29 Year Old Sales Exec With 6 Years of Experience Wants to Start Coding Career: How to Begin?

Ans: Srilaxmi Madam, I have already partially answered your question, and now that you have provided your son's home state, here is the updated and refreshed response. With a CRL rank of 22,000, an OBC-NCL rank of 5,983, and Andhra Pradesh home state status, you have good chances of admission in NIT Andhra Pradesh, especially in ECE and EEE branches, while CSE remains borderline depending on the 2026 cutoff trends. Recent data shows that NIT Andhra Pradesh CSE closes around OBC-HS ranks of 5,100–5,500, making your rank slightly risky but still worth attempting; ECE looks more realistic. Admission to CSE/ECE in top NITs like Trichy, Warangal, and Surathkal through other-state quota may be difficult. Good options to fill include NIT Andhra Pradesh (CSE/ECE/EEE), IIIT Sri City, IIIT Kottayam, IIIT Nagpur, IIIT Una, IIIT Bhopal, IIIT Ranchi, and GFTIs. JoSAA confirms that OBC-NCL cutoffs are based on category rank, not CRL. It is recommended to prioritize choices as CSE → ECE → EEE → AI/DS/IT and keep CSAB Special Round as a strong backup. Additionally, reviewing JoSAA opening and closing ranks from the past 2–3 years will provide valuable insights for your son to confidently select and fill preferred choices. Also, keep Andhra Pradesh state counselling as a backup option. ALL the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

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Ans: Chances at IIIT-H seem challenging. But keep strong backup options ready, since recent CSE cutoffs have often been around or above this range and fluctuate significantly.

Good luck.
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Radheshyam

Ans: For a student focused specifically on software/tech careers, the top IIITs can be better than lower-demand non-core branches at many IITs, but the premier IIT brand/network still outweighs most IIITs unless the IIT branch is a very poor fit for the student’s interests.

Good luck.
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Radheshyam

Ans: Try ECE at top NITs (Trichy/Warangal/Surathkal/Calicut/Rourkela) and IIIT Allahabad IT/ECE, IIIT Gwalior CSE/IT, MNNIT Allahabad ECE/EE, and MNIT Jaipur ECE/EE, followed by strong fallback options in ECE/EE/CSE at mid-tier NITs/IIITs. However, keep a close eye on the closing ranks of previous years for more accurate predictions, which will be useful when filling the preference order.

Good luck.
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Radheshyam

Ans: Taking a drop does not guarantee success. If you can take the risk and have full confidence that he can crack the exam with the required percentile, then tell him to proceed with a drop.

At Thapar, consider CSE/COE > AI/ML/Data Science > ECE > Electrical > Mechanical/Civil, based on his genuine interest and aptitude.

Good luck.
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Radheshyam

Ans: Your son has a strong chance of getting into either top NITs or top IIITs. Try with NIT Warangal/Surathkal/Trichy CSE if available, then NIT Rourkela/Calicut/MNIT Jaipur/MNNIT Allahabad CSE, followed by top NIT ECE/AI/DS branches as backups

Good luck.
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Radheshyam

Ans: Kishore Sir, you have not mentioned your son's home state. However, please note that BITS typically requires a minimum of 240–250 marks even for MSc programs and above 290–320 for BE programs, especially for the CSE branch. Based on your son's scores, admission to NIT/IIIT CSE through JoSAA appears difficult; some newer IIITs and GFTIs may be possible through CSAB, mainly in lower-demand branches. Please keep Mahindra-CSE as a safe backup option. Regarding Manipal, MIT Manipal CSE is tough to get, but Mathematics & Computing or other CS-related branches may be borderline—last year’s CSE closing rank was near 5129 and Maths & Computing near 5633. MIT Bengaluru offers better chances for CSE/ECE, with the 2025 CSE closing rank around 11,331. Manipal Jaipur and SMIT Sikkim have very good chances for CSE, ECE, and AI-DS branches. Preference order could be MIT Manipal (Maths & Computing/CS specializations) → MIT Bengaluru (CSE/ECE) → Manipal Jaipur (CSE) → SMIT (CSE). If possible & if you/your son desire, have Thapar also as one of the backup options. Physics is a better option mainly for research-oriented goals; for his interests, CSE or Maths & Computing would be preferable unless he is strongly inclined toward research. ALL the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

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Ans: Srilaxmi Madam, you have not mentioned son's Home State. Based on his score, CSE admission is possible but largely depends on your son's OBC-NCL rank and home state quota. In top NITs like NIT Trichy, NIT Surathkal, and NIT Warangal, CSE remains highly competitive and typically closes at much higher ranks. However, there are very good chances for CSE in mid-level NITs and IIITs such as NIT Jalandhar, NIT Raipur, NIT Patna, IIIT Kota, IIIT Pune, and IIIT Nagpur, depending on rank movement and quota availability. Even stronger opportunities exist for ECE and through CSAB Special Round upgrades. I suggest keeping the preference order as CSE → IT → AI/Data Science → ECE, filling the maximum number of JoSAA choices, and treating CSAB as a strong Plan B. Please use your exact OBC-NCL rank for a more precise prediction. Additionally, reviewing JoSAA opening and closing ranks from the past 2–3 years will provide valuable insights and help your son confidently select and fill his preferred & maximum number of choices. ALL the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

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Ans: Based on your son's score, he has strong chances for admission to top NITs and good IIITs, particularly in branches like ECE, EE, Mechanical, Mathematics & Computing, and, in some cases, CSE at mid-to-top NITs depending on the round and institute. JoSAA confirms that open category ranks are based on CRL. The preferred order to consider is NIT Trichy, NIT Surathkal, NIT Warangal, MNNIT Allahabad, NIT Calicut, NIT Rourkela, NIT Kurukshetra, MNIT Jaipur, SVNIT Surat, NIT Nagpur, followed by IIIT Allahabad, IIIT Gwalior, and IIIT Jabalpur. Suggested branch preference is CSE → AI/Data Science → ECE → Mathematics & Computing → EE → IT → Mechanical. While top NIT CSE may be difficult to secure (for example, NIT Trichy CSE closes near the top 1000 rank), ECE at strong NITs and CSE at good IIITs are very realistic options. Additionally, reviewing the JoSAA opening and closing ranks from the past 2–3 years will provide valuable insights and help your son confidently fill the maximum number of his preferred choices. ALL the BEST for Your Son's Prosperous Future!

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