New Delhi, 14 July 2022 – Engineering graduates in India often grapple with the question “what to do after BTech?” In the first two years of engineering, a BTech student adjusts to the intense 10 am to 5 pm class routine followed by completing assignments and projects, participating in co-curricular activities, and socialising. In the third and fourth year, after an engineering student has become comfortable in his/her choice of engineering specialisation and completed an internship (generally compulsory for BTech students), the next focus becomes ‘career’.
It is during this time that engineering students seek counselling, ask around, talk to friends and faculties, and even scour the internet for answers. Some find what they are looking for, while others just choose to go with the flow.
To make the process easier for a graduate engineer, we present a few routes that one can take after BTech.
These include:
- Joining the job market,
- Going for higher education,
- Upskilling to attract better prospects,
- Starting a company, and
- Opting for internships to make oneself more employable
No particular route is better than the other. Thus, take it easy engineers! Whether you choose to take an entry-level job, go for higher education, or choose to prepare for a competitive exam, every route holds the same level of importance as any other provided in this article. Therefore, we recommend graduate engineers to go through the article and choose for themselves.
What to Do After BTech? Route 1 – Get a Job After BTech!
For candidates thinking what to do after BTech, the most obvious career choice after completing a BTech degree is to land a well-paying job. Candidates who are in their final semesters or have completed their degrees can start hunting for employment opportunities.
Jobs after BTech can be landed through traditional routes like on campus placements or through popular online job boards like LinkedIn, Monster Jobs, Indeed, Naukri, among others. BTech graduates can look for engineering jobs in their particular fields/streams or even go cross-stream and find a job in other fields that they are interested in. However, for that, they need to acquire the skills relevant in that particular industry.
For example, mechanical engineers can get selected into civil engineering jobs after BTech. Likewise, many BE and BTech graduates find themselves getting selected for IT engineer jobs despite the fact that they do not have an IT or CS degree.
Fundamentally, there are only two ways one can get a job after BTech. These are on campus and off campus placements.
How to Prepare for On Campus Placement After BTech?
On campus placements are one of the easiest ways to get a job after BTech. However, these are also one of the most stressful times for students to cope with. There are expectations from both family and faculties, while at the same time the student also has to take out ample time for studies.
To get a job through on campus placement after BTech, students need to:
- Be Self-Aware and Work on Aptitude – Candidates who figure out their strengths and weaknesses have more chances of getting selected. Ensure that your communication skills, domain knowledge, logical reasoning, and quantitative ability skills are on-point for the first round of interviews.
- Know the Company – Candidates must learn everything they can about the company. This way, they will be ready for any questions that come their way and leave a lasting impression on the recruiter.
- Be Humble and Professional – Humility goes a long way while forging a career. Recruiters like down-to-earth and humble candidates with professional body language and verbal skills. Be humble and respond sincerely during the interviews and group-discussion rounds.
Once candidates get these pointers down, they will be ready to ace on campus placements after BTech. So, take it easy engineers! It is a smooth process once the inner conflict of appearing for an on campus placement is solved. The question “What to do after BTech?” then does not seem that confusing or full of ordeals.
How to Prepare for Off Campus Placement After BTech?
Another method to get engineering jobs is to aim for off campus placements. These are the same as on campus placements and the only difference is that candidates have to visit the companies instead of the companies visiting the students for recruitment.
The secret to acing off campus placements lies in proper research. Candidates have to track and find the firms that are looking for the skills that they possess. They must also figure out the current bracket for engineer salary in India and be ready to negotiate for that.
This can be done by:
- Visiting a job board like LinkedIn or Naukri.
- Using the search bars to filter for positions that candidates are interested in.
- Checking if they fulfil the eligibility criteria for these positions.
- Applying for the jobs with a resume and cover letter.
Once applied, candidates will be called for entrance tests and interviews. These can be taken from home or by visiting the company – depending on the recruiter’s preference.
10 Job Websites for Engineering Graduates in India
Here is a list of 10 of the most-popular job websites that engineers can utilise for job placement:
- Naukri
- Indeed
- Glassdoor
- Shine
- Times Jobs
- Freshers World
- Monster India
- Jobrapido
- Simply Hired
What Salary Do BTech Graduates Get After Campus Placement?
Engineer salary in India that candidates receive after BTech depends heavily on the streams they have completed their graduation in as well as the type of job. For example, IT engineers and software developers get paid more than civil or mechanical engineers on average.
