Last year, over 13 Lac students appeared for JEE Mains entrance examination which makes the exam one of the largest entrance exams across the world. These numbers indicate that engineering courses have been and will be one of the most popular undergraduate courses in India in the years to come.
The most common query among all engineering aspirants is about the best engineering courses/branch/ specialisations/ discipline. According to us, all branches of engineering are equally good. What matters is your interests and aptitude for that engineering stream. So don’t pick a branch you have no interest in, just because it promises fat pay packages! But selecting an engineering discipline can be very difficult. You often get confused whether to give importance to the stream of your choice or a reputed institute. So, to make things easier, we have listed out various engineering branches based on previous trends and the past preferences of other engineering aspirants like you.
Popular Engineering Courses in India
- Computer Science & Engineering/IT
- Electronics & Communication Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Civil Engineering/Environment Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Biotechnology
- Genetic Engineering
- Aeronautical Engineering
Computer Science & Engineering / IT
Software engineers are the most sought after in India. So, it is no surprise that this branch is right at the top! This branch offers higher pay packages than any other branch as well as ample overseas job opportunities. If you have an interest in database management and application development, you should seek out this engineering discipline.
Your starting salaries as a fresh computer engineer from a good institute can range between Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh. You will start as trainees or development engineers and then move on to designations like design engineer, project manager and eventually CTO. As you move up the management ranks, your pay can go up from Rs 20 lakh to Rs30 lakh per annum.
Some of the top companies that hire CSE engineers include Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Amazon, IBM, Facebook, Oracle, Cisco, Infosys, TCS, and Wipro.
Some of the top institutes (Apart from IITs and NITs) include:
- IT-BHU
- Indian School of Mines University-Dhanbad
- Indian Institute of Information Technology- Hyderabad
- BITS Pilani
Electronics & Communication Engineering
You study this branch and you will become a gadget guru! You will learn all about digital electronics and logic design, fundamentals of communication engineering, electronic circuits, signals and systems, power electronics, applied electromagnetic theory, integrated circuits, VLSI etc. Go for this engineering specialisation if you have a strong base (and interest) in calculus & physics (semiconductors etc). The telecommunications industry & mobile development industry have been progressing by leaps & bounds in the last few years and would offer excellent opportunities to graduates.
If you have a B.Tech or a similar degree from a good institution, you can expect to earn anything between Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh a year. As you work your way up in the organisation and learn implementation, architectural and design level skills, you could make about Rs 10 lakh a year.
Some of the main recruiters of Electronic Engineers will be Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Intel, Samsung Electronics, Sony, Toshiba, Philips Semiconductors, Texas Instruments, LG Electronics, Nokia, CISCO etc.
Some of the Best Institutes (Apart from IITs and NITs) include:
Electrical & Electronics Engineering
There will always be opportunities for electrical engineers as this is an evergreen field. You will learn about transmission and generation of electrical power, electrical circuit design, electronics, instrumentation, control systems etc. There are a lot of openings for this profile in the government sector. You might get to work in steel factories, the railways, at construction sites or handle automated systems in which electricity supply and distribution plays a crucial role.
An entry-level engineer earns about Rs 20,000-30,000 per month. Salaries vary from industry to industry. At a middle-level technical position, e.g. a project head or team leader, one gets Rs 70,000-80,000 per month. At the managerial level, a senior manager earns Rs 1.5 lakh per month.
Some companies you should look out for during placements: Bajaj International Private Ltd., Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Centre for Electronics Design and Technology, Crompton Greaves Limited (CGL), Siemens Ltd., Reliance Power Ltd.
Best institutes (Apart from IITs and NITs) include Delhi Technological University (DTU).
Mechanical Engineering
Another evergreen field, there will always be opportunities here, despite varying market trends. It is one of the oldest and the most demanding branch of engineering and therefore one of the broadest. As a mechanical engineer, you will get to design, analyse, manufacture and maintain anything that moves!
Entry-level salaries range from about Rs 1.3 lakh to Rs 3.15 lakh per annum. Pay hikes depend on your performance and any additional skills you acquire.
Recruiters include ISRO, DRDO, Indian Railway, ABB, TATA Motors, General Motors, Fiat, Reliance Industries, Reliance Power Ltd, Ashoka Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra etc.
Best institutes (Apart from IITs and NITs) include:
Civil Engineering/ Environment Engineering
As a student, you will study Fluid Mechanics, Soil Mechanics, Design of Structures, and Structural Mechanics and water resource engineering. And then as a civil engineer, you will be building roads, buildings bridges, dams, canals, seaports, power plants and airports! This sector is looking up these days mainly due to the numerous infrastructure projects that are in the pipeline for India. It is a challenging profile but immensely satisfying as well. Also, with the green way of living gaining popularity across the world, the role of a civil engineer often overlaps with that of an environmental engineer as he needs to plan his projects in an environment-friendly manner.
