Engineering Scope

You have to pursue a 4-year BE/B.Tech Marine engineering course on the completion of which you qualify to become a fifth engineering onboard a merchant ship. You can also become a fifth engineer after completing a one-year graduate mechanical engineering course prior to which you should have completed BE/B.Tech in mechanical engineering. To become a fourth engineeer, you have to qualify part IV exam conducted by DG Shipping, Govt. of India. This qualification will take you through to the second engineer rank. To become a chief engineer, you have to pass a separate exam conducted by DG Shipping. You will also require a sailing experience of six months to become a fourth engineering and more years of sailing experience to rise up the rank.

If the opportunities being talked about are to be limited to main central or state government departments, opportunities may not be many. Very few departments like National Informatics Center have some that too limited opportunities. Some of the departments may recruit a few engineering graduates but only for a support role. Also, the government will consider a skill in IT /Computer Ss. as non-core and prefer to outsource. The government also recognises that their recruitment/career advancement policies are not very conducive to attract, retain and nurture talent. Since technology changes frequently and it is not easy for the government to make investments to keep pace with fast-changing technologies, it would prefer to outsource. Government departments are not ideal options for careers in tech-related professions. But if the question extends to the public sector undertakings or Banks or even government controlled Railways or Military services or Defence establishments or Space establishments, the opportunities are reasonably good (Indian Railways, ISRO, DRDO, Army, Air Force, Navy, BEL, ECIL, BHEL, PSU banks, etc). Here again one has to remember that IT /Com Sc. is not always a part of their core business, but of course, it is a very important support process. With Digitisation and Internet of things gaining ground, IT/Com Sc. shall become core to many of these business lines. Here again, government-controlled companies prefer to outsource IT-related processes unless it becomes an essential part of their Product/service. Right now the bulk of the opportunities are in IT service sectors (Companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, etc). There is a lot of automation creeping in these kinds of services, which is likely to affect the fresh employment potential or result in mid-career layoffs, but if one keeps upgrading his skills, Core IT services are a better career option than a cosy government /PSU job. Of course, somebody could always say that there would be less stress and more job security with Government /PSUs even though you may not be contributing your best especially since you are in a non-core role nor developing your self practically in your chosen field.

This decade belongs to Electronics and Telecommunications. Electronics and Telecommunications will continue to impact all walks of life including business. Next wave of Industrial revolution is automation and electronics will play a vital role in it. ECE engineers can be employed in all type of industries including IT. Computer Science is the facilitating technology for all business and personal activities. Indian IT industry is worlds largest outsourcing hub. Computer Science engineering is dominating the job market for last 15 years. Indian computer industry has started to show an early sign of decline due to the outcry against outsourcing in the western world. Therefore, Electronics &Telecommunication is the best option with respect to career opportunities and scope. Computer Science will continue to be a good career option for some time in the field of Engineering. IT graduates have similar career opportunities as CSE graduates. CSE graduates have a minor advantage over IT graduates in the job market. Mechanical is an evergreen branch for last 50 years and will continue to remain same in next 50 years. Chemical Engineering is a niche branch with relatively lesser job opportunities. Therefore, my recommendations in order of precedence are ECE, CSE, IT, Mechanical and then Chemical engineering if the student does not have any specific area of interest.