The entry-level engineering landscape in India’s IT services industry is experiencing a profound transformation due to the increasing influence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and agentic AI. These technologies are reshaping job roles to boost productivity and efficiency, often reducing traditional headcounts.
Shifting Job Roles and Industry Demand
- While the core role of a software developer persists, higher demand and salaries are observed for specialists in cybersecurity, cloud security, and data analytics.
- Companies are looking for entry-level engineers with specialized skills, expecting them to validate code written by coding assistants instead of merely writing code.
Impact of Automation on Entry-Level Roles
- Automation is leading to a shift where roles typically considered as L2 and L3 are becoming L1 roles due to redundancy in entry-level positions.
Emerging Domains and Salary Insights
- Cybersecurity: With 10,000-15,000 job openings, roles like network security engineers and penetration testers are in demand. Entry-level salaries range from ₹4 lakh to ₹8 lakh annually, potentially exceeding ₹30 lakhs for experienced professionals.
- Cloud Computing: Over 50,000 job openings exist for roles like cloud security engineers and DevOps engineers, with fresher salaries starting at ₹5 lakh and potentially exceeding ₹30 lakh for those with extensive experience.
Future Workforce and AI Integration
- According to Nasscom, India is expected to create approximately 2.7 million new and reskilled AI jobs by 2028.
- Emerging roles include data scientists, AI developers, prompt engineers, and cybersecurity professionals, requiring expertise in cloud and AI skills.
Sindhu Gangadharan, managing director of SAP Labs India, highlights the need for engineers with a combination of cloud and AI skills, emphasizing integration and efficient system building.
According to Amit Zavery, there's a significant demand for prompt engineers who understand AI models and outcomes, essential for integrating AI applications into legacy systems.