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Failed NEET, landed Rolls-Royce: Who is Rithuparna KS and how did she get a Rs 72 lakh offer at 20?
The 20-year-old from Koduru in Karnataka’s Thirthahalli taluk is preparing to move to Texas, USA, to join Rolls-Royce’s Jet Engine Manufacturing Division.
Since January 2025, she’s been juggling her college work with midnight-to-6 am shifts for the aerospace giant.
When Rithuparna KS didn't get a government medical seat after her NEET results, it seems like a dream had collapsed. But what happened to be an ending turned into an extraordinary beginning.
Just two years later, the 20-year-old from Koduru in Karnataka's Thirthalli taluk is preparing to move to Texas, USA, to join Rolls-Royce's Jet Engine Manufacturing Division - on an eye-popping annual package of Rs 72.3 lakh.
Rithuparna's pivot to engineering came out of necessity, not passion. In 2022, she secured a seat in Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management through the Common Entrance Test (CET) and enrolled in a Bachelor of Engineering course in robotics and automation. The initial disappointment of missing out on medicine gave way to grit and drive.
From day one, she immersed herself in her new path - building, experimenting, and pushing limits.
Her first project - a robotics-based arecanut harvester and sprayer - won accolades including gold and silver medals at the Goa INEX Competition. She collaborated with doctors to study robotic surgery, worked with municipal officials on solid waste management, and joined a research team at NITK Surathkal.
But it was her bold move to cold-email Rolls-Royce that changed everything.
Intent on securing an internship with a global aerospace firm, Rithuparna approached Rolls-Royce directly. Their response was anything but encouraging - they questioned her capabilities and stated she might not be able to complete even one assigned task in a month.
Undeterred, she asked for a chance to prove herself - just one task.
She got it. And she completed it in a week.
That one-week delivery kicked off an eight-month-long engagement filled with assignments, evaluations, and gruelling interviews. Her persistence paid off in December 2024, when Rolls-Royce extended her a pre-placement offer.
Since January 2025, she’s been juggling her college work with midnight-to-6 am shifts for the aerospace giant. Her initial annual package of Rs 39.6 lakh was revised in April to an astounding Rs 72.3 lakh.
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