New Delhi: Never mind that the IT industry is going through a bad phase following global recession. It continues to be a preferred career option for the majority of Indian engineering students, says a new study.

A study, released on Tuesday, was conducted among 4,352 final engineering students across 151 engineering colleges, including the premier Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), and found that 43 percent of students still prefer working in the IT sector.

"The charm of the IT sector has not faded. Students prefer IT for its MNC culture, opportunities to work with technically sound professionals with cutting edge technology, training and growth opportunities," said Vatsala Pant, associate director, Consumer Research, The Nielsen Company, which conducted the study.

The automobile and automobile ancillary, telecom, energy - oil and gas, infrastructure and real estate and power sectors were the other preferred choices for engineering graduates.

"The fact that many of the top companies with huge turnovers hail from the IT sector furthers their choice," said Pant. The Nielsen Campus Track T-Schools study was conducted in February and March 2009.

However, the choice of IT sector among students recorded a seven percent drop compared to last year.

"The global economic crisis has decreased the overall students' preference for management consultancies, financial sector followed by the IT sector. Sectors less affected by the downturn are infrastructure, and automobile and automobile ancillary," said Pant.

The survey also tracked the attitudes of students towards companies as prospective employers.

"The soon-to-be engineers want to work for a technically sound company when they pass out. They want to work on sophisticated and state of the art technology, where there is good learning on the job and want to work in a growing industry, where they get hands on exposure to projects," said Pant.

Nanotechnology is being perceived as the industry of the future with 12 percent voting for it followed by IT services (11 percent), and power (nine percent), energy - oil and gas (eight percent) and telecom (six percent).

"Graduates today are looking at honing their skills in their first job. They want to practice what they learnt theoretically in their course. You have to be a master of your skill to succeed in today's competitive environment and this sends students in search of advanced technology that provides good learning on the job," said Pant.

Half of the batch of 2010 plans to move out of their first job in three years or less, with 51 percent citing higher studies as a reason for leaving.

"Better career opportunities, better salary, better designation and job satisfaction are some other reasons for students deciding to move out of the first job. Among those keen to pursue higher studies, 69 percent intend to do an MBA," said Pant. IANS