Making a career in Engineering is not as easy as it sounds. Of course, the coursework is taxing, however, choosing a course is also difficult given the number of programs and fields to explore in engineering. There are multiple branches of engineering today and choosing one is dependent on a couple of factors that are important before you take the plunge.
Most of us today live a very lavish lifestyle and want to have the best of everything. Is it that easy? It is if you’re raking in the big bucks. This happens to be one of the factors in choosing an engineering specialization. Some fields in engineering pay heavy and that is one of the reasons students choose to enter that field.
Machines, physics, thermodynamics, space; if these are the things that fascinate you then finding the right career in engineering just got easier for you. The other factor that determines the choice of engineering field one enters is their personal interests. ‘Choose what you love and make it big’ is one of the mantras followed these days by not just the creative kinds but also the engineering students.
So the two most important factors in determining the best career in engineering are Money and Interest.
Petroleum Engineering:
This is the branch of engineering that rakes in a lot of money for anyone who pursues this field. With a lot of demand for crude oil and natural gas, this field is expanding ten-fold. Petroleum engineers are one of the highest paid engineers not just in India but across the globe.
Salary Structure (Experience-wise):
Experience Salary (per annum)
1 - 2 years Rs. 4 - 4.5 lakh
10 - 12 years Rs. 20 - 40 lakh
Major job recruiters :
- Newman-Johnson-King, Inc.
- Shamrock Recruiting
- KLA Industries
- Randstad
- Cameron Craig
Electrical Engineering:
This branch is one of the most demanding fields of engineering. As it deals with the use and application of electricity, electronics, electromagnetism, etc. its application is used worldwide and in daily life. A career in electrical engineering will always be fruitful for anyone who decides to pursue it.
Salary Structure (Experience-wise):
Experience Salary (per annum)
1 - 2 years Rs. 1.5 - 3 lakh
10 - 12 years Rs. 10 - 15 lakh
Major job recruiters :
- VelSource
- Abvolt Technologies Incorporated
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
- ISRO
- GTRO
Computer Engineering:
This integrates two fields of electrical engineering and computer science for the development of hardware and software. IT industry is in the boom for over a decade now and the importance of computer engineering is still at its peak. A lot of students opt for computer engineering as it pays well and has a lot of scopes both in India and abroad.
Salary Structure (Experience-wise):
Experience Salary (per annum)
1 - 2 years Rs. 5 - 15 lakh
10 - 12 years Rs. 20 - 40 lakh
Major job recruiters :
- TCS
- Infosys
- Wipro
- HCL
- Accenture
- Cognizant
- Microsoft
- IBM
- Adobe
- Accenture
- Cisco
- Oracle
- Sun Microsystems
- Yahoo
- Tech Mahindra
- Mahindra Satyam
Aerospace Engineering:
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is the talk of the town in recent years. With a lot of research and development going into the exploration of other parts of the universe, a need for spacecraft and aircraft arises. This is taken care of by Aerospace Engineers. Aerospace Engineering is a discipline of engineering which deals with the development of spacecraft and aircraft. It is further divided into aeronautical and astronautical engineering which is interlinked. These engineers happen to be one of the highly paid people in the field of engineering.
Salary Structure (Experience-wise):
Experience Salary (per annum)
1 - 2 years Rs. 5 - 8 lakh
10 - 12 years Rs. 20 - 30 lakh
Major job recruiters :
Some of the reputed recruiters of aeronautical engineering are as the following:
- HAL
- DRDO
- ISRO
- Air India
- Indian Airlines
- Helicopter Corporation of India
- DRDL
- NAL
- ADE
- Civil Aviation Department
- Private airlines
- Flight clubs
Chemical Engineering:
There are a lot of elements in nature which intrigue and amuse a person. Chemistry, Physics and Biology make up the field of Science. These are then used along with mathematics and economics to transform, produce, and use chemical elements, energy and materials. It is a risky yet exciting field and the need to find new mixtures and elements that are sustainable in nature has raised the demand of chemical engineers. Again, this happens to be one of the highly paid branches of engineering.
Salary Structure (Experience-wise):
Experience Salary (per annum)
1 - 2 years Rs. 4 - 8.5 lakh
10 - 12 years Rs. 12 - 30 lakh
Major job recruiters :
- Arofine Polymers Ltd
- Century Textiles and Industries Ltd
- Colour-Chem Ltd
- Deepak Fertilizers and Petrochemicals Ltd.
Materials Engineering:
As can be gathered from the name itself, materials engineering deals with discovery and designing of new materials. There is a lot of scope for materials engineering graduates in terms of pay as well as opportunities.
Salary Structure (Experience-wise):
Experience Salary (per annum)
1 - 2 years Rs. 5 - 8 lakh
10 - 12 years Rs. 10 - 20 lakh
Major job recruiters :
The top recruiters are mainly the metal manufacturing industries. Some of the top companies include the following:
- Steel Authority India Limited (SAIL)
- Tata Steel
- Jindal Steel
- Hindalco Industries Limited
Nuclear Engineering:
Someone who is fascinated by the physics of the universe, nuclear engineering is one field where the principles of nuclear physics are applied to the greatest extent. Fission and fusion of atomic and sub-atomic particles are studied in this branch of engineering. Another risky field, this branch provides a lot of scope in terms of pay and opportunity.
Salary Structure (Experience-wise):
Experience Salary (per annum)
1 - 2 years Rs. 3 - 5 lakh
10 - 12 years Rs. 15 - 20 lakh
Major job recruiters :
Some specialist recruitment agencies handle some vacancies. For opportunities see:
- Fircroft
- Matchtech
- Roevin Engineering Recruitment
