Determinants of employment probabilities and expected earnings of engineering graduates: an empirical study in Delhi, India

The paper aims to analyze the employment probabilities and expected earnings of engineering graduates using the data collected from a primary survey in Delhi in 2009–10. The sample includes 1178 final year engineering graduates studying in different types of institutions (government and private) and courses of study (traditional and IT-related courses). Issues dealt in the paper include: first, what are the factors determining the employment probabilities of engineering graduates? Second, does the offered earning of engineering graduates vary according to their socio-economic, academic and current educational background? These questions are examined using binary logistic regression and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) technique. The results find that the probability of getting employment is higher for the graduates of government engineering vis-à-vis private institutions. However, there is no significant difference in the employment of students by department of study. Also, the expected earnings of the graduates of private institutions is less than that of the graduates of government institutions.