Thus, before applying for a job, it is recommended that candidates do their due-diligence and figure out what job type they would prefer to do. This heavily depends on one’s engineering domain and varies as per different types of engineering (IT, mechanical, civil, petroleum, chemical, electrical, automobile, among others) and skills.
Here is a list of the top-paying engineering branches and their starting range for engineer salary in India:
| Top-Paying Engineering Branches | Starting Salaries |
| Computer Science Engineering | INR 4 to INR 11 LPA* |
| Civil Engineering | INR 3 to INR 8 LPA |
| Mechanical Engineering | INR 2.5 to INR 7 LPA |
| Industrial Engineering | INR 3 to INR 6 LPA |
| Petroleum Engineering | INR 3 to to INR 9 LPA |
| Textile Engineering | INR 2 to INR 5 LPA |
| Automobile Engineering | INR 3 to INR 8.5 LPA |
| Agricultural Engineering | INR 2.5 to INR 6.5 LPA |
| Aerospace Engineering | INR 6 to INR 12 LPA |
| Metallurgical Engineering | INR 4 to INR 7 LPA |
| Electronic and Communication Engineering | INR 3 to INR 9 LPA |
| Electrical Engineering | INR 3.8 to INR 6.7 LPA |
*LPA – Lakhs per Annum
Note: These are starting salaries as per Glassdoor.com and can be more or less than the given range depending on the candidate’s skills and the institutions they have graduated from. Students from some of the best engineering colleges in India like IITs, NITs, IIITs, and other prestigious institutions receive much higher salaries than what is elaborated in the table given above.
Here is a pictorial representation of the average (fresher) engineer salary in India for all of the abovementioned engineering branches in lakh per annum (LPA):
Source: Glassdoor.com
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What to Do After BTech? Route 2 – Go for Higher Education!
Another option that comes up when students think “what to do after BTech?” is opting for higher education. This is one of the best options for engineering graduates in India, as it gives them more avenues to grow, increase their knowledge, and acquire skills that they would need in the future.
The two most time-tested and popular higher education options for BTech graduates are – (a) Going for an MTech after BTech & (b) Pursuing an MBA after BTech.
Going for an MTech After BTech
Master in Technology (MTech) is the post-graduation degree that engineering graduates pursue after BTech. The course is for engineers who want to continue their education in the technical domain and add more skills to their arsenal.
It is a two-year course and is considered the next level after engineering. In BTech, the whole curriculum is divided into several subjects, while in MTech a single subject becomes the specialisation for the student. This makes them experts in their domains.
Reasons for Choosing MTech After BTech
Engineering graduates in India go after MTech mainly for the two purposes.
- A Lucrative Career – After graduating from M Tech, students are offered senior positions in their particular industries that come with better salaries. Rather than being selected as a graduate engineer trainee, one is selected for higher, better-paying posts.
- Research – BTech holders also opt for MTech so that they can pursue research in their specialisations. These students further go for doctoral degrees and often enter the field of teaching.
MTech After BTech Salary
Where BTech graduates (as freshers) earn from a minimum of 3 LPA to a maximum of 12 LPA, MTech graduate salary (fresher) ranges from 6 LPA to 15 LPA+ (source: payscale.com).
This can go even higher if the candidates have more skills or have graduated from Tier-1 institutes (in other words, from some of the best engineering colleges in India) like IITs, NITs, and others.
Going for an MBA After BTech
A Master in Business Administration (MBA) program is essentially intended to teach advanced concepts and practices required in the management of a business.
Through this program, candidates learn how to manage businesses of all types – ranging from general to banking, accounting, big corporate, startups, marketing, human resources, and many more.
MBA has emerged as the advanced base of business learning and an MBA degree is a good way to accelerate one’s career.
Reasons for Choosing MBA After BTech
Engineering graduates choose to go for an MBA after BTech so as to be exposed to a wide variety of opportunities in various fields.
MBA degree holders are directly recruited at managerial and leadership positions like Brand Managers, Social Media Managers, Digital Managers, Team Managers, HR Managers, Team Leaders, Head of Departments, and more.
MBA After BTech Salary
Completing an MBA after BTech makes one extremely employable. This is why graduates who have received both of these degrees earn 30% to 70% more than BTech/MTech graduates. In fact, some of the highest-paid employees in corporate India are the ones who have the BTech-MBA combination.
