Civil Engineering

High-rise buildings, bridges, subway stations, stunning airports, highways and hydroelectric dams are some of the interesting hallmarks of human civilization and urbanization. Civil engineering teaches us how to construct infrastructure and create an environment which will be conducive for living in the modern era.

Civil Engineering has come a long way. It is a profession which has helped in building and transcending knowledge as how to build and create physical environment and make this world a better and convenient place to live. Civil engineering as a profession has explored the idea which aided us in leading a quality life.  Thus, if you have an idea that can help to make this world a better place to live, then a career in civil engineering can be a possible choice for you.

Industry overview:

As the world rises to meet the great infrastructure challenge of the next decade, what role would engineering and construction companies play?

According to KPMG latest report,

• Infrastructure is so vital to growth that even the most cash strapped governments will inevitably give it a higher priority – or face a drastic change in lifestyles for their people.
• Worldwide expected cost for infrastructure over the next forty years is approximately US $70 trillion.
• Engineering and construction companies are changing to meet the growing demands of infrastructure, from traditional general engineering providers to large diversified businesses with specialized skills.
• New infrastructure projects are expected to be on a huge scale, particularly in emerging markets such as India, China and Brazil, so size and global reach will also matter.
• The shape of the industry is changing; the country is set to undergo a boost in the construction sector.
• The bottom line is: The country needs more infrastructures; engineering and construction companies are poised to capitalize on this opportunity, and to take a leadership role in shaping infrastructure for generations to come.

 According to FICCI report,

•  Growing focus on infrastructure development
•  Rapid growth to become second pillar in the national economy after agriculture.
•  Compounded annual growth rate of about 11.1 per cent over the last eight years.
• The total construction market in India for FY 2014 was US$157 billion, an increase of US$4 billion over FY2013.

Thus, there is multiplicity of opportunity for the new generation of civil engineers. Industry is seeking for enthusiast engineers who have fresh, distinct and innovative ideas who can contribute their labour in the growth of the industry. Multiple opportunities await you.

What is Civil Engineering?

The discipline of Civil Engineering deals with the various aspects of planning, designing, construction, maintenance and modification of physical structure and naturally built environment.

The discipline offers a huge umbrella and covers varied aspects ranging from geotechnical engineering to structural engineering, environmental to material, forensic to hydrology.

Civil Engineering is considered as a single largest branch among all the engineering branches. It is the also second oldest discipline after military engineering.

Civil Engineering makes use of scientific principles to solve the given problems of society;like residential, commercial, industrial and public works projects of all sizes and levels of construction. The other name of civil engineering is construction engineering. Structures such as tunnels, dams, sewers, bridges, highways, canals, industrial plants, residential buildings, railway lines, airports etc also come under the category of civil engineering.

Scope and employment potentials:

India needs technology revolution in the country. In this regard, the industry requires huge numbers of engineers to tap the untapped spaces domestically and overseas. Since India’s construction sector is forecasted to grow at 7 – 8% each year over the next decade, the industry is seeking to spread its wings in every corner of the country. The industry has an increased international penetration besides meeting the advancing domestic demands. The U.S Bureau of Labour Statistics has predicted that job opportunities will increase by 20% for the profession between 2012 and 2022, citing a continued demand for civil engineers.

Therefore, there is a rising demand of potential civil engineers to fill these gaps having vast potential. Since the industrial expansion is phenomenal, civil engineering is seen as a promising career option among the young aspirants.

The industry offers multiplicity of roles for skilled professionals. Some of the job roles are as follows:

• Research, Planning, designing, management of structure.
• Construction, installation, and modification of structure.
• Rectifying issues and problems using scientific principles/fundamentals.
• Execution/implementation, operation of the defined plan.
• Monitoring developments and assessing options.
• Synchronizing work with other engineers.

