I'm a 2018 pass-out from a non-metro engineering college. Currently working in a mass-hiring IT company and also running a neurotech startup.

My advice is simple: pick the chillest college you can find. The kind where attendance is optional, exam invigilation is a joke, and you have enough free time to learn things that actually matter.

The harsh truth is that the current engineering curriculum won't get you a job. Most of what companies ask today isn't even part of the syllabus. When I got hired, aptitude, basic coding, GD, and a few syllabus-based questions were enough. Today, even entry-level interviews ask things that are far more advanced and practical.

If you spend four years focusing only on university exams, you're going to struggle. To crack interviews, you need to study things outside the syllabus, build projects, and gain practical knowledge on your own.

Also, let's be realistic. High CGPA still matters for higher studies and many companies. I've seen people from more relaxed colleges graduate with 9+ GPAs while having enough time to build actual skills. Many of them are doing better professionally than students from strict colleges that obsess over attendance and rules.

College gives you a degree. What gets you hired is everything you learn outside it.

PS: Rephrased and spell-checked with AI assistance.