IT major doling out big bucks for college kids

BANGALORE: Still not out of college? Doesn''t Rs 20,000 a month, stock options and another Rs 30,000-plus for more studies sound lip-smackingly good? Even as college students come to the close of their graduation courses, Sallie Mae Solutions, a Fortune 500 company, is offering oven-fresh graduates, even those without exposure to computers, a toehold in the IT industry with these lollypops.Two colleges have already been visited by Sallie Mae -- Christ College and St Joseph''s Commerce College -- with the treasure hunt resulting in five students yet to formally graduate landing themselves a juicy job. Next week the Sallie Mae invite will roll through St Joseph''s College of Arts and Science, MES College and National College. Sallie Mae Manager (HR) Sharad Verma says, ``We''re not looking for people with exposure to computers, but are finding that many of them do indeed have some kind of training in computers. We shortlisted 120 final-year students in the first two colleges and then plumped for three from Christ College and another two from St Joseph''s Commerce College.'''' And no surprises on the gender front. Of the five selected, three are girls. So far scoring over their male counterparts in the stringent aptitude test and logical reasoning. Verma says, ``The girls are doing extremely well in tests and interviews. We''re looking for those excelling in left brain faculty.'''' Those selected will go on to join Sallie Mae''s 10-member Release Management team. They will be trained in the business of software testing and quality control. ``To be designated as Release Members, they will play crucial role in our area of business which is software products. After the developers and programmers have come up with their product, this team will test it and package making it finally ready for release.'''' ``The programmers'' mindset is to construct while that of the release member will be to de-construct as he will test out each aspect of the product before readying it for release. In effect we are trying to separate these two instincts and giving each a well-defined role.'''' Not surprising that some parents have ended up saying: ``In our days, we never had so many options.''''