Job title:

Civil engineers perform multiple functions in varying positions and circumstances ranging from construction engineer to environmental engineer from planning engineer to managerial functions. Various job titles in brief are as follows:

• Bridge design technician
• Construction engineering technician
• Structural design technologist
• Supervisor, architectural and engineering technologists and technicians
• Materials testing technologist
• Environmental technician
• land use technician
• Technician, civil engineering
• Technician, road traffic
• Urban planning technician
• Technician, highway
• Railway technician
• Executive and managerial functions

How to pursue civil engineering?

The candidates, who wish to pursue civil Engineering should have passed higher secondary board exam from a recognized board in India with Science- Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry with 50 percent. Some of the top colleges in civil Engineering are listed below: 

Duration of UG degree in civil Engineering: 4 Years, Full Time

Core subjects:

The core subjects of civil Engineering include the following subjects:

• Surveying-land and surveying
• Material science and engineering
• Coastal engineering
• Construction engineering
• Building Technology
• Structural Analysis & Design
• Design of Hydraulic Structures
• Architecture and Town Planning
• Earthquake engineering
• Environmental engineering
• Geotechnical engineering
• Transportation engineering
• Forensic engineering  
• Urban engineering
• Control engineering     

Top Recruiters:

Top companies recruiting civil engineers are as follows-

DMRC	Reliance Infra
Larsen & Toubro Ltd	Gammon India
Punj Lloyd Group	Lanco Infratech Limited
IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects Ltd.	Simplex Infrastructures Ltd
GMR Group	Hindustan Construction Company (HCC)

Course fee:

The average course fee for B.Tech in civil Engineering in IITs is nearly Rs.1 Lakh

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Chemical Engineering

Chemical Engineering is inextricably connected with our lives in many distinct ways; involving ways of production from drugs to garments; food to healthcare products, from molecules to genes. It is a universal branch of engineering and aims at improving the quality of life by converting raw materials into more durable and usable products. Chemical Engineering plays a central role in the development of science and technology. Thus if a candidate is interested in nitty-gritty of chemical science that can help in making and improving just about everything that we see around us, then a career in Chemical Engineering can be a possible choice for you.

Chemical Engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the design, construction, and operation of machines and plants that perform chemical reactions to solve practical problems or make useful products. It deals with the application of physical science and life sciences with mathematic, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms. Engineers in this field use math, physics, and economics to solve technical problems. They design and invent new processes. Engineers in this field are employed by almost all companies in the chemical process industry. Chemical Engineers can find jobs in chemical industries, petrochemical industries, manufacturing plants, mining industries, research Institutes, and Natural Gas industry etc.

This special feature of Careers360 brings to you an overview of this branch of Engineering, its career opportunities & scope, job profile details and top engineering colleges offering Chemical Engineering. We also bring you insights on job profiles and top recruiters for Chemical Engineering.

Core Subjects

Chemical Engineering as a discipline has come a long way. Various developments in chemical practices have paved the way for more advanced fields like Nano-Technology, Bio-Engineering, Bio-Molecular Engineering, Material processing or Meteorology and Industrial design. Thus, it is one of the most flourishing and fastest growing fields with global application in our everyday life. Modern innovations like human genome project, genetic engineering and DNA sequencing has changed the face how chemical engineering was earlier perceived.

The core subjects ofChemical Engineering are as follows:

• Solid Mechanics
• Complex Analysis
• Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
• Intro to Transport Phenomena
• Environmental Studies
• Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer
• Process Fluid Mechanics
• Introduction to Numerical Analysis
• Intro to Electrical and Electronics Circuits
• Molecular Cell Biology
• Chemical Reaction Engineering
• Mass Transfer Operations
• Material Science
• Process Control
• Process Equipment Design & Economics
• Chemical Processes
• Chemical Process Design

Higher Education

Almost all the IITs and NIT @ Agartala, Calicut, Durgapur, Raipur, Rourkela, Tiruchirapalli, Srinagar and Warangal offer M.Tech in Chemical Engineering. Other Than these institutes, renowned institutes like Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Jadavpur University, offer postgraduate courses in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering. Candidates who wish to pursue specialization after graduation (BE/B.Tech) can choose from any of the following fields:

