Many students grapple with the question “What after B.Tech?”  There are many career options for engineers after completing B.Tech.  In this article, I will discuss some of the common ones 

1.   M.Tech in India – M.Tech is a good option for students who want to pursue their career in research or looking for teaching career. Corporate appeal of M.Tech students in India is limited to few sectors which do highly technical or research oriented work.  In all other jobs where work can be done by B.Tech engineers, it doesn’t help.  M.Tech admissions to good institutes are through GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering).

Quick Fact – 15%-16% students qualify for GATE every year

2.   IES - IES are the civil services that meet the technical and managerial functions of the Government of India.  UPSC conducts a yearly exam, called Engineering Services Exam (ESE) for recruitment to Indian Engineering Services.  The examination constitutes a two stage written examination and followed by an interview.

Candidates who are selected for ESE are appointed as Assistant Executive Engineer in various departments under central government for Group A and Group B posts in organizations like Indian Railways, Central Engineering, Central Water Engineering, Border Roads Engineering, Indian Defence Service of Engineers, Indian Ordinance Factories, Central Power Engineering, and Indian Naval Armament Service etc.

Quick Fact – There are 500-600 vacancies every year with average selection ratio of 0.0025 i.e. 1 in 400 candidates get selected 

3.   PSU & State Govt jobs – Career in PSU (Public Sector Undertakings with majority government stake) is a lucrative option nowadays. Not only they offer job security, but most PSUs offer comparable or better packages than average private salaries for freshers. PSUs recruit engineers based on need i.e. there is no fixed recruitment policy.  They hire different numbers every year.  Some PSU recruit using their own competitive exams while many use GATE score as a basis.

Quick Fact - PSUs like HPCL, IOCL, PSPCL, WBSEDCL, BHEL, ONGC, Power Grid, MDL, HPU, BSNL, NHAI, RITES, GAIL, HAL use GATE scores. 

4.   Industry Jobs – In last 2 decades, these jobs were popularized by IT industry and some other MNCs in field of banking, finance & pharma. However there are plenty of opportunities in other traditional engineering disciplines as well e.g.  Mechanical, civil, electronics, manufacturing etc.

Industry requires you to have a set of employability skills beyond technical expertise (e.g. skills mentioned on fellowtechies). 

The easiest means for getting such job while studying is

• Through campus placements
• Companies also conduct joint recruitment fairs at specific university or college inviting students from multiple colleges
• Some companies also hold off-campus drives 

Other ways to get a job is through walk-ins or referrals

• Many companies conduct walk-in interviews for hiring talent quickly
• Companies also have employee referral programs where existing employees can refer their friends for jobs.  This is where your network comes in handy

Quick Fact – It takes time to develop skills and network, so you should start focusing on it from start of your engineering.   

5.   MS from abroad - Unlike India, MS degree in US / UK carries higher weight than bachelor degree and also makes it easier to get work visas. So it is good option for students to get global exposure and also get a handsome placement in foreign countries.  A candidate has to appear for GRE (Graduate Record Examination), TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) / IELTS (International English Language Testing System).  While deciding admissions, Universities also pay attention to your personality, purpose, values and diversity of experiences along with scores in above tests.

Info – In this article, Ankit Luthra summarizes his journey from B.Tech to MS at University of North Carolina and Shilpi Garg shares how she joined Carnegie Mellon University.

6.   MBA – It is good for students who are inclined towards managerial disciplines or want to make their career in fields like consulting, HR, Sales or marketing.  MBA with an engineering degree is very potent combination and position you well for accelerated career growth (provided done from a good institute).  There are 2 paths for MBA/equivalent degree.

a.   India – In India, reputed institutes select candidates based on competitive exam, group discussion and interview.  There are different exams for different institutes. Some of the most common ones are CAT (Common Admission Test – conducted by IIMs), XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test – conducted by XLRI), SNAP, NMAT, CMAT, IRMA etc. 

Info – Read Arijit Sarkar’s experience on combining B.Tech with IIM MBA 

b.   Abroad – Admission to most respect global business schools is through GMAT (General Management Aptitude Test).  GMAT is not the only factor for admission. When reviewing applications for admission; most schools balance GMAT score with work experience, grades in previous schools, recommendation letters and other admissions criteria. It is important to note in global B-Schools, it is very difficult for fresh graduates having no work experience to get admission to MBA.

Info – Read Pulkit Kheria’s experience on MBA from US Top 10 school  

7.   Start-up / Entrepreneurship – You can start your own business.  Nowadays, many universities are running incubation centres to help budding entrepreneurs.  CBSE is partnering with Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) to come up with vocation module for the same. There are also a lot of schemes announced by govt to help with mentoring and funding. 

8.   Certification / Diploma Courses – Engineers can do other short duration professional courses in a specific topic which can add weight to your resume or make you eligible for a specific job e.g. courses in embedded technology, VLSI, robotics, ethical hacking, protocol testing, machine designing and more are some specialized courses to name a few 

9.   Faculty / Teaching – Some colleges, particularly diploma and private colleges also hire B.Tech as faculty members 

10.Other Options – Options which are not related to engineering are always open e.g. write civil services exams, pursue your hobby as a profession, be a blogger, do a non-engineering job e.g. bank, marketing, artist etc

Overall engineering is one of the most versatile fields of study.  Even if you are not able to find suitable opportunity in your preferred career option, don’t be disheartened.  You can always calibrate your career path with proper research and guidance.

Have a good career.