Abeed (name changed), an M.Tech student from IISc, is one month away from finishing his course. After doing his B.Tech in mechanical engineering, Abeed decided to pursue a master’s in an AI-related course at the prestigious institute.

Between 2022 – when he finished his undergrad from an engineering college – and now, things have changed vastly.  “Fresher hiring was very good in 2022,” he remembers. However, lately, placements have been sluggish, he says, with whatever existing demand largely concentrated in AI-related roles.