India's space startups are scrambling for talent: Here's why
India's private space scene is booming, but there's a real struggle to find engineers with the right skills—think rocketry, propulsion, photonics, and sensors.
Even though 8,000 aerospace grads come out of college every year, that's just a tiny slice of India's engineering crowd.
Many head abroad for better pay, leaving startups here short-handed.
Startups are hiring fresh grads and training them
With not enough specialists around, startups are hiring fresh grads and spending six to 12 months training them up from scratch.
Since formal courses in areas like photonics are rare, some companies even recruit folks from other fields—like chemical engineering—and teach them on the job.
ISRO's brain drain to private sector
To help close the gap, the government is rolling out short-term certification courses through its space agency. But these only cover basics—not deep expertise.
Meanwhile, ISRO is keeping its top talent by offering stronger career growth than most startups can match.