[Article submitted by Vaibhav (read other reader/writer submitted articles, use this form to submit your article]
This article is a result of a chat i had with Amit Aggarwal an ex IITian who is the creator of ‘mnemonic dictionary’
Everyday you read in newspapers that “Someone from IIT (or IIM) rejected big placement offer to do abc”
Some IITians are now authors of top selling novels {Chetan bhagat,Tushar raheja},many have started their own business,Some are rolling out projects like ‘mnemonic dictionary’ strangely some like Kaushalendra have even opted to sell vegetables.
They are rejecting huge pay packages to start with something that may not be very promising but ‘IIT’ this three letter tag can easily get you media attention even if you haven’t started anything great. And once you are able to attract media, half of the work is done (soon you’ll get people who are ready to invest in your dreams).
But does that mean only IIT and IIM students think this way ? Well I won’t agree to that, students in other institutions are also very creative and are full of ideas but they are not that lucky, i won’t say that they don’t get opportunity but they are actually blindfolded and they don’t see it and this is because the environment in most of the institutions is not competitive. Copying assignments and getting projects made from shops is very common and these institutions are least bothered because they know no matter what happens their seats will get filled every year.
But if you are determined to do something then no one can stop you…These days you also find students from other institutions creating wonders but that percentage is still very low.
One major reason why students are not able to turn their dreams into reality is the risk involved. For IITians, its easy to kick off jobs and start with something and even if they fail they can go back and take up jobs in any IT company but for others campus placements matters a lot because once you are out of campus it gets too difficult to find a job.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way! if you have passion for something than get up and get going because now is the time to turn your dreams into reality…
ALL THE BEST!
My two cents:
iit’ans was molded during graduation in such a way that they get complete and thorough knowledge of there stream [right from concepts to coding to etc] and also they are math minded which is very imp.
other colleges/univ students following rote learning without getting firm grip on subjects and if you know little knol about subjects its hard to start a strtup in this intense tech compitition.
you can argue that some already did without knol, but in order to build less barrier to entry startup company [ubono, mshire, etc] it reuires lot of deep technology understanding.
and now a days every body jumping on entrepreneurship without clear mission. i would suggest them before doing startup, first ask youserlf how much good your @ tech despite biz, strategy, m&a, vc blah [those will come along]. I have seen some entrepreneurs who do morning service base and in the everning product and i asked why you are doing like this, they told for survival we do service in the morning. after 4 months they shutdowned and joined companies as employee.
IIT’ans has productivity, strong tech skills and strong alumni.
Hi –
1 Query .
Do they(iit/iim guys who started their own firm) reject offers after
complete screening(GD/interviews etc) at campus interview.?……
If they were sure of starting on their own ,why to seat for placement
session in first place?….
non IIT/IIM –> kishor Biyani( Big Bazaar Guy),Sunil Mittal( Airtel Guy) ,CEO of IndiaBulls etc… all non IIT/IIM
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thanks for the comments… if possible kindly levae your comments @ the orginal source of this article,there are allready lots of comments there…
>> http://itsmylife.passionvaibhav.com/three-letters-iit-sometimes-makes-a-lot-of-diff/
Another perspective:
Assume there are many students not from IITs who tread beyond the normal, and startup or take risks. Would the media even care about them?
The answer is NO.
Why?
a. The colleges/universities don’t attract as much attention as the IITs.
b. Between an IITian who gives up a job to pursue an alternative career and a graduate from any other college, the IITian’s sacrifice is probably greater as he would get a better job offer.
Ergo,
The point is not about youth from other universities not taking risks, but it is about the media coverage on such cases being way lesser.
I agree with you cent percent!
Sure, IIT’s and IIM’s catch the eyeballs of anyone,but as you have mentioned “Getting Media Attention”.This is just one aspect to create the buzz but never the intention of any startup.
Also,keep apart IIT’s/IIM’s, there are many startups that get talked about for few months on Blogs,Papers but what after that? So,media attention is just the start but never the motivation to do something.
As Abhilash has rightly pointed out, IIT’s/IIM’s get much bigger offers and hence they get attention, which is not wrong at all.But as far as Risk/Potential goes,it is just that a person himself/herself has to realize the potential.How many times have you seen “Smart intelligent guys from colleges[who we feel should have started out something, but don't start] but average guy[who is not so bright in college but knows how to unlock his/her potential] does/dares to dream to do something.
I would point out to two articles:
http://thoughtsprevail.blogspot.com/2008/05/myth-web-around-indian-startups.html
http://blogs.zoho.com/general/how-we-recruit-on-formal-credentials-vs-experience-based-education/
-Himanshu Sheth
you need to read this Vaibahv .
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/su08/elite-deresiewicz.html
The most important advantage of being in a premiere institute is the network.period.:-)
@Vaibhav I think your are absolutely right. But my point is that you dont have to be from IIT/IIM to get media attention. You have to put it some proactive efforts to get their attention. But actually that experience helps you understand how these media guys work, which can help your organization in future….
Nirma grads to fund needy students’ expense !
http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=2009030920090309024144632c3bf405c
Just check the above story.. we have started the Commercial Entity ( Not the NGO or NPO) which would fund for education for students !!! .
Lets face it these guys have put in lots of efforts or may be they were lucky to get into IITs/IIMs . They should get some incentive for that. Ultimately its your work which will speak for yourself.
Thanks and best regards,
jatin Chaudhary..
I will say only one thing, that “THE whole world steps aside for the man who continues to move towards his goal.” It hardly matters wether u r an IITan or a
person from IIM, U will succeed if ur dream keeps u awake to fulfill it. A graduate who is not from a top notch institute of the country,will definetly find it difficult to get media attention initialy, but hard-work & motivation will surely be able to write his or her name in the books of history bwith golden letters.
I hv known IIT guys suffering at the hands of non-IIT /reserved category bosses.
Very true! I have seen some sort of frustration venting out in interviews. (no offence to anyone though)