Are the other streams of engineering like mechanical engineering, civil, electronics and electrical getting relegated to measly existence due to Computer Science?

Well, that’s what the trend seems to be if one goes by the choices made by engineering students based on how they are later placed. This year, out of the top 100 IIT rankers, 89 went to IIT Bombay and the preference of most of them was CS, a short form for Computer Science. A professor at IIT Delhi explains why this is happening increasingly. Unwillingly to get named a professor of the Applied Mechanics Department at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi said “largely the motivation is the attractive combination of financial stability and job prospects.”

Money makes the mare go. He added, “Between a civil engineer or a mechanical engineer and a computer engineer who’s doing an IT-related job, the salary differential is huge. That’s why CS and jobs in the  IT industry look very lucrative to fresh graduates.”
To delve deeper into the matter, we conducted interviews with civil and mechanical engineering alumni of IITs who have transitioned into the fields of CS and IT. These graduates shed light on the reason behind their career shift.
Sharib Tasneem, a 2021 civil engineering graduate from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati,
currently working in the IT sector said, “There are primarily two reasons behind my decision to switch from civil engineering to IT jobs. Firstly, the salary prospects in CS (computer science) jobs are significantly higher as compared to other branches like mechanical, electronic, and civil. Secondly, there are very few companies that recruit civil engineers. During our placement season, only one company, Larsen & Toubro, visited the civil department of IIT Guwahati. Out of the total 80 students in the 2017-2021 batch, only 20-30 pursued
careers in civil engineering.
He said “There are numerous job opportunities in fields like data science and data analysis, which are not directly associated with computer science but fall under the realm of information technology. These roles don’t require extensive expertise. They need basic programming skills, which are taught in the first year irrespective of the department—be it civil, mechanical, or electronic engineering.”
Another M. Tech student Rishabh Mishra, from 2019-21 batch of the mechanical branch of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD) currently working with HCL Technologies said “With fewer opportunities in core industries and non-core companies offering more lucrative salaries, I switched
from mechanical to computer science. The field of computer science presents better prospects for future research and technological advancements.