DIGITAL STRATEGY | READING TIME: 5 MINUTES | 28 SEPTEMBER
Engineering Students Build Their Way Into Digital Marketing
If engineering was a religion, it will count as the fifth most populous in India! In fact, a record-breaking 1.4 million candidates appeared for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), or more commonly known as the entrance exam for engineers in 2018. However, recently a large number of engineering graduates are either unemployed or work as blue-collared labourers, especially computer engineers who traditionally banked on the IT sector to provide them with job opportunities. With the stagnation of growth in the IT sector, more than 80% of Indian computer engineers are unemployed and around 222,000 computer engineering graduates applied for peon posts.
That being said, with the rise of the digital marketing industry, a new opportunity has emerged for engineers. Consequently, plenty of engineers are finding work in the digital marketing industry.
So, what makes the digital marketing world enticing for engineers? It’s simple. What are the most common traits of an engineer?
- They are creators
- They like research
- They like creating strategies
- They believe in experimentation
Coincidentally, (or not!) these are some of the most common traits required to be a successful digital marketer as well. Hence, it’s evident that the skills of an engineer are more than welcome in the digital marketing industry.
“As an engineering graduate, I chose to pursue a career in digital marketing due to numerous reasons. The major one is job sustainability. With the IT sector facing the consequences of the recession, while the digital marketing industry still continues to grow, it was a no-brainer making this career shift. Plus, thanks to the numerous channels in the field of digital marketing, the growth opportunities are limitless!”
– Tejas Salvi, Management Associate at GO MO Group
GO MO Takes The Stage
The opening of a new career opportunity for engineers has not gone unnoticed by prestigious colleges and institutes. With an aim to provide only the best to their students, these institutes started inviting digital marketing companies for campus placements. One such institution was the Symbiosis Institute of Technology (SIT). However, the institutes noticed that while students were intrigued by digital marketing, they weren’t fully aware of the scope of opportunities present for them.
Owing to this, the college invited us to spread awareness about the digital marketing niche as industry experts. Hence, Akshat Bharani, the Team Lead of SEO and Kunal Bajaj, Partner and Senior Project Manager at GO MO Group visited Symbiosis Institute of Technology. With over 100 students in attendance, the objective of this visit was to spread awareness among their students about the rise of digital marketing and how it can be a viable career option for engineering students.
“The aim of these workshops is not to convince anyone, rather we are here to present an alternative opportunity that these students were not aware of. This helps them make an informed decision with respect to their career.”
– Kunal Bajaj, Partner & Sr. Project Manager at GO MO Group.
A Rendezvous With Kunal Bajaj
After the presentation, we had a quick chat with Kunal to get insights on his experiences and get a better understanding of the current scenario in the digital marketing niche. With the introduction of giants like Zomato and Uber who are disrupting the entire job market, Kunal believes that engineers are attracted to the digital marketing niche due to the vast range of job opportunities available. He went on to state that in his experience a lot of the engineering students actually have a passion for management, marketing and business. Digital marketing allows these students to explore subjects that they are interested in, but don’t get the opportunity in engineering jobs.
When questioned about the skills engineers had to help them fit in the digital marketing universe, Kunal stated, “They are engineers! I mean, besides having the technical, analytical and logical skills, they are true hard-workers. These students have come from an environment where they have to cram the knowledge of 20 subjects in one night while juggling assignments and workshops. They know how to deal with pressure and multi-task effectively. That’s exactly what we want in a digital marketer!”
On a final note, when asked to give some advice to young minds that are considering to opt for the digital marketing industry, Kunal said, “Don’t choose a field just for the sake of choosing. Or, don’t choose a field under peer or parental pressure. Choose a field that you are really passionate about. If your passion lies in digital marketing, then roll up your sleeves and get to learning. You cannot succeed in this field with half knowledge and to be an expert you need to keep learning and upgrading your knowledge. Being a digital marketer requires a lot of hard work and “average” just doesn’t work. Hence, you need to be willing to invest your all, and when you do, the benefits are truly worth the effort”.
I believe engineers make good digital marketers because they are tech-savvy, and digital marketing is all about technology. Moreover, engineers are hardworking and deadline-oriented due to the most complex evaluation happening in engineering right and now and the introduction of new opportunities come at an opportune moment! I appreciate Mr Kunal Bajaj, Akshat Bharani and Ankita Samant for all their efforts to make this presentation happen.
– Dr Nilisha, Placement Coordinator, SIT