• Chemical Engineering
• Bio Mineral Processing
• Chemical Synthesis and Process Technologies
• Chemical Technology
• Dyestuff Technology
• Fibre and Textile Processing Technology
• Technology in Polymer Science
• Technology in Surface Coating Technology
• Oils, Oleo chemicals and Surfactants Technology 

Job Prospects

The industry requires huge numbers of engineers to tap the untapped potential domestically and overseas. Since, India’s chemical sector is forecasted to grow at 8-9 percentover the next decade; the industry is seeking to spread its wings in every corner of the country. The industry has an increased international penetration besides meeting the advancing domestic demands.

Therefore, there is a rising demand of potential chemical engineers to fill the gaps having vast potential. Since the industrial expansion is phenomenal, chemical engineering is seen as a promising career option among the young aspirants.

Job profile

Chemical Engineers play a significant role in the advancement of systems that depend upon material response for their functioning. Chemical Engineer knows how to predict and tailor the outcomes of chemical reactions and synthesize chemicals. They use their wisdom to find the solutions to challenges involving everyday products.

The industry offers multiple roles for skilled professionals. Some of the job roles are as follows:

• Research on new products
• Designing, Installing, Commissioning and Maintaining new plants
• Production, Development, Operation and Conversion of different products into energy.
• Monitoring developments and trouble shooting
• Application of new technologies
• Assessing options for plant expansion
• Synchronizing work with other engineers for maximum output

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Bio engineering

From the smallest unit of life i.e. a cell (impossible to view with naked eye) to a giant blue whale (which may weigh more than 1,00,000 kg) comes under Biology. Biology is one of the most important aspects of human life. It is believed that in the second half of this century, there will be a major revolution in the biological sciences. Towards the end of 20th century, famous magazine Business Week declared the 21st century as ‘The Biotech Century” and the magazine stated "biology will define scientific progress in the 21st century." Along with Biology, Engineering can be considered as one of our lifelines. From a small LED to large ships, everything is the result of developments in engineering. It is almost impossible to imagine our lives without Engineering. Sibling rivalry on account of a TV remote (another very good example of Engineering) is a distinct possibility. So we can say that Biology defines our life and Engineering has changed it completely. And, on this basis, it can be said that the combination of these two will result in a new but totally transformed life.

The above statement, in a way, defines Bio Engineering or Bio Medical Engineering. Bio Engineering is the branch of Engineering, which uses different principles of Engineering and its design concepts to develop life products, which may improve the quality of life. Bio Engineering can be considered as a relatively new branch of Engineering, which tries to solve various problems in the history of biology. In the beginning, this branch had very limited applications but in recent years, Bio Engineering has evolved a lot. From DNA-level researches to energy and environment-related development, this branch of Engineering serves the human race in many ways.

Core Subjects

Study of Bio Engineering helps a candidate in becoming an expert of applying engineering and technology in the unexplored and very complex areas of biology. Human genome project is a very good example of Bio Engineering, where engineers are trying to map and find out the sequence of human genetic structure. Along with that bio engineers are trying to find out a relationship between the organ, tissue, cell and the genetic structure of a cell as this will help in producing medicines for the coming generations.

Above mentioned goals and researches are realized with the course content of All undergraduate & postgraduate programmes. The core subjects of Bio Engineering are:

• Applied Mathematics
• Basic Electrical & Electronics Engineering
• Computer Programming
• Applied Chemistry
• Applied Physics
• Transducers & Sensors for Medical Applications
• Human Anatomy & Physiology
• Biomaterials
• Biomedical Instrumentation
• Biostatistics
• Biological Modeling and Simulation
• Biomedical Digital Signal Processing
• Digital Image Processing
• Networking and Information System in Medicine
• Biomedical Microsystems

Higher Education

Going for a job after graduation is solely a choice of a bio engineer. There are very good higher studies options available for bio engineers in India. A graduate bio engineer may go for a specialized Master degree course as per his/her interest. Renowned institutes like IIT – Kanpur, IIT (BHU) – Varanasi, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, National Institute of Technology – Rourkela offer the postgraduate technical degree (M.Tech) in Bio Engineering or Bio Medical Engineering.

