M.S {Abroad } v/s MS{ India } v/s MTech{India}

This blog is for our desi junta, who are not very clear with M.S and M. Tech and especially don’t know there exists M.S in India.

M.S{Abroad}

When I say M.S (Master of Science) abroad, I mean in a reputed college in a developed country like U.S.A, Germany and these points I write are applicable for nearly all branches of engineering. So let me summarise why students go abroad for higher studies.
Benefits:
1. Facilities: IITies were just teaching institutes till the last decade and focus towards research started recently. Funds are pouring in, true, but it will take atleast a decade more for the IITies to come somewhere near by their U.S counterparts.
2. Time Period: It takes longer duration to complete post-graduation or doctorate in India. If you wonder why I have come up with these reasons:
a. Due to insufficient facilities, there is a waiting period for every little work. For example, at IITM you have to wait for atleast 2 weeks before you get your turn to do analysis of your sample using an electron microscope, whereas your friend in US counterpart does it in 5 min! Waiting Period results in loss of interest and deteriorates the quality of work.
b. Some senior "conventional" professors won’t be happy with you until you spend, say, 5 yrs for a Phd! But this trend is changing.
c. International Exposure: You can learn a lot from their work culture and to know how the best in the world work!
d. Even if you go to a junk university abroad and return back to India, you are treated no less than a celebrity! Fame!!
Drawbacks
1. Financial Aid: One has to be extremely lucky to get a financial aid for M.S courses. The clever way is to apply for a integrated PhD as it is aided in almost all cases, if you are interested!
2. Staying away from home: In this age of globalization and communication this is no longer a difficult ask!

Desi M.S (Master Of Science)
Most IITies and IISc offer Master Of Science(Research) course in India. Aping the west for the good! These are research oriented non – time bound courses with less classroom work and more lab work. Ideally you can complete course work in one semester and carry out project for 1-2 years depending on nature and quality of work. It is like a mini PhD. The criteria for admission: A valid GATE rank and the need to clear an interview where they will test your attitude towards research. Intake varies from college to college. Now, let me compare how it is better or worse than M.Tech
Benefits:
1. Flexibility: Courses you have to take are the one's related to your project work, so you end up studying what you study! If you hate Thermodynamics, you can opt out of it, but for the Mtech degree it is compulsory!
2. Knowledge Dept: You will become an expert in a subject and the line which you can take for career. Say you are interested in Process Control, the knowledge you will have after spending 2 yrs on that will be far higher than the M.Tech studying two courses on it!
3. M.S is considered as a better degree than M.Tech in academic circuit but industry considers it the same!
Drawbacks:
1. Time Period: It takes longer time as I mentioned before!
2. Placement: Since it is non-time bound, it is difficult to synchronize with the campus placements, so normally department calls up the company working on similar field and takes care of the placement. Typically R &D jobs suits a research scholar and there are very few such companies in India!
3. Unpopularity: Only a few colleges offer M.S and have very little intake. The cream still prefers M.Tech over M.S.

Desi M.Tech (Master of Technology)

M.Tech is a kind of regular course where you sit in a classroom and listen to the lectures. M.Tech is higher level of B.Tech with similar structure, the B.Tech project is taken for granted! Intake is through GATE score without any interview. This type of course is available in U.S, U.K etc with different names but is not as popular as M.S. Then why it is so popular in India? The reason is simple; it doesn’t cost much to start a classroom oriented course with the only requirement being human resource that is easily available!
Let me put up benefits and drawbacks of M.Tech
Benefits:
1. It is a guaranteed 2-years program. It is very rare that your M.Tech gets delayed.
2. Many fields will be still wide open after post-graduation but in M.S it is not so.
Drawbacks:
1. Some of the courses (subjects) are industry oriented, but the industry will have their own training.
2. If you get a good job after B.Tech it will be foolish to leave that for M.Tech. Believe it or not two years of job experience is considered better than a Mtech degree even at IITies. (Chem Engg for sure!)
3. Most often, projects are not research-oriented and the quality of project is not impressive enough. Therefore, the probability of getting a good offer for Ph.D admission after the M.Tech course is very less.
4. So for both Placements and for PhD, it is not so much highly recommended
P.S: There are many exceptions, and if your views differ from author, make an effort to put in the commentbox!