Science Graduates Earn 22% More As Per IIM Ahmedabad Research!

“Which career path is best for you: doctor or engineer?” Just like their parents did when they were youngsters, parents all throughout the country pose this question to children. However, despite the age-old issue of "What do you want to be when you grow up?" is becoming less and less relevant, it's still intriguing to learn why so many parents insist that their children study science. As per a recent study by IIM-Ahmedabad, science stream graduates tend to earn 22% more than their counterparts in the humanities and business streams. This isn't simply a coincidence.

The secret behind science students earning more!

According to a recent article published in Economic Inquiry "Science Education and Labour Market Outcomes in a Developing Economy", the mean annual earnings of science graduates were found to be 1.78 lakh from a sample size of 4,763 across India. The study conducted by Arun Jain from IIM-A, Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay from the Indian Statistical Institute, Nishith Prakash from the University of Connecticut, and Raghav Rakesh from Michigan State University, found out that science students earned an average of 2.24 lakh per year, while students in the humanities and business disciplines earned an average of 1.56 lakh per year.

These findings might provide insight into underlying issues, such as how employers prioritize certain talents in prospective workers. Researchers studied the employability of science majors and found that their wages were better if they had to complement english and computer abilities. Prof. Jain, an economist at IIM-A believes that the study shows how crucial it is for students to learn work-related abilities throughout their college years in order to earn more money in the future.

Experts suggest that...

Education is a lifelong process of learning that takes place over the course of a lifetime. "The Indian education system must make sure students are prepared in various ways for success," said Professor Jain. "Students' capacity to navigate between information, concepts, and people should be emphasized, not just a single talent," he concluded.

State education experts in Gujarat say that around 20% of the students in the state who pass out every year from the Class XII exam generally opt for a science stream. The number in Group B is constantly on the rise and shows an upward trend because more and more youngsters are opting for careers in technology and other fields which demand specialization and insight into scientific matters. 

For this reason, a large number of high school students pick engineering as a career path. Many professional disciplines, such as medicine and law at IIMs, require students to have a strong scientific background. As a result of this, 90 percent of the students admitted to IIMs are engineers, and the same is true in Gujarat and elsewhere.

What do companies look for?

Companies no longer care about your score in topics like Algebra when they realize you haven't taken any business courses. They look for someone who is able to work hard independently and pitch in as needed.

Cross-disciplinary learning should be encouraged more in the school system. To investigate how various professions operate in tandem and complement each other, the present approach tends to favour specific qualities, such as math or engineering talents, based on test scores.

That science graduates earn more is fascinating, but it's not the sole finding of IIM-A research. In addition, individuals with a science degree had better cognitive abilities than their peers. Is there a meaning behind this? While the study suggests that science students may have got superior grades, their real-world abilities were more polished when compared with their peers who studied commerce or humanities.

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