A graduate may pursue specialization in fields like Bioinstrumentation, Biomechanics, Biomaterials, Systems Physiology, Tissue Engineering, Neuro Engineering, Computational Modelling, Clinical Engineering and Rehabilitation Engineering. 

Job Prospects

Bio engineers can get recruited in any public, private or government organization. NGOs also recruit bio engineers to work along with scientists and chemists. One of the major roles of a bio engineer is in the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of diseases. Along with the previously mentioned tasks, bio engineers also help in the improvement of a patient's health and in a patient's rehabilitation. Bio Engineers can work as consultants for different government schemes, NGOs, WHO projects or can associate themselves with various philanthropic works. After having a good experience, Bio Engineers can also lead a team of fellow researchers and establish themselves at a niche position in the field of Bio Engineering.

There is a good demand of Bio Engineers having vast potential. Since the industrial expansion is phenomenal, Bio Engineering is seen as a promising career option among the young aspirants.

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Automobile Engineering

While walking on the streets, when you come across high-end luxurious cars like Ferrari, Porsche, Range Rover, Jaguar, Lamborghini, BMW, Audi, have you ever in the slightest of your imagination thought – who are the designers or the makers of these grandiose machines? Well, you can also be the designer or developer of these amazing machines. If you have love and passion for such machines, then a career in Automobile Engineering can be a possible choice for you.

Careers360 brings you in-depth insight of this engineering domain with details on career opportunities, job profile and top engineering colleges offering this course.

Automobile Industry: An Overview- Scope and Growth

The Indian automobile industry is one of the fastest growing industries under the ambit of Indian economy. According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturer (SIAM)(2015), India is the seventh largest producer in the world with an average annual production of 17.5 million vehicles. The country is also the fourth largest automotive market by volume.

Automobile sector contributes seven per cent of the country’s GDP by volume.The industry is growing and evolving at a brisk pace.As per industry estimates, the sector is expected to sell 6 million plus vehicles by 2020. According to the latest reports by SIAM, April-March 2015, overall automobile exports grew by 14.89 percent over the same period last year. Thus, India is a potential emerging automobile market and jobs in the automobile industry are also increasing significantly.

The government is also coming up with automotive mission plan-2 which aims making India a global leader in two and four wheeler segment by 2020. Also the “Make in India” campaign brings a high level of confidenceamong the domestic as well as global investors in this vibrant sector also.

Thus, there isplethora of opportunities for the new generation of automobile engineers.The industry needs enthusiast engineers, who have fresh, distinct and innovative ideas for the production of more and more such sophisticated machines.

Fast facts about Indian Automobile Industry:

• 7thlargest automobile producer in the world
• Production of 17.5 million vehicles annually
• 4th largest automotive market by volume
• 14.89 percent growth rate in exports
• New automotive mission plan-2(2016-26)
• ‘Make in India campaign’ – focusing on building India a ‘manufacturing hub’

What is Automobile Engineering?

Automobile Engineering is the sub branch of Mechanical Engineering, also known as automotive engineering or vehicle engineering. The automobile industry includes automobiles and auto components sectors.

The Automobile engineering course caters to the creation and maintenance of automobiles, right from designing the vehicles to manufacturing components, assembling them, testing them for safety, repairing and maintaining. It also enables the engineers to explore new areas, create new avenues in the fields of R&D and develop their talent in new technologies.

How to pursue Automobile Engineering?

The students, who wish to pursue Automobile Engineering should have passed higher secondary board exam from a recognized board in India with Science- Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Some of the top colleges in Automobile Engineering are listed below: 

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Computer Science Engineering

In the 21st century, technology is omnipresent in our lives. With a boom in the technology sector, it is proving to be a lucrative career opportunity for students, who are in the juncture to pass out from school and are considering various aspects for their future career option.Computer Science Engineering is the most popular course for the Engineering aspirants. During the counselling of the top engineering colleges, the Computer Science Engineering seats are the fastest filled among different branches.

