Careers in Engineering

With engineering being the one of the most sought after professions in India, we talk about the different engineering fields, the opportunities that they have to offer and talk about why the number of students opting for this profession has grown over the years

In a bid to earn a livelihood, there are several occupations in the 21st century, which one can choose from. While there is a plethora of professions to choose from, the point is to choose a career which offers the maximum potential to develop oneself, to introspect our capabilities and to stretch them beyond the current threshold. The youth of the 21st century is particularly interested in careers which offer a fresh challenge each day. It is in itself a wide expanse of several fields of applications and an arena which influences every moment of our present lives. Engineering promises to make human life more prosperous by harnessing the power of laws of nature and mathematics to manufacture machines, buildings, computers, electronics and new materials which relatively reduce human labor in performing everyday tasks.
From ancient Indus Valley Civilizations dating back to c.a. 3000 B.C. to the modern telescopes of NASA, engineering is found to be the core of prosperity and well-groomed infrastructure in all civilizations and developed nations. Engineering also guarantees a horizon with varied hues of color symbolizing sub branches such as civil, IT, computer science, aeronautical, chemical, ICT, electronics, petroleum, mechanical and electrical, with each offering courses up to the level of PhD with a flourishing career in research, academics and industry. The curiousness to explore and solving a particular problem that we face is the main trait of being a successful engineer. The atmosphere of engineering universities provide a holistic development of one’s personality with the qualities of independent decision making, detailed observation skills, team work, time management and of course stress management. Engineering teaches more than just a mere few equations. It trains the students how to think progressively in order to untie the rope of particular problem and to keep on developing innovative viewpoints on concepts taught in classes as every project has its unique problems and questions to be answered.
Engineering is divided into basic branches such as civil engineering, mechanical engineering, metallurgy and textile. Mechanical engineering provides the concepts of mechanics of solids, material science and various manufacturing processes that the industry uses for manufacturing everyday accessories. Civil Engineering deals with construction of mega structures, overseeing the maintenance of the environment and its habitat, planning the transportation networks in a country, and hydraulics. With development of computers in 1946 in Pennsylvania, computer engineers have gifted the world with World Wide Web. Software giants like Microsoft, Apple have revolutionized the user interface system with Windows and iOS operating systems respectively. Computer Science and Information Technology are one of the fastest progressing engineering streams in the world with high pay packages in companies like Facebook and Google.

Software Engineering is the sister line of CSE, which specializes in smart phone applications and are most sought after by developers like Autodesk and Adobe. The country’s defense system needs the best of navy, air force and weaponries for which aeronautical engineers, mechanical engineers with specialization in weaponry mechanics and marine engineers are people who create it. The National Defense Academy gives bachelor’s degree for training in such fields and Indian Naval Academy imparts administrative training in defense sector. Chemical engineering, electronics and communication engineering, Information and communication technology, electrical engineering are other fields which generally offer a good career prospect and are most preferred due to being the core fields.
Engineering is also interlinked with commerce and medical fields and generates expertise in coining different products or new system of approach to particular affair with upcoming branches like biomedical engineering, networking and bio-technology. These engineers are the backbone of our high precision operation tools and accurate diagnosis machines for various diseases. Aerospace Engineering specializes in propulsion, aerodynamic fluids, heat transfer, navigation and radar communications. Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) in Thiruvanthapuram is prominent center offering four year B.Tech course in the same. Physics geniuses can carve a career in Engineering Physics which is an emerging field in India with curriculum of classical, quantum, statistical mechanics and electromagnetic theory, nuclear physics. They have employment opportunities with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), and National Physical Laboratory etc. Petroleum engineering deals with the extraction of petroleum from Earth and the extensive processes needed to filer the products from crude extract.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) offers handsome salaries to its employees having expertise in this field. In industry, besides persons having specialization in a particular field, many operations are there in which a versatile engineer is required who is “jack” of all fields. Industrial Engineering provides a bird eye view of all process and streams of industry with additional knowledge of market economics and industry finance matters which makes them employable in chemical, textile, machines, aeronautical industry on posts in administration, finance or manufacturing. Agricultural and farming are increasingly being absorbed in engineering discipline. With the commercialization of horticulture and agriculture there are wide-ranging opportunities for paid jobs as well as private enterprise. State Department of Agriculture employs agricultural engineers as agricultural officers for the improvement of agriculture in a district.
After engineering, many other diverse options such as MBA from reputed management institutes like IIM’s, government sector jobs in Indian Engineering Service (IES) and entrepreneurship will take you further deep down in the ocean of success and excellence. Engineering develops the logical ability of analyzing a particular case or problem like no other profession does. Scientists discover the laws of nature and various theorems in mathematics but it is the mind of engineer who envisages beautiful wonders by exploiting the magic in them. Youth Incorporated brings its readers an article on “Careers in Engineering” which focuses on this wonderful profession and why it is the most sought after careers among students. Many engineers today are leaders in corporate world in companies like Infosys, Microsoft, Apple and Google. By choosing the stream of engineering, one gains the expertise of logical thinker, skills of communication in organization, learn the importance of team and become contributors in making a world better place to live in.