IIT placement rates slide, pays shrink as vaunted colleges reconcile with AI, changing job market

The seven IITs established between 1951 and 2001 — Kharagpur, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati, and Roorkee — are classified as first generation IITs, and were the worst affected in terms of placement rates

The overall placement rates at the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) fell from over 90% to just around 80% between 2021-22 and 2023-24, with the weighted average annual salaries reducing marginally from ₹23.45 lakh to ₹22.7 lakh, a HT analysis shows, with IIT administrators and faculty attributing the trend to an uncertain job market and high student expectations, although they insist that the overall placement scenario in the IITs is stable.

Across IITs, officials and faculty members agree that the placement slowdown is driven more by changing market dynamics than by student capability. (FILE)

The IITs are yet to release a consolidated report of their 2024-25 placement season.

The seven IITs established between 1951 and 2001 — Kharagpur, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati, and Roorkee — are classified as first generation IITs, and were the worst affected in terms of placement rates , seeing a dip of over 11 percentage points — from just above 90% in 2021-22 to 79% in 2023-24 — though their weighted average salaries (average pay adjusted for the number of students placed) saw only a marginal dip of ₹0.2 lakh, from ₹25.5 LPA to ₹25.3 LPA .

The eight second generation IITs set up during 2008–09 — Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Patna, Ropar, Jodhpur, Indore, and Mandi — recorded the steepest salary decline of about ₹2.2 lakh, from around ₹22.2 LPA to nearly ₹20 LPA, along with a 9 percentage point drop in placement rates, from above 93% to 84%.

The eight third generation IITs (including those converted into IITs) -- (BHU) Varanasi,(ISM) Dhanbad, Palakkad, Tirupati, Bhilai, Goa, Jammu, and Dharwad -- saw a 7.3 percentage point fall in placement rates, from about 87.8% to 80.5%, and a salary decline of ₹1 lakh, from ₹19.6 LPA to ₹18.6 LPA.

Only eight of the IITs, including three first generation ones, saw fewer companies participating in placements .

Across IITs, officials and faculty members agree that the placement slowdown is driven more by changing market dynamics than by student capability. They point to factors such as AI-led disruptions, reduced company hiring needs, stagnant core-sector salaries, and high student expectations — but emphasize that the overall placement scenario in IITs remains stable, not in crisis.

All IITs — except IIT (BHU) Varanasi — recorded an increase in the number of unplaced students between 2021-22 and 2023-24. IIT Kharagpur had the highest number of unplaced students in 2021-22 with 146, while IIT Madras topped the list in 2023-24 with 278. Except for IIT (BHU) Varanasi, which saw its placement rate rise by 4.89 percentage points, all 22 other IITs reported declines.

Among first-generation IITs, Roorkee saw the steepest fall (15.36 percentage points) and Kharagpur the least (2.88).Among second generation ones, IIT Mandi recorded the sharpest decline (14.1 points) and Jodhpur the least (3.61). Among third-generation IITs, Dharwad saw the biggest drop (24.64 points), while Goa’s decline was the lowest (5.92).

Four of the seven first-generation IITs — Kharagpur, Bombay, Kanpur, and Guwahati — saw more companies visiting their campuses for placements in 2023-24 compared to 2021-22. The sharpest rise was at IIT Guwahati, with 286 more recruiters, while IIT Kharagpur added 24.

“There is no placement crisis at IITs — fluctuations are normal with market changes but it is stabilizing now. Job offers and student participation have increased, and only a small number remain unplaced by convocation as witnessed in exit surveys. Some withdraw over salary expectations even after receiving job offers which also affects placement percentage,” said director of a first-generation IIT, requesting anonymity.

“One major reason for the drop in placement percentage is that expectations of students revolve around high packages which are rare in India. The job market itself has become uncertain with AI-related disruptions and layoffs in major companies like Amazon,” added a professor from IIT Indore, asking not to be named.

An official from the placement team of second-generation IIT said the slowdown in hiring is not about student talent but due to market demand. “Many companies have reduced their requirements, and when they have, say, 50 openings, they first recruit from the older, established IITs. Once those seats are filled, there’s little scope left for second- or third-generation IITs.”

“Most tech companies are adopting AI, which is replacing many entry-level coding and design jobs. Since AI can handle basic programming faster and cheaper, firms are hiring fewer graduates, pushing salaries down — even in core fields like mechanical and electrical. It’s a global trend; why companies will hire a fresh coder when AI can do it in seconds?,” asked a professor from IIT Goa.

Shantanu Rooj, Founder and CEO, TeamLease Edtech said IIT graduates are among India’s most employable pools, but even they cannot stay untouched by global shifts.

“The dip reflects hiring corrections in tech, consulting, and start-ups that have traditionally absorbed IIT talent. Global slowdowns, tighter funding, and automation have moderated demand. Embedding current yet real-world skills - AI, data, and applied technologies - into engineering programs as core subjects can help,” he said.