4 IIT-Kanpur students turn down Rs 1 crore job offers

Considerations of professional fulfilment and a desire to pursue higher studies have trumped offers of eight-figure salaries during placements at IIT Kanpur as four students chose to turn down jobs which would have paid them more than Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) yearly.

It is not everyday that a job-seeker turns down a Rs 1 crore offer and the decision by four of them -- three boys and a girl student -- at the premier technological institute is sure to create a flutter, especially when two of them are said to have settled for lower salaries in order to work in profiles which they found to be more suitable for themselves.

According to the chairman of the IIT-Kanpur Placement Cell, Prof Deepu Philip, the remaining two male students have opted for higher studies over signing up to join any company.

Philip, who refused to divulge the names of the four students, said that the offers were made on Wednesday by a multinational company during placement interviews on their campus.

"The offer to these four students was for a take home of $150,000, or close to Rs 93 lakh per annum. Along with other incentives and perks, the size of the package was more than Rs 1 crore yearly," Philip told PTI on Thursday.

"The girl student and one of the boys declined the offer saying it did not match their temperament and that they wanted professional fulfilment from their jobs. The two have accepted offers of Rs 50 lakh per annum from a smaller company.

"The remaining two students said they want to focus on higher studies and were, therefore, not keen on taking up the Rs 1 crore offer," added Philip.

In one of the fattest pay packages offered to an IITian ever in campus placements, a student of IIT Kharagpur was a few days back offered a whopping annual salary of over Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million).

IIT authorities have refused to disclose details about the student or the company which made the offer, saying "this brings unnecessary attention to the student".

IIT sources claimed that the 1.54 crore offer is the highest ever package received by the Kharagpur unit and among the largest ever in all IITs.

IIT Kanpur had kicked off its placement drive on December  1 with around 1,290 students from B.Tech, B.Tech Dual and M.Tech courses registering for the same. The placement drive will continue till December  24.

Image: IIT Kanpur

Photographs: Johannes Bader/Wikimedia Commons