IIT-JEE Toppers: Where Are They Now?

Summary

The video explores the career paths of JEE toppers, revealing a trend of Indian tech talent migrating to the US. Despite India's economic growth, top IIT graduates still seek better research and development opportunities abroad. Factors like higher stipends, better PhD programs, and exposure to global tech companies drive this brain drain. However, some choose to stay, driven by personal ties or the belief in India's potential to offer similar opportunities.

Takeaways

• 🎓 **JEE Toppers' Success**: JEE is one of the world's most challenging exams with a success rate of only 1%, yet many top rankers have excelled.
• 🌏 **Global Opportunities**: Many JEE toppers choose to study and work abroad, particularly in the United States, due to better opportunities.
• 🏫 **Educational Aspirations**: Top rankers often seek advanced degrees from prestigious international universities like MIT and Stanford.
• 💼 **Professional Growth**: The desire to work in a conducive professional environment, with access to cutting-edge technology and research, drives many to America.
• 💡 **Innovative Entrepreneurship**: Some toppers return to India to start their own companies, aiming to create the same opportunities they experienced abroad.
• 📈 **Research and Development**: The United States invests significantly more in R&D than India, which may influence the decision of top talent to move abroad.
• 💰 **Financial Incentives**: High-frequency trading companies offer lucrative packages, attracting many IITians who seek high salaries.
• 🏥 **Lifestyle Considerations**: Personal reasons such as family, social life, and quality of life play a role in the decision to stay in or return to India.
• 🏛️ **Government Opportunities**: Some choose to work for the Indian government, seeking to make a difference through public service.
• 🎖️ **Scholarships and Education**: Scholarships for advanced studies are offered to top performers in competitions, encouraging them to pursue further education.
• 🌱 **Scaler School of Technology**: A new institution focusing on practical, project-based learning to prepare students for the job market and entrepreneurial ventures.

Q & A

What is the success rate of JEE and how does it compare to universities like Harvard and MIT?

The success rate of JEE is only 1%, which is lower than universities like Harvard and MIT.

What did the speaker find surprising about the JEE toppers' decisions?

The speaker found it surprising that the factors behind the JEE toppers' decisions were unique and interesting, leading to a significant number of them moving to America.

What was Abhinav Kumar's educational path after topping the JEE?

Abhinav Kumar, after topping the JEE, went to MIT for his bachelor's in Math, Physics, and Computer Science, then did his PhD in Mathematics from Harvard, and later worked at Renaissance Technologies.

What is the term used by Forbes to refer to the founders of a company started by JEE rank 3, Soham Mazumdar?

Forbes refers to the founders of the company started by Soham Mazumdar as the 'IIT Mafia'.

What pattern did the speaker notice among the top JEE rankers from the 1998 and 2009 batches?

The pattern noticed was that almost all the top rankers ended up in America, indicating a trend of India's top talent seeking opportunities abroad.

What is one of the main reasons that Vishwa, a JEE topper, chose to do his PhD in America?

Vishwa chose to do his PhD in America because he realized that good PhD programs, especially in his field of interest, were mainly available outside of India.

What financial challenges did Vishwa face when considering doing a PhD in India?

Vishwa faced financial challenges such as a low stipend of Rs 20,000-27,000/month and having to pay tuition fees, making it difficult to survive in a city like Mumbai.

What is the percentage of the first 1000 top-rankers of the 2010 JEE batch who are likely to migrate from India?

The research paper analyzed that 38% of the first 1000 top-rankers of the 2010 JEE batch are likely to migrate from India.

Why did Abhimanyu Saxena and Anshuman Singh return to India after working in America?

Abhimanyu Saxena and Anshuman Singh returned to India to provide the same exposure to Indian engineers that they received in America by creating the Scaler School of Technology.

What percentage of GDP does America spend on research and development compared to India?

America spends 3% of its GDP on research and development, while India spends only 0.6%.

What are the four common career options that IITians have according to the speaker?

The four common career options for IITians are working in tech companies, working for a consulting company, doing post-graduate degrees, and working for high-frequency trading companies.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 JEE Toppers' Decisions and Their Impact on India

The script discusses the author's analysis of JEE toppers' decisions over the past 20 years, highlighting their choices and their implications for India. It mentions interviews with JEE toppers, including All India Rank 1 students, to understand their motivations. The author points out the irony that despite JEE's difficulty and low success rate, many top rankers choose to study abroad, particularly in the US, rather than staying in India. Examples from the 1998 and 2009 batches illustrate a pattern of migration, with a significant number of top rankers ending up in America, leading to a discussion about India's role as a 'factory' for American companies. The author also introduces a research paper that supports these findings, showing high probabilities of top rankers leaving India.