MBA after BTech salary ranges from an average of 9 LPA to more than 30 LPA for freshers. Here is a list of a few BTech-MBA degree holding profiles and their starting salary ranges:
| Job Profile | Salary in LPA (INR) |
| Financial Analyst | 8.95 LPA to 12 LPA+ |
| Operations Manager | 7.65 LPA to 15 LPA+ |
| Data Processing Manager | 14.56 LPA to 18.78 LPA+ |
| Chief Technology Officer | 29.4 LPA to 40 LPA+ |
| Business Analyst | 9.70 LPA to 13.54 LPA+ |
| Senior Product Manager | 23.74 LPA to 50 LPA+ |
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What to Do After BTech? Other Routes!
Apart from the job and education routes, there are three more routes for candidates to choose.
These are:
- Internships
- Upskilling
- Entrepreneurship
Internships After BTech
Most students pursue internships during BTech rather than after graduation. However, there are a certain number of students who benefit from internships, as these allow them to fill up their skill gaps.
This mostly comes in handy when trying to land a job in a different stream. For example, a student from mechanical engineering wants to land a position in the CS or IT domain. For that, they can learn the basics of programming and then get 2-3 short-term internships. Having the internship certificate will then help them land a job they are interested in.
The same is true for other engineers who are pondering what to do after BTech. They can switch streams in jobs easily from Automobile to Mechanical, Mechanical to Automobile, Electrical to Chemical Physics, and more. Candidates can even get government-offered AICTE internships. For that, they can visit the AICTE internship portal.
Upskill After BTech
Sometimes candidates might want to shorten their employment journeys by finding a well-paying job. For that, the best way is to upskill after BTech. Engineering graduates can easily find certifications and diploma courses in their domains.
For example, someone with a BTech in Data Science can find multiple certification courses in their field. The same is true for students in other types of engineering – Mechanical, Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, among others.
Here are a few platforms where students can find the best certificate courses for BTech students:
- Coursera
- Simplilearn
- UdaCity
- Skillshare
- LinkedIn Learning
- Udemy
- MasterClass
- eDX
Entrepreneurship After BTech
Entrepreneurship has come out as one of the hottest career options in today’s India. The success stories of numerous engineers who started their own companies have inspired more youngsters to dream of becoming entrepreneurs.
Plus, the education and peer-support that graduates receive during engineering enables them to have enough confidence to not shy away from their dreams.
However, the only downside of “being your own boss” is that students will have to work a lot more than they need to while being employed by someone else. Plus, a ton of patience is also required to make the company a success.
If an engineering graduate is okay with these challenges and has an idea they feel can be profitable and marketable, they can choose to start their own company.
What to Do After BTech? Pros and Cons
FAQs
Can I pursue an MBA after MTech?
Of course, candidates can pursue an MBA after MTech as well. In fact, doing so might bring one a higher salary in comparison to just MTech/MBA after BTech.
How can I increase my salary without changing my job?
A graduate engineer, graduate engineer trainee, or any other working professional can increase his/her salary by upskilling. As one can easily earn a higher engineer salary in India if they have the requisite skills, engineers only need to gain more skills (through certifications) and they will be able to increase their income.
Should I opt for on campus or off campus placement? Which is better?
None is better than the other! The only requisite of selecting either of the two is to check which one offers a better paycheck and gives the graduate engineer a better chance to work for a reputed, well-paying company.
How do I get a job after engineering?
Graduate engineers can get a job after engineering either by on campus placement or by off campus placement. They need to be well-versed in their area of interest, be confident & humble, and research well on the firm where they are appearing for an interview.
Do engineers work in banks?
The banking sector offers a plethora of job opportunities to candidates from all varieties of backgrounds, including engineering. That being said, most engineers who work in the banking sector have an MBA in Banking or Finance.
Can I get a government job after engineering?
Of course! Many government agencies require engineers to take care of a large number of processes and departments. However, most of these agencies require a GATE score apart from a degree. Thus, graduate engineers are requested to crack the GATE exam before appearing for any government engineering recruitment.
Which course is best after BTech?
Although there is no single course that’s considered the best after BTech, fundamentally, there are two basic routes that are often advised to BTech graduates in India - MTech and MBA. One can go for any one of these - or both (MTech then MBA) - based on their interest and aptitude.
