Missed NEET, landed Rolls-Royce: How did this Indian girl bag a Rs7.2m job?

Rithuparna KS, a Bengaluru-based student, thought her career was over after not qualifying for a government medical seat through NEET.

Speaking to The Times of India, she said: “After my PUC, my dream was to become a doctor. However, when my NEET results did not fetch a government seat, I opted for engineering through CET.”

She enrolled in the robotics and automation programme at Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management, Mangaluru. From the first day, she says she began "exploring and ideating." 

In her sixth semester, Rithuparna helped develop a robot to aid arecanut farmers. The project was showcased at the INEX conference in Goa, where it won gold and silver medals — outperforming teams from China, Japan, Singapore and Russia. 

Beyond classroom projects, she joined a research group at NITK Surathkal focusing on robotic surgery. She also worked with surgeons, helped local officials build a waste-management app, and was selected as one of 15 fellows in the Dakshina Kannada DC Fellowship. 

Her biggest ambition was to intern at Rolls-Royce. But her first outreach was met with rejection.

“Do you even qualify to be part of our firm?” they asked. “You wouldn’t complete even one task in a month.”

Still, she persisted. Months later, Rolls-Royce accepted her for an eight-month internship at its Jet Engine Manufacturing Division. Working midnight shifts, she impressed the team with her performance.

In December 2024, the company made a pre-placement offer of Rs3.96 million ($47,500) per annum. By April 2025, they revised it to Rs7.23 million ($86,700) based on her outstanding performance.

“I am a dedicated enthusiast pursuing robotics and automation engineering,” she writes on LinkedIn.
“I enjoy learning new things, developing ideas, and providing solutions to real-world problems.”

Now 20, Rithuparna will join Rolls-Royce’s jet division in Texas — becoming one of the youngest Indian engineers to do so.