05:01

🌐 Reasons Behind IITians' Move to America

This paragraph delves into the reasons why top IITians choose to go to America for higher studies and work. It covers the perspective of students who felt that the best PhD programs and research opportunities were available abroad, and the financial constraints they faced in India, such as low stipends and the need to pay tuition fees. The narrative includes personal stories of IITians who moved to the US for better research opportunities and professional growth. It also touches on the experiences of those who returned to India to create opportunities for others, such as the founders of Scaler School of Technology, and the current state of R&D investment in India compared to the US.

10:02

💼 Career Opportunities and Personal Choices of IITians

The script explores the career paths and personal choices of IITians, focusing on those who chose to stay in India versus those who went abroad. It discusses the high salaries offered by high-frequency trading companies and the allure of working in Silicon Valley for startup experience. The paragraph also presents stories of IITians who returned to India for personal reasons, such as being close to family or pursuing entrepreneurial dreams within the country. It highlights the importance of lifestyle considerations in the decision-making process and the need for India to improve its research and development environment to retain talent.

15:02

📘 The Scaler School of Technology: A New Path for Indian Engineers

In the final paragraph, the focus shifts to the Scaler School of Technology (SST), which offers a practical, project-based approach to education in computer science and AI. The script emphasizes SST's commitment to providing students with industry-relevant skills and experience, as evidenced by its high placement rates and average salaries. It also mentions the scholarship opportunities available for top performers in competitions like IMO and IOI, and the author's personal scholarship offer for one student. The paragraph concludes with an invitation for students to register for the Scaler National Scholarship and Entrance Test.

Keywords

💡JEE

JEE stands for Joint Entrance Examination, which is a highly competitive engineering entrance examination in India. It is known for being one of the toughest exams globally, with a success rate of only 1%. The video discusses JEE toppers and their career paths, highlighting the prestige and difficulty of the exam.

💡IIT

IIT stands for Indian Institutes of Technology, a group of premier public engineering and technology institutes in India. The video mentions IITians, particularly the top rankers, and their tendency to migrate to the United States for higher studies and work opportunities, reflecting on the 'brain drain' from India.

💡All India Rank

All India Rank refers to the position a student secures in the JEE examination on an all-India level. The video emphasizes the achievements of those who secure the top ranks, such as All India Rank 1, and how their decisions and career paths are perceived as exemplary.

💡Brain Drain

Brain drain refers to the emigration of educated individuals, typically to more developed countries, in search of better opportunities. The video discusses how top IIT graduates often leave India for the U.S., contributing to the brain drain and the challenges it poses for the country.

💡PhD

PhD stands for Doctor of Philosophy, which is the highest academic degree awarded by universities. The video mentions that many IITians pursue PhDs abroad, particularly in the U.S., due to the perceived superiority of foreign educational programs and research opportunities.

💡Stipend

A stipend is a fixed allowance given to students, especially PhD students, to support their living expenses while they study. The video highlights the low stipends offered to PhD students in India, which may not be sufficient to cover living expenses, prompting many to seek opportunities abroad.

💡Research and Development (R&D)

R&D refers to activities undertaken by companies or governments to advance knowledge and create new or improve existing products, processes, or services. The video points out that India's low investment in R&D compared to the U.S. could be a factor driving talent abroad.

💡Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is a region in California known for its high-tech innovation and development. The video mentions that many IITians are attracted to Silicon Valley for its vibrant tech scene and the opportunities it offers for professional growth and entrepreneurship.

💡Startup

A startup is a company or project that is in the initial phase of its operations. The video discusses how some IITians are motivated to work for or create startups, particularly in Silicon Valley, to gain experience and fulfill their entrepreneurial ambitions.

💡Scholarship

A scholarship is a financial aid awarded to students to support their education. The video concludes with an offer of a 100% scholarship by the speaker for a student at Scaler School of Technology, emphasizing the importance of educational opportunities in retaining talent in India.

💡Scaler School of Technology

Scaler School of Technology is an educational institution mentioned in the video that offers programs in computer science and AI. The video speaker promotes the school's practical, project-based approach and its high placement rates, suggesting it as an alternative to studying abroad.

Highlights

JEE toppers' success rate is only 1%, lower than universities like Harvard and MIT.

JEE toppers are among the brightest and most hardworking students in India.

