Career Options after Engineering (2021 list)

India is the hotbed for engineers. Over 1.5 lakh students pass out with an engineering degree every year.  You might be one of them. But, many of these students are often left wondering “What should I do after engineering” or “how to get a job after engineering”. In this article, I will be discussing the best 10 career options after engineering a graduate can choose. 

get direct admission

The world is seething with opportunities for skilled youth that can implement their knowledge in real-life applications. Especially in India, after B.Tech, engineers can be used in almost all walks of life. This is because they are skilled in the art of logic. Therefore, engineering is, and continues to be, one of the most popular undergraduate courses.  

As a fresh graduate, you may not be aware of the many career options after engineering. Therefore, I’ve tried to compile a list of 10 of the different pathways you can set foot on after B.Tech.  

1. Pursue an MBA 

 Someone had rightly said, “Knowledge on its own is nothing, but the application of useful knowledge, now that is powerful”. After B.Tech, you are well equipped in the theoretical knowledge of the functioning of things. The pursuit of higher studies lets you expand on your theoretical knowledge with more practical based assignments. Hence, y making you a more skilled engineer.  

There are many courses one can take as part of their higher education after B.Tech which can open a whole variety of career options after engineering. You can pursue MBA in the following sectors:

Marketing 

Banking and Finance  

Data Analytics  

Operations Management  

Human Resource Management  

If there is more information you want about the eligibility requirements, colleges and career options after engineering with an MBA, you can read this article.  

2. Pursue higher studies in engineering

If your interest lies within engineering itself, like many, you can expand on your knowledge after B.Tech by pursuing a degree in M.Tech. Similar to your B.Tech degree, M.Tech provides further and more in-depth knowledge on your chosen branch of engineering and acts more like an extension of your undergraduate studies. However, in an M.Tech course, you are more involved with the practical implementation of the knowledge gained during the B.Tech years.  

To pursue an M.Tech degree, you must clear the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, which is a competitive exam that is jointly conducted by IIT and IISC, Bangalore. GATE tests the knowledge of the subject matter that was delivered during their B.Tech course and a good score there provides a higher chance to be accepted by reputed colleges.  

 If there is more information you would want over the career opportunities, or about the other courses you can pursue to get in order to open career opportunities after engineering, you can click here.  

3. Try for a government job

Many engineers after B.Tech are worried about how to get a job after engineering. There is one obvious answer – college campus placements. But, that for some high caliber engineers seems like an easy way out. They aim for more. And that is just what Public Sector Units have to offer.   

Public Sector Units (PSU) are companies that are wholly or partially owned by the government of India. Some of the prominent names include BHEL, SAIL, HAL and IOCL.  The government offers a special range of jobs to qualified engineers under their public sector units. The eligibility criteria is a pre-declared cut off rate of the GATE exam scores. PSU’s offer great monetary benefits, lifetime job security and a good standing within your society.   

The other pathway one can take to enter the government agencies is through the Indian Engineering Service (IES). The IES is regarded similar to other prestigious posts like the IAS and the IRS. For this, you need to take a different exam called the Engineering Service Exam (ESE) which is held nationwide, every year. Career options after engineering here include places in sectors like Railway Services, Geological Survey of India, Central Power Engineering Service, etc.  

Become a Subject Matter Expert

4. Join the Civil Services 

If you go to your parents after B.Tech, asking them, “What should I do after engineering”, they’ll most likely ask you to join the civil services. This is a favourite of the parents and is increasingly becoming a favourite of the engineers that want to serve their country.  

Though choosing this as one of the career options after engineering is not a simple one. You must pass the highly competitive UPSC exam conducted for civil services. Starting with a preliminary interview process, the candidate then passes on to take the mains of the UPSC Civil Service Exam (CSE). This again will be followed by an interview. Though this is highly competitive, and only a few thousand get selected from the lakhs of applicants, those engineers who are determined and rank high in their studies, can look at this as a viable career after engineering.  

5. Enroll yourself as an expert 

career after btech

You’ve already spent the past few years studying advanced levels of math and science. Hence, why not enter yourself as an expert in the online community? Private tuition’s are slowly becoming a booming business. In this sector, more and more students are trying their luck at pursuing hard subject matters as there is a sharp increase in the number of experts they want to reach out to, in order to clear doubts. And with the current pandemic, there are more students that want expert help for assignments.  

In fact, Chegg has an incredible Subject Matter Expert program that offers you money for answering academic questions raised by students. You can become a Chegg expert in the following fields after engineering:  

Chemical Engineering 

Civil Engineering 

Computer Science   

Mechanical Engineering 

Electrical Engineering  

The enrollment process is completed in four simple steps: