‘Why I chose mechanical engineering over my dream branch’ | Life in an IIT

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I am a 21-year-old student pursuing BTech in Mechanical Engineering.

At IIT Guwahati, no two days really feel the same. Some days are filled with assignments and deadlines, while others revolve entirely around competitions, cultural events or technical work. Over time, I have realised that this unpredictability is what truly defines IIT life. The campus constantly keeps you engaged, pushes you to explore new opportunities and teaches you how to balance multiple responsibilities at once.

Growing up between Hazaribagh and Rajasthan

I come from Hazaribagh, a small town in Jharkhand, and my journey before IIT was quite different from what most people usually experience. I studied in my hometown till Class 4 at St Xavier’s School before moving to Rajasthan to join Lala Kamlapat Singhania Education Centre in Gotan, Nagaur, which was a residential school. I stayed there till Class 10 before returning to Hazaribagh during the COVID pandemic.

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Those experiences of moving between cities and living away from home at an early age shaped me a lot. My father runs a clothing business in our hometown, while my mother actively helps him by managing staff and warehouse operations. Watching both of them work consistently every day taught me discipline and responsibility from a very young age. We live in a joint family, and one of the people who inspires me the most is my grandfather. Even today, despite his age, he continues going to work daily alongside my father. His dedication towards routine and hard work is something I deeply admire.

What I miss the most about my hometown is the simplicity of life there – the comfort of family, home-cooked food, and the familiarity of people around me.

JEE preparation and sleepless nights

Interestingly, preparing for JEE was never part of my original plan. I simply loved science and enjoyed understanding how things worked. It was my friends who first introduced me to IITs and the opportunities associated with them. Slowly, as I learned more about the IIT ecosystem, the culture and the exposure it offered, I became serious about pursuing it.

I appeared for JEE Main and JEE Advanced in 2023. My JEE Main rank was around 30,000 – 29,519 to be precise – while my JEE Advanced rank was 8773.

Preparing for JEE while managing regular school was honestly one of the toughest phases of my life. Unlike many aspirants who shifted to Kota or joined dummy schools, I continued attending regular school while preparing through online coaching on Unacademy. My school started at 9 am, so I would leave home by 8 in the morning and return only around 3 pm. Soon after that, online coaching classes would begin around 3.45 pm and often continue till 8.45 or even 10.30 at night.

By the end of the day, I would already feel mentally exhausted, but the difficult part still remained. I had to decide whether to complete school homework or focus on self-study for JEE. One was necessary for my long-term goals, while the other ensured I would not get punished in school the next morning. There were days when balancing both felt impossible. Many nights, I studied till 3 am before waking up again to repeat the same routine.

Because of this constant juggling, my first attempt at JEE Main did not go particularly well and I scored around 94.97 percentile. But once school officially ended and I could focus completely on preparation, my performance improved significantly and my percentile increased to 97.43. Eventually, I cracked JEE Advanced and secured admission into an IIT despite having a comparatively lower JEE Main rank.

At one point during preparation, I often wondered whether moving to Kota or joining a dummy school would have made things easier academically. But now, looking back, I feel staying in a regular school environment was the right decision for me. I did not miss farewell parties, annual functions, friendships, classroom memories, or the overall experience of school life. I got to experience both JEE preparation and a normal school journey together, and that balance matters a lot to me even today.

Why I chose mechanical engineering

Choosing Mechanical Engineering was a very deliberate decision for me. Initially, I was deeply fascinated by Aerospace Engineering because I had always been interested in aircraft and space technology. In fact, one of my dreams was to study at IIST Thiruvananthapuram.

Based on my rank, the closest option I was getting was Aerospace Engineering at IIT Kanpur. However, after speaking to seniors and mentors already studying in the field, I realised that Aerospace Engineering becomes highly specialised very early on. I felt choosing a broader branch would keep more opportunities open for me in the future.

That is when Mechanical Engineering started making much more sense to me. It felt broader and more flexible, while still allowing me to explore aerospace later through higher studies if I wanted to.

Apart from Mechanical Engineering at IIT Guwahati, I was also considering Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at IIT Mandi and Mathematics and Computing at IIT Goa. During JoSAA counselling, I filled multiple choices related to CSE and DSAI in different IITs. But after analysing previous trends, discussing with seniors, and reflecting on my own interests, I finally prioritised Mechanical Engineering at IIT Guwahati. Looking back now, I genuinely feel happy with that decision.

Discovering life at IIT Guwahati

I came to IIT Guwahati in July 2023. Since I had already studied in a residential school from Class 5 onwards, staying away from home was not entirely new for me. Because of that, adjusting to hostel life, mess food, and campus life became comparatively easier.

The best part about coming here was honestly the campus itself. IIT Guwahati is one of the most beautiful campuses I have seen, and during the initial days, most of our time went into simply exploring it. Whether it was walking near the Brahmaputra river, roaming around hostels late at night, or discovering new corners inside campus, everything felt exciting.

The people here made the transition easier too. Everyone around me was equally confused and excited at the same time, trying to understand academics, freedom, clubs and hostel life together. The mess food was average hostel food – manageable but nothing extraordinary – but food options on campus are never really a problem because every hostel has its own canteen and there are multiple food outlets across campus.

Clubs, inter IIT and learning leadership

During the initial three months, first-year students had an interaction ban with seniors, so we could not formally join clubs immediately. However, sports clubs began activities and Inter-IIT preparations quite early, and that was when I first joined the Squash Club.

Once the interaction ban ended, I explored multiple clubs and societies across campus. At one point, I was involved in almost five clubs including the Astronomy Club, Finance and Economics Club, Aeromodelling Club, Robotics Club, and the Squash Club. That phase was mainly about exploration and understanding what genuinely interested me.

Eventually, I realised what suited me best both as hobbies and as activities I truly enjoyed spending time on. Right now, I am actively involved in the Squash Club, Astronomy Club, and the Literary Society of IIT Guwahati. Together, they give me a balance of sports, technical learning, and cultural involvement.

Managing academics alongside so many extracurricular activities became difficult initially because I had taken up too many things at once. But over time, I learned how to prioritise better and focus only on the activities that genuinely mattered to me.

IIT Guwahati has transformed me in multiple ways. I came here as someone who was honestly quite directionless in many aspects of life. I struggled with time management, responsibility, and sometimes even making new friends. But over the years, IIT has changed me into a far more social and responsible person.

One of the biggest turning points came when I became the Yoga Club Secretary under the Sports Board in my second year. I was among the very few second-year students to become part of the Students’ Gymkhana Council so early. As Yoga Secretary, I helped manage the club and organised multiple events catering to more than 1,000 students.

I also became the Associate Cultural Secretary of Barak Hostel, where I managed hostel cultural events and coordinated our hostel’s participation in Manthan, the inter-hostel cultural competition.

In my third year, I got the opportunity to become the Inter-IIT Coordinator for the Cultural Board. I was responsible for IIT Guwahati’s contingent and overall performance in Inter IIT Cultural Meet 8.0. I handled a contingent of around 250 members and managed everything from travel and accommodation to logistics, team coordination, and strategy.

It became one of the most memorable experiences of my college life because all the effort eventually paid off. This year, IIT Guwahati secured fourth position among all 23 IITs in the Inter IIT Cultural Meet – the institute’s best-ever performance. Last year, the institute stood ninth, so this improvement felt extremely special.

Inter-IIT events have honestly been a huge part of my college life since my first semester itself. In my first year, I represented IIT Guwahati in squash at the Inter IIT Sports Meet and have continued representing the institute for the last three years.

Apart from sports, I also became involved in technical competitions. In my second year, I worked on an ISRO problem statement as part of the Inter IIT Technical Meet team. Over the last two years, I have continued working on AI and ML-based problem statements through Inter IIT technical teams.

This year, I also participated in the Hindi Slam Poetry competition at the Inter IIT Cultural Meet. December 2025 became one of the busiest phases of my life because I was simultaneously managing practice for the Sports Meet, preparing for the Cultural Meet, working on technical problem statements, and coordinating the entire Inter IIT Cultural contingent of IIT Guwahati.

It was exhausting at times, but somehow everything eventually worked out.

Lessons beyond academics

All these experiences transformed me in the best possible way. Every event, every responsibility, and every challenge taught me something valuable – whether it was leadership, teamwork, discipline, communication, or simply learning how to stay calm under pressure.

The biggest lessons IIT Guwahati has taught me are time management, accountability, and leadership. As a child, I was always curious and interested in exploring different things, but IIT gave me a much larger platform and far more opportunities to grow.

I think IIT campus life is different mainly because of the ecosystem around it. Academics may be similar in many colleges, but the level of exposure, competitions, clubs, mentorship, and opportunities available here is enormous. There is also a very constructive culture where seniors constantly guide juniors and help them improve both personally and professionally.

Looking ahead

Right now, I am still figuring out exactly where I see myself after IIT. The most probable path for me currently is building a career in AI and ML because I am already doing internships in that field and genuinely enjoy the work.

At the same time, IIT has exposed me to so many different opportunities that I still want to keep exploring before deciding on one fixed direction. For now, I simply know that I want to work in a field where I can continue learning, solving meaningful problems, and growing both professionally and personally.