Many JEE toppers choose to study abroad, especially in the United States.

Abhinav Kumar, Rank 1 in 1998, chose MIT over IIT after winning a gold medal at the International Math Olympiad.

Jayant Kumar Kannan, Rank 2 in 1998, worked for Google after completing his PhD from UC Berkeley.

Soham Mazumdar, Rank 3 in 1998, founded a company acquired by Facebook, now worth $5.6 billion.

Rajat Raina, Rank 4 in 1998, works for Pinterest after completing his PhD from Stanford.

Nitin Gupta, Rank 5 in 1998, works for Google in America after his Master's from the University of Illinois, Urbana.

The pattern shows JEE toppers often migrate to the United States for higher studies and work.

Research indicates that higher JEE rank correlates with a higher likelihood of leaving India.

Vishwa and Kapil, both JEE toppers, chose to do their PhDs in the US due to better opportunities.

PhD stipends in India are often insufficient for living expenses, prompting many to look abroad.

Scaler School of Technology aims to provide the same exposure in India as top US tech companies.

The US spends 3% of its GDP on R&D, while India spends only 0.6%, indicating a need for increased investment.

Many Indian PhD students struggle with low stipends and funding for research.

Some JEE toppers return to India to work on their startups or join the Indian government.

Personal reasons and the belief in India's potential opportunities are factors for staying in India.

The decision to stay or leave India is primarily career-focused, with lifestyle factors considered later.

To retain talent, India needs to invest more in R&D and improve the overall environment for professionals.

Scaler School of Technology offers a practical, project-based approach to education, with a high job placement rate.

Transcripts

I analyzed what the JEE toppers have been doing in the last 20 years

to find out where the hard-working students of India are heading.

I talked to 6 JEE toppers, 2 of whom are All India Rank 1,

to understand the reasons behind their decisions.

Who doesn't want to top JEE in our country?

An exam that is one of the hardest in the world.

JEE's success rate is only 1%,

which is lower than universities like Harvard and MIT.

Even though you're not an IITian,

we can learn something from what the IIT toppers are doing.

And what I found out is quite surprising.

The factors behind their decisions are unique and interesting.

And this helped me find out what's right and what's wrong in our country.

Let's take an example of the top 10 rankers of the 1998 batch.

Rank 1, Abhinav Kumar.

He was a gold medalist at the International Math Olympiad.

But he didn't go to IIT, but to MIT.

He did his bachelor's in Math, Physics, and Computer Science.

After this, he did his PhD in Mathematics from Harvard.

For 6 years, he was a professor at MIT.

Then he joined Renaissance Technologies,

a private investment management company in Massachusetts.

Rank 2, Jayant Kumar Kannan.

Unfortunately, he passed away.

After IIT Madras, he did his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Then he worked for Google in California.

Rank 3, Soham Mazumdar.

After completing his B.Tech from IIT Kanpur,

he did his Master's from the University of Illinois, Urbana.

Then he worked for Google.

In 2010, he started his own company, which was acquired by Facebook.

After this, he started another company with his friends from IIT.

Today, it's worth $5.6 billion.

The founders of this company are called 'IIT Mafia' by Forbes.

Rank 4, Rajat Raina.

After completing his B.Tech from IIT Kanpur, he did his PhD from Stanford.

Today, he works for Pinterest.

Rank 5, Nitin Gupta.

After completing his B.Tech from IIT Kanpur,

he did his Master's from the University of Illinois, Urbana.

Today, he works for Google in America.

Did you notice any pattern?

I can tell you about Rank 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

But you might have understood.

I'll give you 5 seconds.

What did you notice?

Everyone is in America.

Basically, India has made a factory for American companies.

That's why we can call IIT the American Institute of Technology.

Just like this Twitter user said,

America will grow only if India studies.

The situation is that IIT should give a free U.S. visa

along with a degree in the convocation ceremony.

I'm not saying that the All India rank in JEE

represents a complex subject like human intelligence.

But I think most of us will agree that

these people are one of the brightest and most hardworking people in India.

But they're all going to America.

Some of you might say that this was in 1998

when India didn't have many economic opportunities.

Let's talk about the 2009 batch.

Rank 1, Google San Francisco.

After this, he shifted to Bengaluru with Google.

Rank 2, a professor in America.

Rank 3, Microsoft, Washington.

Rank 4, Google, California.

Rank 5, Professor NUS Singapore.

Rank 6 works for Waymo,

a self-driving car company in America.

Rank 7, a training and investment company in London.

