Basic criteria for entry
If you define a fresher as a direct passout without any industrial exposure, the recruitment possibilities narrow down to some big firms like Texas Instruments and Microchip Technology. These select candidates from various institutes of repute and train them according to their needs. Most of the recruiters prefer candidates with at least a small degree of industry exposure. However, they need not be full-time employees. Any equivalent training is also well accepted.
As regards the basic criteria for entry, diploma holders, engineering (as well as science) graduates, postgraduates and even doctorates with the background of electronics/electrical engineering or computer science may try their luck here.
If you ask any industry spokesperson about the skill sets expected of freshers and what fresh graduates bring to the table, only a huge gap is revealed. It is in fact a significant drawback of our educational system.
[stextbox id=”info”]”According to NASSCOM, in India, $750 million were spent on r&d of embedded systems in year 2006. The figure would rise to $1.1 billion by 2009. This is, however, just a minuscule portion of the global opportunity that is waiting to be tapped.”[/stextbox]
Most of the microcontroller firms find gap in areas such as architecture and design. In particular, getting people in ARM and data acquisition is a challenge.
Moolah matters
It won’t be too much of an exaggeration to say that you will probably find this field as one which offers enough provisions for learning as well as earning. The remuneration is quite good even at starting point.
The existing government or public-sector players offer a starting salary in the range of Rs 8000 to Rs 10,000 per month (excluding allowances) for diploma holders and Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per month for degree holders.
In the private sector, the starting salary may range from Rs 5000 per month to Rs 30,000 per annum for a fresher. The variation depends on several factors like the nature of the organisation and competency level and academic background of the candidate. The minimum figure describes the salary for a fresh diploma holder in a not-so-established SMU and the higher figure is for an engineering degree holder in an MNC of repute. But the private sector is ready to offer more lofty figures for the candidates who have suitable practical exposure in the form of a specialised training course, proper industrial training or systematic industry-defined project work.As regards yearly growth in salaries,
We do see a gap in areas such as microcontroller architecture. In particular, finding fresh
graduates with a knowledge of ARM and ADC is a challenge
—S. Somashekar, director-technical, SM Electronic Technologies
at this moment, with the economy on the skids and jobs under threat, it’s really difficult to predict the future salaries. However, if we analyse the industry feedback for the previous years, an engineer may expect 20 to 25 per cent hike per year. For a diploma holder, it will be in the range of 10 to 15 per cent. Though you may find job switching an easy way to increase your salary, it is advisable to stick to your first job for at least one year to create a strong foothold.
