Which branch of engineering is the best?

Engineering is a large domain with lot of divisions and sub-divisions like Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering etc. Artificial Intelligence and Data Science are two new branches – subdivisions of Computer Science and Engineering. This list is very long and it is not true that every branch of study offers same number of career options. At times some branches are in high demand while some have less demand. Demand of a course may reduce in future when number of job opportunities reduces. Demand of a branch depends upon lot of factors including technological advancements, industrial growth, demand and supply ratio of employers v/s employees, etc. In this article, we are going to discuss some top engineering courses and its prospects considering aspects like job opportunities and placements.

This is not an attempt to categorize various branches based on its scope; but this is a humble attempt to familiarize various engineering branches. According to author of this article, “No branch of engineering is either superior or inferior”. You cannot replace a Civil Engineer with a Computer Engineer or Mechanical Engineer. All branches are equally important, an incompetent computer engineer will not get a job, but a competent engineer of some rare/unpopular branch will get a good job. In other words, you will not get a job based on what you had studied, but your competency and subject knowledge matters most.

Computer Science and Engineering

IT industry is the sector which is growing at an exponential rate, and the transition rate of everything to the digital market like computer systems is tremendous. Now a days, Computer science and Engineering is the most demanding branch of engineering and this will continue for few more years before it becomes saturated with hundreds of computer science graduates waiting to get their dream job. IT industries are not the only domain which requires computer science engineers, but each and every business ranging from commerce to design to textiles to finance, etc. require computer science engineers. Programming languages like Python, C, C++, software development and coding using any of these, project management, are just some of the features of the computer science course. Highly skilled professionals are required for this and they are paid well. Some of the entry level career opportunities for computer science engineers are software engineer, data analyst, data engineer, cyber security specialist, machine learning engineer etc. Some of the tech giants who actively hire computer science engineers are Google, Microsoft, Facebook etc.

Electronics and Communication Engineering

If you are someone who is interested in electronic circuits, digital signal processing based systems, communication, Internet of Things etc. then your choice must be Electronics and Communication Engineering. Electronics engineering based industry is ever-growing and this will stay in demand for several years to come. Internet of Things or IoT is an emerging field with lot of opportunities where hundreds of thousands of electronics engineers are in demand. Due to better logical analyzing capabilities and broad knowledge about hardware and software systems, number of opportunities for an electronics engineer is larger than that of computer science engineering graduate. CSE graduates are less preferred for IoT based industries as their hardware analyzing capability is weak when compared with an electronics engineer. Some of the career options are for an electronics engineering graduate are IoT engineer, R&D software engineer, software analyst, technical analyst, desktop support engineer etc. Electronics and Communication engineers can find opportunities in companies like BHEL, HPCL, ISRO, BSNL and several companies in the private sector.

Information Technology Engineering

Information Technology is a branch of engineering which have close similarity with computer science and engineering. Graduates of information technology engineering have basic knowledge about computer systems, IT networking, mobile application development, web application development, Internet of Things etc. As the IT sector is growing in an exponential manner, this branch of engineering is attractive for students who have an inclination towards computer science. Due to its proximity to computer science, this branch of engineering has attracted a number of students to select this branch of engineering for higher education. Some of the career options are network engineer, software engineer, database analyst, machine learning engineer etc. data scientist, software engineer, web developer, security analyst, etc. Some of the tech companies who hire information technology engineers are Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Yahoo etc.

Mechanical Engineering

This is a basic engineering branch which involves study of different types of machines used in various industries. For this reason, this is one of the most preferred branches in engineering. Students will be learning about working, design, materials and physics associated with various types of machines. If you find yourself passionate about design and manufacture of automobiles and air craft, then there is a mechanical engineer in you. You must select Mechanical Engineering as your branch of study. Being in the era of fourth industrial revolution, the prospects of a mechanical engineer is very good at least for another 20 years. Some of the career options of a budding mechanical engineering graduate are maintenance engineer, service engineer, manufacturing engineer, etc. Mechanical engineers are of high demand in companies like DRDO, ISRO, etc. and several private companies like Tata Motors, Reliance Industries Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra and several small scale industries.

Electrical Engineering

If you want maximum job possibilities, then you must be an electrical engineering graduate. Electrical engineers learn programming, some electronics subjects and subject from their own branch make them competent enough to apply for different job titles like software engineer, IoT engineer, machine learning engineer, electrical engineer etc. Graduates of this branch of engineering are job ready for wider domain when compared to computer science graduates and electronics engineering graduates. The curriculum includes subjects like control systems, circuit analysis, microprocessor and microcontroller, instrumentation etc. Some possible career opportunities for an electrical engineering graduate are software engineer, electrical engineer, IoT engineer, Data Scientist etc. Electrical engineers can find job opportunities in companies like BHEL, BEL, ISRO, DRDO etc. and several small and large private companies.

Civil Engineering

This is the branch of engineering which involves design, development and maintenance of infrastructure for various domestic as well as industrial requirements. In a country like India, the construction projects will never take a pause and skills of a civil engineer are very much in demand. Design and development of flyovers, bridges, tunnels etc. are seen everywhere and this is one of the reasons for the growing demand of a civil engineering graduate. Curriculum of civil engineering mainly consists of subjects like Strength of materials, Mechanics of Solids, Construction technology and Management, Structural analysis, Geology etc. Some of the job options of a civil engineering graduate are structural engineer, construction engineer, site engineer, etc. There are several public and private sector companies where a civil engineer can seek for a job. Some of these are DRDO, ISRO, armed forces, L&T etc.