To work as an engineer, a candidate needs to have a BE/B.Tech. in the chosen field of interest.

Eligibility

Any candidate having completed 10+2 with PCM is eligible to apply in various colleges of engineering.

SELECTION

There are two methods of selecting candidates for engineering courses. One is based on marks secured in the final exams of 10+2; the other is through the means of an entrance exam.

DURATION

The duration of ~the degree level BE/B.Tech. courses are four years, and ME/M.Tech. is generally of two years.

Training Institutes

There are three levels of engineering courses available at engineering institutions in the country:

· Degree and postgraduate degree courses offered by colleges, universities and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
· Diploma courses offered by polytechnics.
· Training in engineering skills offered by Industrial
· Training Institutes (ITI)

Over and above the BE programmes conducted by engineering colleges, RECs (Regional Engineering Colleges) and other central institutes duly approved by AICTE, there are professional bodies recognized by the government of India to give AMIE (Associateship of the Institution of Engineers) equivalent to any degree in Engineering. 

These professional institutions cater mainly to working people in the private and public sectors. Along with their practical experience, they prepare for the Associate Membership Examination through distance education to acquire a Bachelor's degree for their career enhancement. In India, the following professional institutions conduct such programmes, namely:

· Institution of Engineers, covering all major engineering disciplines.
· Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication engineering.
· Aeronautical Society of India (ASI) for aerospace engineering.
· Institution of Chemical Engineers.
· Institution of Architects.
· Institution of Town and Country Planning.

After passing AMIE exams, candidates can go for ME or M.Tech. or even Ph.D. programmes.
It is possible for graduates of science (physics, chemistry and math's) to select an engineering course after graduation. 

The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and School of Mathematics and Computer Information Sciences, Hyderabad, offer a BE course in computer engineering. Selection is on the basis of merit in an entrance exam and the course is of three years duration. 

Engineering graduates may, immediately after BE or B.Tech. go in for a management course, which provides a tremendous advantage while entering the industry to take up production, sales or marketing careers. Finally, of course, engineers can start their own consultancies and set up their own workshops. Each of these areas have growth potential. 

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Organizing ability, practicality, ability to get on well with people of all types, at all levels in the hierarchy, from operatives to heads of research and managing director, ability to keep calm under pressure and in inevitable crises, a liking for being at the center of action. 

One needs to like working with tools, drawing sketches of complex things and operations, and conceptualizing forms and structures. While a high level of practicality, skill, accurate understanding power, capacity to toil, and perseverance are needed in ample quality, one must also have facility with numbers and ability to express one's ideas precisely to others.

RELATED CAREERS

Agriculture and horticulture, art and design, building, science management.