The Information Technology sector is the most preferred choice for India's engineering students, with Google, Microsoft and Infosys emerging as the top three most desired employers among them, according to a survey by market insights and information provider Nielsen.

As per the Nielsen's Campus Track Technology School survey 2012, the Class of 2013 is looking at a starting salary of over Rs 11 lakh per annum, a 20 per cent rise from the previous batch, where the average expected starting salary was Rs 9.3 lakh.

"The IT story in India is going strong, and with the increasing focus on personal technology, the sector and its different specialisations are still favoured by students," Nielsen India Executive Director Dinesh Kapoor said in a statement.

There is also a resurgence of interest in core sectors like power and energy that has been observed which is also a good indicator for the economy, he added.

According to the survey, the top five preferences of engineering students were IT Services (35 per cent), followed by IT products (28 per cent), energy (21 per cent), automobile and ancillary sector (20 per cent) and IT semiconductor (19 per cent).
Some of the other sectors that were highlighted are telecom (18 percent), power (18 per cent ) and management consultancy (17 per cent), it added.

The survey took responses of over 2,500 students in July – August 2012 across in 73 technology colleges in India to measure and monitor their attitudes and perceptions towards career preferences and potential recruiters.

As far as employer of choice was concerned among the engineering students, Google topped the list, with Microsoft in 2nd and Infosys 3rd, the survey said.

TATA Consultancy Services was placed 4th and IBM came 5th. Social networking website Facebook featured at number 6, followed by recruiters in the core sectors of energy and power -- BHEL (7th), L&T (8th) and NTPC (10th).

When it came to salaries, the current students had higher expectations.

"Students today are very focused from the moment they enter college, and have a view on their long term goals and career aspirations. With the increasing options now available, aspirants want to go beyond the immediate boundaries of their courses, and explore opportunities that might not have been available to them some years ago," Kapoor said.

More than half of the respondents from the Batch of 2013 have expressed an intent to move out of their first job within three years of joining, for further studies, or other career opportunities, the survey said.