure key

CHENNAI: Core engineering streams continue to be the top choice of students in the state, with most applicants choosing mechanical and electrical and communication engineering (ECE) during counselling for admissions to engineering colleges in the state that started on Wednesday.
Of the 1,256 seats that the authorities allotted on Day 1, 355 candidates opted for ECE.Mechanical engineering was the next most popular choice (313) and then computer science (245). A total of 41,815 seats are available in mechanical engineering and 38,421 seats in ECE.
Around 37.5% of the candidates were absent on the first day of counselling. Tamil Nadu Engineering Admission (TNEA) secretary V Rhymend Uthariaraj pointed out that there were more than 1,000 students in the 190 cut-off category.
Of the 23 engineering toppers in the state, nine appeared for counselling while seven of the remaining 14 candidates opted for MBBS, Uthariaraj said. Counselling for admissions into BArch is likely to begin in the third week of July.
A counselling official said they admitted around 150 students in the first batch. “Students mostly picked mechanical and ECE, but some students also opted for biotechnology and computer science,” he said. “It was a mixed batch for the beginning of counselling. Students are aware of what they want.”
Officials expect around 5,000 candidates to appear each day. Uthariaraj said that they will conduct a total of eight sessions every day, with each session comprising of 500 to 700 students. On Wednesday morning, officials called 232 candidates with the highest cut-off for the first session and allotted 101 seats to them.
Vignesh M, who secured a seat in Anna University, said he opted for mechanical engineering because it has a wide choice of specialisations for a master’s programme.
Students said the job opportunities that ECE graduates have draw candidates to the stream. Arun Kumar, the only student who shifted from medicine to engineeering (ECE) said, “I always wanted to pursue engineering, but also tried my luck with MBBS. I got a self-financing seat in medical, but since my cut off was 199.5 I was sure to get into a good engineering college with the government quota and didn’t want to miss this opportunity.”
Candidates also chose manufacturing engineering, biomedical engineering and aeronautical engineering.
Career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi said students often have misconception that there are many job opportunities for mechanical and ECE engineers, but in reality many move on to IT field and do not continue in the field they graduated.
“The way things are heading, students who learn beyond the classroom and explore subjects beyond the curriculum, will secure the best jobs,” he said “It is not marks or the university that plays an important role.”
Love for coding and programming and the opportunities it offers is the big draws for students who choose computer science. Miruna S J, from Tiruchy, opted for computer science in PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore. “I like coding and heard that there are good job opportunities in the field,” she said.
TNEA had organised security with a police booth and about 100 police personnel deployed on the campus. Bankers put up stalls to offer education loans. A representative of Indian Bank said that more than 30 students had enquired about loans in the morning session itself, most about loans in excess of Rs 7 lakh.