Design: Swati Sheenum, G Shreethigha, Shaurya Rawat, Abhiram Pavithran O, and Hardhik Pinjala
This is a strange time in our history. The world is engulfed by an unexpected virus, and we are quarantined at our homes, leaving insti behind. In this new normal, we at T5E are trying to understand the complexities of the situation facing us at this point in our student lives. To this end, we conducted a survey covering aspects such as academics, productivity, mental health, accessibility, and much more.
T5E’s Quaran-time survey was conducted in the month of may among IITM students and it amassed a staggering 1177 responses in only three weeks. In this article, we analyse the results of the survey with special emphasis on career. Given that the pandemic has been hard on professional opportunities across the globe, we analyse the extent of its effect on the professional lives of students, covering jobs, interns and higher studies.
Demographics:
Out of the total number of survey respondents, 157 are graduating this time, while 243 are in their pre-final year. While we overlooked mentioning an ‘others’ option in the actual survey, any blank response is being clubbed under this label.
Effect of Summer Extension
At the time of response collection, the imposed lockdown meant that the ongoing semester would be extended well into summer. Accordingly, a larger number of graduating students foresaw potential clashes with their job’s joining dates. However, the percentage of those expecting clashes was lower in case of interns. This is owing to the possibility that most internships were shifted to the online mode, as discussed later.
Effect on Visa applications for jobs and higher studies
Given the worldwide air-travel restrictions, it was expected that visa procedure would be delayed too. Accordingly, a large majority of those who plan to pursue higher studies, or jobs abroad, foresee some delay in the process.
Work From Home
While most of the world has come to a standstill, a lot of whatever is in our control has powered on to the best of our abilities. Most internships have been shifted online for those with either a fully stable or manageable internet connection. Very few interns have remained offline.
Offer Rescission Statistics
Some of our peers unfortunately lost out on opportunities in an unforeseen turn of events. It appears that those with interns that required either field work or international travel were those among the hardest hit. Some jobs also bore the brunt of the situation.
Note that these are the statistics for the responses collected in the month of may and the no. of offers rescinded are presented above. Now, it so appears that the no. of offers rescinded would have risen a bit for both full-time and internship offers.
Impact of Rescission on Mental Health
Job offer rescission did have a slight impact on mental health. Students which got their offer rescinded were worried more than the ones who did not get their offer rescinded. They also found it a bit more difficult to relax than the ones who did not have their offer rescinded.
Conclusion
The pandemic did have a considerable impact on the career of students. For internships, some offers were rescinded while some internships are being conducted online. For full-time offers, some offers were rescinded, some companies have delayed their joining dates while some companies have resorted to virtual on-boarding of new employees.
To all those whose career opportunities were adversely affected by the pandemic, we understand that these are difficult times. We wish you all the very best and pray that better opportunities are round the corner. To those who might know a friend going through such tough times, bear in mind that it’s never easy to navigate muddy waters alone. Do not hesitate to generously extend support to those who might need it.
Check out other parts of the Quaran-Time Survey:
