Engineers get a much higher paying job. Computer engineers (both hardware and software) get paid 10-20 times as much as other professions. MBAs get more. Not

Engineers get a much higher paying job. Computer engineers (both hardware and software) get paid 10-20 times as much as other professions. MBAs get more. Note that even students who do Mechanical & Civil engineering try to get software jobs. That's where institutes like Aptech and NIIT come in (they're now global franchises, but they started as tiny training institutes in an Indian city). I once met an auto-rickshaw driver who had a Bachelor's degree in science. He started driving the rickshaw because 2 years after graduating he couldn't get a job. If he'd done engineering, his college (or training institute) would have placed him somewhere. When I graduated high school, and was in line to submit my college application, I heard a bunch of people mention that they'd applied for engineering and medicine and would take whatever they got. Another reason, specific to guys is that it increases their chances of getting a bride from a "good" family, and also the potential dowry he could get. Software jobs tend to take you abroad more often than other jobs, and, believe it or not, there are some communities in India that will raise dowry prices based on the number of US immigration stamps you have on your passport. Yeah, officially dowry doesn't exist. Lastly, some people study engineering simply because they're really good at it. I've encountered hundreds of people who really had the aptitude to be engineers. Disclaimer: I'm Indian but I studied Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. No one would give me a job after I graduated even when I cleared all interviews and written tests.