Rank 8...we only have limited information.

But his last job was with Twitter in London.

Rank 9, Google, Canada.

Rank 10, senior algorithm trader in Gurgaon.

the only one in the top 10 who never left India,

This means out of the top 10 ranks in 2009,

only 2 people are in India as per public information.

I repeat, only 2 out of 10 top-rankers are in India.

And the toppers of 1998 and 2009 are no exception.

A research paper has been published on this topic.

It's talks about the same thing.

You'll find the link to this paper and all my other sources in the description.

This paper analyzed the first 1000 top-rankers of the 2010 batch

to find out what they do after IIT.

And the findings of this paper are very interesting.

The higher your rank, the more likely you are to leave India.

In the first 1000 top-rankers, the probability of migrating from India is 38%.

In the first 100 top-rankers, the probability is 62%.

And in the first 10 top-rankers, the probability is 90%.

Of course, not every IITian is leaving India.

But imagine, in the first 1000 top-rankers, the probability is 38%.

That's a huge number.

To understand the reason behind this, I talked to 6 toppers.

2 from India and 4 from America.

Let's talk to the Americans first.

Why did they go to America?

Vishwa is doing his PhD from Washington University.

He realized very early that he wanted to do a PhD after IIT.

But PhDs are also offered at IIT.

But he noticed something strange.

All the professors in IIT have PhDs outside of India.

So he thought, maybe good PhD programs are only available outside of India.

But despite this, he explored a PhD program at IIT Bombay.

He discovered that PhD programs offered a stipend

of Rs 20,000-27,000/month.

Who can survive in a city like Mumbai with only Rs 20,000-25,000?

He was also told that he had to pay tuition fees.

So, the stipend is Rs 20,000-25,000, and he has to pay tuition fees.

So there's no money left for savings.

Vishwa wanted to do a PhD in electrical engineering.

He wanted to focus on a molecule program.

But no Indian university was offering such a program.

This was Kapil Vaidya's motivation as well.

After IIT Bombay, he went to MIT to do a PhD in computer science.

Now he's working in Amazon Web Services.

Like Vishwa, Kapil realized that the best PhD students go to America.

And that's where he wanted to go.

And it's not surprising.

The best PhD programs are in America.

"The Bay area is the best place when it comes to tech."

"I think there're many companies, startups..."

These top-rankers want to work in an environment

where they can grow professionally.

We need to create such environments in India too.

Anshuman Singh and Abhimanyu Saxena are engineers who worked in America.

Abhimanyu worked in New York.

And Anshuman was an early employee at Facebook.

But they're in India today because they want to give the same exposure

to Indian engineers that they got in America.

So they created the Scaler School of Technology

to groom the next tech entrepreneurs.

I'll give a 100% scholarship to one of the students.

You'll get the details later.

America spends 3% of its GDP on research and development.

India spends only 0.6%.

Not only the government, even private companies are not investing in R&D.

Private companies like Reliance have announced that

in the last 4 years, they've spent 11,000 crores in R&D.

It's less than 1% of their annual revenue.

In India, many PhD students get only 10,000 rupees as their monthly stipend.

And many have to beg for funding for experiments.

In 2017, Vaishnavi was a researcher

at the Indian Institute of Science in the Cell Biology Lab.

She waited for months for the government to pay her for her research.

But the government didn't pay her.

So she went to Germany to complete her research.

But not everyone goes to the US for a PhD.

Aman and Tathagat have their own reasons.

Aman Bansal worked in India for a year before going to Stanford.

Now he's working for a startup in Silicon Valley.

He went to Stanford because he wanted to study AI and meet new people.

"When I was in IIT, there were no AI courses."

"I only took 2 courses."

"There weren't many courses to begin with."

"So that was one of the angles."

"Another angle was that I thought I'd meet people from all over."

"I'd learn a lot."

"I'd get new experiences and perspectives."

"Tathagat Verma, who also did his MSc from Stanford

and is now working for a startup in Silicon Valley,

said he knew he'd launch his own startup one day.

But before that, he wanted to gain experience in a good startup.

He applied to many startups in India after IIT.

But he didn't find them interesting.

So he applied to Indian startups and Stanford.

But when startups didn't interest him and Stanford accepted him,

he went there.

After talking to all these people, I realized that IITians have 4 options.

They can work in tech, whether it's Google or a small startup.

They can work for a consulting company.

They can do their post-graduate degree.

And the last option is a high-frequency trading company.

These are trading companies that use algorithms

so that as soon as the price changes, in a few microseconds,

they can make a profit.

