India | Updated Nov 17, 2007 at 02:54pm IST

Crossover or career leap? Why IITians head to IIMs

Chennai: Double the brand, double the value! That seems to be the mantra for IITians fresh out of college. About 10 per cent of all IIT graduates made a beeline to IIMs last year and the numbers are on the rise year after year.

"By the time you're 30, 35, you are in a managerial position. You are dealing with people, you are dealing with money and projects. So it's a natural progression for a person who is working," says LS Ganesh, Head of the Department of Management Studies, IIT, Madras.

Lt Col Jaykumar, Head of Placements & Deputy Registrar, IIT, Madras, however says it's entrepreneurship what drives IITians towards IIMs. "This is the second category, that is entrepreneurship, which probably compels them to move towards the CAT."

According to Karthik Narayan, a final year B Tech student, IIM after IIT means a big career leap. "There is another set of people who go to IIMs only because the crowd does so. And the crowd does so only because IIMs offer you a good career opportunity. It's a career leap for these students."

While many choose to work for a few years before heading to the IIMs, more and more students want to bell the CAT straight out of IIT and get a quick boost to their CVs.

"Many prefer to do IIM immediately after their IITs," Lt Col Jaykumar confirms. "This, I think, is a positive trend," he says.

For, it rains money if you're armed with an IIM degree. Add an IIT tag to that, and when it rains, it really pours!

K Abhishek, a final year B Tech student at IIT Madras, says exactly that. "With our technical exposure, technical expertise and good management background, I don't think there is anyone who can beat us," he reasons.

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