>>I am sorry to say this, but parents come with an “old generation” mindset ... Because they think that if he gets a job he has settled in life ... Unfortunately, what they don’t realize is that there is no such thing as “settling” in IT jobs.
They come with a very correct mindset. For many people here. Including my own family, getting to a IT job was a long drawn battle against very tough financial conditions, social pressures and all other kinds of problems. There are people, including few of friends where they were the first people to enter a Engineering college. Imagine having to drive a taxi, or an auto rickshaw, or pushing a vegetable cart, or a small time farm worker practically working 18 hrs/day and then sacrificing every small desire of yours to save every single paise and doing this for decades you can so that your child can study. And imagine the kid, having to wear only two shirts and two pants a year. Traveling in near-to-explode crowded buses in a city starving all afternoon, and practicing math problems on a newspaper just to get a decent degree and a job.
From their perspective, they are really reaching a milestone, when they get a full time job. At least that is how I felt I when I got my full time job at a Call center here in Bangalore. You might think that's a disaster for an engineer. But from my perspective, the analogy is similar to a person dying out of thirst in a desert getting a glass of cold water, and you criticizing him for not aiming for Apple juice.
Its extremely difficult to understand this, unless you have suffered the same fate. Even if you think you do, you don't. You really need to suffer from it, to understand what it is.
Remainder of your post has some nice insights. But I believe our society suffers from a crisis of honesty. Throughout my entire childhood, teens and now in a job I see rampant corruption. I don't mean bribery. But unfair play of all kinds. Question papers in exams getting leaked, seats in colleges being secured through 'high influences' & capitation fees, Seats denied to general category students due to reservations.
And now in the corporate job, I don't see things as any different here. In fact this is the worst I'm seeing in my life. Even if you are the best programmer out there, you will be slaughtered in the resulting office politics. I've seen some super idiots being promoted, sent to onsite locations, and given amazing hikes just because his manager happens to be speaking the same language as him, or belongs to same state from some part of India, or is because of some religion. At the same time, the entire industry is full jumping jacks, attrition in nearly every company is record high. Because every one wants to be a manager, thanks to the IT services companies and the mess they created in 90's. Now every one joining this industry thinks programmers are losers, and climbing the corporate ladder is all that is sole measure of one's success, or how many time one has visited the US.
Meritocracy is dead in the water, when it comes to the programming scene in India. If you want progress, you need to be some managers's pet and "suck up" to him. Playing political games, and being in manager's power structure is all that counts. Else find your self a manager who is of your state or speaks your language.
This has nothing to do with engineering education. Its about being honest and playing fair. Besides I chuckle every time a guy gives 'engineering education' as a reason to not do something. A 20+ year old with Google at his disposal, has 0 reasons to complain when it education and knowledge these days.
Start up's and bootstrapping are our only hope at this point of time.