By the way, these are the companies against which

Indian retail option traders are in competition.

So next time you do option trading,

remember that your competition is those companies that hire India's IIT toppers.

The news headlines you see about packages worth crores...

these are the companies that offer those packages.

Companies like Graviton or Tower Research

pay the highest salaries to Indian graduates, above 1 crore.

And the IITians that want the highest salaries

usually work for these companies.

These companies have offices in places like Hong Kong and Singapore,

and now in Mumbai and Delhi.

But these offices weren't in India 10-20 years ago.

So today, many IITians live in India

because they know that by joining these companies,

they can earn a lot of money.

But Tathagat wasn't interested in these companies.

"I'm not that interested in trading..."

"So I want to be in an environment that prepares me for that."

So he decided to gain startup experience in Silicon Valley.

Now let's talk to those who are in India.

As I told you, IITians have 4 options.

There's a 5th option, but it's very rare.

Working for the Indian government.

Prudhvitej has a unique story.

He worked for Samsung in Korea for a year.

And then he came to India to become an IAS officer.

But after joining IIT, he realized that there are so many opportunities.

Why not work for Samsung in Korea?

After a few months, he realized that he wasn't in the right setting.

He was missing home.

He'd been living in a hostel away from his family since childhood.

And he wanted to change that.

So he decided to come to India and take the UPSC exam,

which he cleared in his first attempt.

Sajal Gupta has his own reasons.

After joining IIT, he worked for Goldman Sachs in India.

Then he became a professional poker player.

And today, he's working on his own startup.

He told me that after Goldman Sachs, he wanted to go to the US.

But he wanted to stay close to his friends and family.

"I wanted to be close to family and friends."

"Social life is important for me."

"So, that was also a factor."

He had a passion for entrepreneurship.

And he could satisfy that passion in India itself.

So he didn't have to go to the US.

"Now, I've started my own company."

"There are several opportunities in India."

"I never felt that I wouldn't get good opportunities in India

which I would otherwise get in the US."

You know, there's one thing that surprised me.

None of the people who went to the US said that

they're going to the US because of India's tax system, cleanliness, and pollution.

Everyone's decision was career-focused.

Maybe because they're young.

And these lifestyle factors don't mean much to them.

But after staying in the US,

many people are thinking about their lifestyle before coming to India.

Sajal also told me the same argument.

"Not everyone in India pays taxes."

"The salaried people pay taxes but there's a big corrupt segment

that doesn't pay taxes."

"And the civic amenities that you want after being taxed are lacking."

"So people feel that I'm paying so much in taxes..."

"Like the builder of the property where I live in probably doesn't pay the tax."

"He owns the flat which I'm renting."

People in India are definitely thinking about their lifestyle.

So they're not pissed off with paying taxes.

They're pissed off with what they're getting in return.

And the people who choose to stay in India

either do it for personal reasons or they think they can fulfill their financial

and entrepreneurial ambitions in India.

People who leave India usually want to work with the best research institutes

and top tech companies.

"In India, there are very good tech jobs."

"There are good tech companies. They like living in India."

I know that my interview sample was for 6 people

and CS was biased.

Because JEE's top rankers only choose CS.

But still, we can learn a lot from their decisions.

So if India wants to retain its talent,

we'll have to invest in R&D and improve the country.

Then maybe Indians in the US will come back to India.

Now I want to tell you about the 100% scholarship

that I'll be giving to a Scalar student.

You must be wondering how Scaler is different from other colleges.

Let me tell you.

SST offers a degree in computer science and AI in Bangalore for 4 years.

Its focus is not just on theoretical knowledge,

but on actual problem-solving.

Your teachers will be those

who have created actual products in companies like Google, Microsoft, and Uber.

Because they're using a practical, project-based approach,

you won't just get a degree, but you'll get the experience

that is being sought after in the job market.

Their postgraduate programs' audited reports show that

94% of the students who complete their course get a job.

And the average salary is Rs. 18-20 lakh.

India's top 80% unicorns hire from Scaler.

To retain India's best talent,

SST gives 100% scholarships to students

who are finalists in prestigious competitions like IMO and IOI.

Because I believe in their mission,

I'm giving 100% scholarships to one student.

You just have to register for the Scaler National Scholarship and Entrance Test

using the link below.

If your performance is good, you'll get a scholarship.

And we'll chill, like I did with the last scholarship winner, Harsh.

So tell people about this program.

The link is in the description.

Register and start your journey with SST.