Opportunities after GATE: Check Career Scope & Salary Options

What if you can't qualify for IIT through GATE 2025? What if you can't score enough marks to qualify for PSU recruitment? Read the article below to know what options you have other than IITs and PSUs.

The biggest question that one must ask himself before the preparation of any exam is why one should appear for the exam as that reason itself is the motivation for the exam. GATE is conducted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and it tests the basic understanding of undergraduate subjects.

GATE is jointly conducted by seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute for Science, Bangalore (IISc, Bangalore). These institutes are responsible for the administrative responsibilities of the exam and are not directly concerned with preparing the question paper. This exam is one the most prestigious exams in India not only because it is conducted by IITs but also because of the plethora of opportunities available after GATE. In this article, I wish to let you all know in brief about the opportunities available after GATE.

Postgraduate (MTech) Entrance

The GATE score is considered a mandatory requirement for admission to post-graduate programs in different IITs and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs). The process for recruitment for M.Tech programs involves qualifying for the GATE exam, clearing the cut-off for the respective college, and then undergoing an interview stage for final admission.

Different benefits of the M.Tech program are:

• Better job opportunities
• Higher pay packages
• Subject specialization
• Handsome stipend

GATE scorecard is valid for M.Tech admission for three years.

Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Entrance

The GATE exam gained much popularity after various public-sector units (PSUs) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IITs for recruitment through GATE. So, clearing GATE can also help you get direct government sector jobs. The most lucrative aspects of PSU jobs are:

• High pay packages (above Rs 50,000 per month)
• Work-life balance
• Extra benefits such as oil or electricity at a subsidized rate
• Support for higher education such as MBA

The recruitment procedure for PSU is a valid GATE score of the current year and then a round of Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI). The weightage given to the GATE score is between 75 percent to 85 percent. Different PSUs that recruit through GATE include PGCIL, NTPC, NHPC, IOCL, BHEL, etc.

In a recent interaction with some students, Shiksha.com found that PSU recruitment is one of the most important reasons why students appear in GATE. As stated by the students, the majority of the students aim to get shortlisted for the recruitment done by different PSUs. However, if they got selected for MTech, they take admissions to the program and start preparing for the GATE to be conducted next year. The only motive behind it is to get selected for the PSUs.

Why there is so much stress on getting selected for the PSUs? The major reasons behind doing a job at PSU include a very good salary, job stability, benefits other than salary, and good social stature. In addition to that, candidates also focus on various exams conducted by different PSUs other than GATE. This exam includes the other PSU recruitment exams also like ISRO, DRDO, BARC, etc. with GATE 

PhD Entrance

Nowadays MTech qualification is not required to be eligible for a PhD, if you have a B.Tech degree then also you can go for a PhD. Different benefits of going for the Ph.D. programme are:

• Research opportunities abroad
• Stipend during the course
• Eligibility requirement for Assistant professor job at IITs and IIITs.

The recruitment process for the PhD programme involves a valid GATE score and then facing an interview panel based on the respective interest area.

Fellowship Program in Management (FPM)

It is a five-year program run at IIMs. This program has the following features:

• A monthly stipend of Rs 29,000-30,000 is offered
• No tuition fees for four years and nine months
• For students who live off-campus will get a house-rent allowance (HRA) of Rs 8,000 for a single student and Rs 13,000 for married students

For more details, you can visit different IIMs websites.

Also Read:

• Difference between GATE Marks, Score and Percentile
• GATE Marks vs Rank: Know how to calculate
• GATE Normalization Process: Know the formula to calculate marks and score
• GATE IIT Cutoff for MTech Admissions: Category wise cut off for IITs

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) offers various courses in PGDM such as:

• Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering (PGDIE)
• Post Graduate Diploma in Manufacturing Management (PGDMM)
• Post Graduate Diploma in Project Management (PGDPM)

For all the above Programs, the applicant should have valid GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) score as on June 15, with 60 percent aggregate marks (relaxable by five per cent in case of SC/ST/PwD (Physically Disabled) candidates) at graduation in Engineering/Technology.

MS Program

If you wish to go for higher studies abroad then you need not worry about exams such as GRE and TOEFL. There are some universities which consider GATE score for admission of Indian Students such as National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

GATE score must be within three years or less from the date of application and the GATE percentile must be above 90.

State Electricity Boards

Earlier different state electricity boards used to conduct independent exams but nowadays many of them are collaborating with IITs to recruit through GATE. Some of the state boards that recruit through GATE are West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDC), Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and Odisha Power Generation Corporation Limited (OPGEN).

For recruitment, you have to apply with your GATE registration number on their respective websites.

Research Opportunities

There are certain research positions available through GATE in Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC). However, BARC conducts its examination for recruitment. Also, industries like ISRO conduct their exams on a similar pattern as GATE.

So, I guess now you must have gotten a basic idea of opportunities after GATE and as the name suggests this exam is a doorway or gate to multiple career options. Hence, I wish all the best to those who wish to prepare for GATE.

About the Author:

Ankit Goyal is co-founder of Kreatryx which is an online and offline exam preparation portal. He completed his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Indore in 2013. He is a gold medalist of his batch. He cracked GATE with an AIR-8 in the final year of college in 2013 but joined Qualcomm. He again cracked GATE in 2014 with an AIR 1.