What after JEE Main 2024 results: Know your options

By Debarati Majumder

After the JEE Main 2024 results for session 1 will be announced on February 12, 2024, there will come the most critical moment of your life. You have to make a wise decision about your career based on the option you are left with. If you have scored well in JEE Main and are among the top 2.50 lakh students, your real challenge begins now. The IIT aspirants will have to focus on JEE Advanced and the rest of the candidates need to strive to secure a seat amongst the premier institutes i.e. NITs (National Institutes of Technology), IIITs (Indian Institutes of Information Technology), and CFTIs (Centrally Funded Technical Institute).

Also Read:

• What is a good score in JEE Main to qualify for JEE Advanced?
• Top 10 Engineering Entrance Exams in India 2024: Check List
• BTech Admission Through CUET 2024: College List, Cutoff, Eligibility Criteria

However, a lot of times, with a poor JEE Main score, most of the students get into depression and perceive that their aspirations to become engineers have been shattered. However, this can easily be prevented by gathering information about the career opportunities available for a student even without a BTech degree. Take a look at some of the options you can pursue if you don't clear JEE Main.

What after JEE Main 2024 result?

1. Prepare a backup plan in advance and appear for other engineering entrance tests

Besides JEE Main marks, you still have a lot of good options in the form of State Level Engineering Entrance Tests such as MHT CET, UPSEE, WBJEE, KCET, COMEDK, etc. Qualifying them with good marks will ensure your admission to engineering seats in State-Based Universities and Institutions.

For example with a good WBJEE score, you can get a seat in IIEST Shibpur, West Bengal for a five-year Integrated BTech & MTech Programme or BTech in your choice of stream at Jadavpur University West Bengal. Moreover, you also have options to appear in different entrance tests conducted by various premier universities and institutions including KIITEE for KIIT University Engineering Programme, UPESEAT for BTech Programme at the University of Petroleum & Energy Studies,  SRMJEEE for SRM University Engineering Programme, VITEEE for Vellore Institute of Technology, etc.

2. If not IIT/NIT, then select the best available option

One has to be careful when choosing an engineering College to provide quality Education. There are some parameters one should consider while selecting colleges other than IITs or NITs:

• Infrastructure: Residential Campus always provides a better environment for studies. One should also look forward to Modern Equipment in laboratories, Recent Books and journals in libraries, etc.
• Faculty: Optimal Faculty – Student Ratio (1:15) is desirable with a Research-Oriented Mindset and Doctoral Qualification of Teachers.
• Status of the institute: A university Status always means greater academic freedom for Innovation which is mostly sought by future Engineers.
• Curriculum: It should be updated as per industry Norms and demands.
• Alumni Base: It should be strong enough to pull corporates for the campus recruitment drive
• Accreditation by NAAC or NBA is to be seen as a quality indicator in the academic delivery standard.

3. Consider lateral entry into BTech programmes

Even after completion of the BSc Course in the core science division, you can again join the BTech Course. Few Universities such as Manipal University and Calcutta University allow students to join in the second year of the BTech Programme after completion of the BSc Course in the relevant field. For example, with BCA Degree you are eligible to apply for BTech CSE or BTech IT.

4. Success can be achieved through non-engineering options too

Though it still pays to be an engineer, the domains of non-engineering options are evergreen. Programmes like BS-MS Dual Degree Programme in IISERs can also be opted by you.

To promote high-quality scientific education, research, and training, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, has set up seven Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) at Bhopal, Kolkata, Mohali, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati, and Berhampur. It is a five-year dual degree program for bright and motivated science students who have passed class XII. The programme integrates classroom learning with research and provides ample scope for multidisciplinary interactions.

The first two years of the programme consist of core courses in basic sciences, the third and fourth years are dedicated to specialisation in the chosen science subjects and the fifth year includes a research project. The training during the programme enables students to pursue a career in academia, R&D institutes, and science-based industries. Apart from JEE Advanced Ranking, you can still qualify through your Class XII board marks above or equal to the cut-off percentage declared by DST.

5. Take Up Studies in the Upcoming Field

There have been increasing and growing demands in some of the new industry-ready fields. Since the demand-supply gap for professionals in these upcoming fields is very wide, a reputation, as well as a handsome salary package, can easily be obtained. Take a look at these few suggestions below:

(a)    BSc in Nanotechnology

After completion of (10+2) from any of the recognised boards with a science stream comprising of at least physics and chemistry with an option of math or biology as the third subject, you can join BSc in Nanotechnology. The students doing nanotechnology can also join the IT sector and the CORE sectors related to medicines, pharmacy, or biology. They can also go in the research fields like DRDO in India. Amity University, Noida & University of Madras, Tamil Nadu offer this course.

(b)   BSc in Business Analytics

Business analytics is a branch of applied mathematics that uses quantitative and computational techniques to improve decision-making in business. Business analytics is about making the best possible use of the huge volumes of data that are now created every day in every sector of business, from social media to traditional manufacturing. And it involves processing that data to find patterns that can lead to insight, predictions, and better decisions. If you’re naturally analytical and interested in computing or mathematics, the new BSc in Business Analytics course will give you the skills to help you apply your aptitude.

It is suitable for people who like to use their abilities in mathematics and computerised problem-solving to create business solutions. There is a recognised growing skills shortage in business analysts in the Indian business environment. This programme prepares students who would like to work in organisations that need to extract and understand meaningful information from big data. For example, G.D.Goenka World Institute offers this course in association with Lancaster University, U.K.

6. Dropping a year in your career again for preparation for JEE Main is not at all advisable

After poor marks in JEE Main, every candidate becomes optimistic about investing another precious year of life in preparation for JEE Main. It is the most common advice given to students by their parents. At this point, many academicians will have a different opinion from me but looking at the dynamic scenario of Business and Industry worldwide, it is always advised to keep yourself intrigued in the stream where you want to make your career. Again with investing a year to prepare for the JEE Main, one cannot guarantee your selection in IITs. With increasing competition in the job market, you need to prepare yourself with domain knowledge and relevant skills. After all, it is your potential, not the institute which will help you achieve your dream.

If you still cannot see a ray of hope after your JEE Main 2024 Result let me share a few facts about Great Leaders of our times

• Henry Ford went broke five times before he finally succeeded
• Beethoven was proclaimed by his teacher as hopeless as a composer
• Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor for lack of ideas and creativity. Disney went bankrupt several times before it succeeded as a company
• Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and didn’t read until he was seven. His teacher described him as “mentally slow”
• The Beatles were rejected by many music labels
• Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team
• Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade
• Marilyn Monroe was told by a producer that she was “unattractive” and could not act

And if you think that you are not Marilyn Monroe or Walt Disney, you may be right. But I know every single one of you is passionate about something, no matter how small it may seem in comparison with someone else’s passion or achievement. You matter to somebody. You are someone’s inspiration, someone's hope. And if you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.

About the author:

Debarati Majumder is a postgraduate in Biotechnology combined with a degree in Education from the University Of Calcutta. She previously worked with the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India.