Engineering, medicine and CA

Families call these the safe doors. They are good doors. Here is what each costs, and asks of you: the entrance, the degree, the fees at government and private colleges, the pay after five and ten years, and who each suits.

• EngineeringB.Tech or BE, 4 yearsCost varies hugely. An IIT B.Tech costs about 12 lakh in total, private colleges 25 lakh or more, and about 11 lakh students start engineering each year, so the college matters as much as the branch.
• MedicineMBBS, 5.5 yearsMBBS costs almost nothing at AIIMS but up to 1 crore privately. About 22 lakh sit NEET-UG for about 1.4 lakh MBBS seats, and most doctors add an MD or MS.
• Chartered AccountancyCA: Foundation, Inter, FinalCA is the cheapest of the three doors, about 50,000 in fees to ICAI, yet only about 1 in 6 clears Final at each attempt.