In general, a fresh civil engineer can make Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 a month. Someone with 15-20 years’ experience can earn Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh a month. In the government sector, for example, the CPWD director general earns Rs 80,000 a month.
You would get to work in companies like Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Indian Railways, Engineers India Ltd., DRDO, ISRO, SERC, PWD, DLF etc.
Best institutes (Apart from IITs and NITs) include:
For B.Tech in Environmental Engineering, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering of Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad is a very good option.
Chemical Engineering
A few years back, Chemical Engineering was not considered to be an exciting field, but things have changed now. Global warming and its consequential environment issues have made chemical engineers hot property now. In your 4 years of study, you will cover chemicals, polymers, petroleum, pharmaceuticals along with computer and information technology for the development of chemical engineering processes. Petroleum i.e. Black Gold has made this field very prosperous. Go for this field if you have an inclination towards organic & inorganic chemistry.
You can get placed with ONGC, Reliance Industries Ltd., Essar Oil Limited, Gujarat Gas Company Limited, Indo Gulf Fertilizers Ltd, Coromandel Fertilizers Limited. Apart from regular jobs, there are numerous research & development opportunities for chemical engineering students and remuneration may range from 1000-1500 dollars for PhD students. Opportunities are plenty in the renewable energy sector, nuclear power sector, and industrial metallurgy sector.
Biotechnology
Think of biotechnology in India & you think of Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and her biotechnology company, Biocon. Today, India is considered one of the best destinations for biotechnology industry because of the availability of state-of-art resources and facilities to carry on newer practices.
A B.Tech in Biotechnology would throw up opportunities in production, research, and marketing in the fields such as environment, energy and conservation, agriculture and horticulture, medicine and healthcare, animal husbandry and dairy farming. Research oriented aspirants have a good scope of research laboratories and as professors and research assistants. There are opportunities in government and corporate run research and development organisations. You could hold designations like a lecturer, marketing manager, quality control officer or manager, bioinformatics, environmental specialist etc.
Genetic Engineering
Considering the potential of progress in the next few years, genetic engineering has become one of the best choices for engineering students with wide range of career opportunities. Genetic engineering is a comparatively new branch of engineering and is a part of biotechnology. It is a combination of Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Microbiology and some other related areas.
Apart from IITs and NITs, the most popular institutes for genetic engineering include:
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
- Banasthali Vidyapeeth, Rajasthan
- Centre for Biotechnology, Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Centre for Biotechnology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry
- Centre for Plant Molecular Biology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore
Aeronautical Engineering
When it comes to counting the best branches of engineering, aeronautical engineering always gets a place in the list. The field of aeronautical engineering comes up with various specialised areas such as propulsion, computational fluid dynamics, aerodynamics or materials and structures. The branch is one of the most sought-after branches in engineering and offers innumerable opportunities in terms of research, design, development, testing, manufacture and maintenance.
As a fresher in the field of aeronautical engineering, one can get INR 4 to INR 6 lacs depending on the organisation one is placed in. The mid-level salary of an aeronautical engineer is somewhere around INR 12 to INR 15 lacs which can go up to INR 6 to INR 7 lacs per annum.
Let’s take a look at the average salary package of these above-mentioned engineering streams from entry-level to managerial level.
Engineering Courses and their Salary Packages:
| Engineering Stream | Pay Scale-Entry Level (Average) | Pay Scale-Managerial Level (Average) |
| Computer Science & Engineering / IT | INR 4.5 Lacs to INR 6 Lacs | INR 20 Lacs to INR 30 Lacs |
| Electronics & Communication Engineering | INR 4 Lacs to INR 6 Lacs | INR 10 Lacs to 12 Lacs |
| Electrical & Electronics Engineering | INR 3.5 Lacs to INR 7 Lacs | INR 15 Lacs to INR 20 Lacs |
| Mechanical Engineering | INR 3 Lacs to INR 5 Lacs | INR 8 Lacs to INR 10 Lacs |
| Civil Engineering/ Environment Engineering | INR 3.5 Lacs to INR 7 Lacs | INR 12 Lacs to INR 15 Lacs |
| Chemical Engineering | INR 3 Lacs to INR 5 Lacs | INR 10 Lacs to INR 12 Lacs |
| Biotechnology | INR 4.5 Lacs to INR 6 Lacs | INR 20 Lacs to INR 25 Lacs |
| Aeronautical Engineering | INR 4 Lacs to INR 6 Lacs | INR 12 Lacs to INR 15 Lacs |
Apart from these above-mentioned fields, there are many more equally popular and relevant engineering branches like Instrumentation & Control Engineering, Industrial and Production Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Bioengineering etc. These programs are offered at some of IITs and most of the NITs and have excellent prospects.
These all are the best engineering courses for future offering by top-notch Indian Colleges and Universities. You can pick out your preferred field after analysing where your calibre and interest lies.
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