This article of Careers360 brings to you the overview, career opportunities & scope, top colleges offering the specialization and popular companies, which recruit Computer Science Engineering graduates.

Indian consumers have over the years moved to the online platform for carrying out basic and simple tasks like shopping, booking tickets, etc. According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the year 2014 has seen unprecedented growth in E-commerce sector. Websites like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon have been contributing in the economy of India over the last couple of years. The report mentions, “Since the E-commerce industry is fast rising, changes can be seen over a year. The sector in India has grown by 34% (CAGR) since 2009 to touch 16.4 billion USD in 2014. The sector is expected to be in the range of 22 billion USD in 2015.”

Incidentally, both the founders of Flipkart, one of the biggest E-commerce retail website, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal are Computer Science Engineers from IIT Delhi.  Bhavish Agarwal, Co-Founder, Ola Cabs is also a graduate of Computer Science from IIT Bombay.

Computer Science Engineering – An Overview: Over the years, Indian engineers have contributed across the world in the field of
 Computer Science Engineering. From late 19th century, several Indians have been recruited by the IT majors like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCL, Cognizant, Accenture etc. They were even recruited in the famous Silicon Valley in USA by top companies like Yahoo!, Adobe, Apple Inc, Google, Intel, etc.

Computer and related services with a share of 3.3 per cent in India’s GDP grew by 14.4 per cent in 2013-14. Information technology and business process outsourcing are among the fastest-growing sectors, having a cumulative growth rate of revenue 33.6% between 1997-1998 and 2002-2003, and contributing to 25% of the country's total exports in 2007–08. The growth in the IT sector is attributed to increased specialisation, and an availability of a large pool of low cost, highly skilled, educated and fluent English-speaking workers, on the supply side, matched with the demand side by increased demand from foreign consumers interested in India's service exports, or those looking to outsource their operations. The share of the Indian IT industry in the country's GDP increased from 4.8% in 2005–06 to 7% in 2008.

What is Computer Science Engineering?

Computer Science engineering deals with design, implementation, and management of information system of both software & hardware processes. A computer scientist specializes in theory of computation and design of computational systems.

Computer engineering or Computer Science engineering integrates several disciplines such as Information Technology, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Software Design, etc. The engineers are mainly involved in the development of software and hardware systems of various aspects of computing. The engineers not only focus on how computers work but also integrate into larger scheme of things.

Amongst all the engineering branches, computer science has been found to be the most popular choice of students. This branch of engineering is perceived to be popular due to its research scopes (bio, mechanics, neuro-science, etc) and is known to be challenging while offering good career opportunities and remuneration. M Balakrishnan, professor (computer science and engineering, IIT-D) says that computer science & engineering has been the most sought after course in the past few years and in the current one too. 

The core courses for Computer Science Engineers are as follows:

• Computer architecture and organization
• Theory of computation
• Database systems
• Electronics
• Operating systems
• Computer Networks
• Foundations of Computer Systems
• Java Programming and Website Design
• E-commerce & ERP and Multimedia Applications
• Principles of Programming Languages
• Software Engineering
• Compiler Design

What do you do as Computer Science Engineer?

You can work in database management, IT, embedded systems, Telecommunication, computer hardware & software implementation & maintenance, multimedia, web designing, gaming, and almost all other industries in this sector.

It is worthwhile to note that the computer industry has witnessed such phenomenal growth in recent years that IT majors like Infosys & TCS have been the major recruiters across all other branches in engineering colleges of the country.

How to pursue Computer Science Engineering?

Aspirants of Computer Science Engineering must have appeared in 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as core subjects. They have to appear for various Engineering Entrance Exams such as JEE (for IIT, NITs, IIITs, CFTIs and SFTIs), BITSAT (for BITS) and VITEEE (for VIT University) to name a few. On the basis of their performance and counselling, the candidates are allocated the engineering branch.

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