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Beyond Doctor, Engineer, CA

Chapter 5

Engineering after 12th

B.Tech or BE, 4 years

Families call these the safe doors. Here is what each costs, and asks of you.

  1. 1 Entrance

    JEE Main, JEE Advanced

  2. 2 Degree

    B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology), 4 years

  3. 3 Work

    Software or core engineer

You study
One branch, such as computer science, electrical, mechanical or civil
Open to
Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics
Total cost
About 12 lakh at an IIT; 25 lakh or more at private colleges

What it is really like

4 pm, a lab: a second-year student debugs a circuit that worked yesterday. Most graduates join software firms; core engineers work on plants and sites.

How you get in

  • JEE Main

    Joint Entrance Examination Main: Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, sat by about 15 lakh students.

  • JEE Advanced

    The IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology) entrance, open only to top JEE Main scorers.

  • Class 12 rule

    NITs (National Institutes of Technology) and IIITs (Institutes of Information Technology) need 75 per cent or your board's top 20 percentile.

Where to study

Top, government

IITs

About 2 lakh a year in tuition

Other, government

NITs and IIITs

About 1.25 lakh a year

Private

BITS Pilani; Manipal; VIT

Up to 5 to 6 lakh a year

After the degree

Pay over time: Software

Start

5 years

10 years

Pay over time: Core engineering

Start

5 years

10 years

Yearly pay in rupees. Pay varies widely; treat every figure as a range.

Leads to

Software engineerCore engineerAnalystM.Tech or MBA later

About 11 lakh start engineering each year, so the college matters as much as the branch.

Top colleges and what it takes

IITs admit on JEE Advanced rank and NITs on JEE Main rank, both through JoSAA. A closing rank is the rank of the last student admitted: if yours is lower (better), you would have got in. NIT figures are for the Other-State (OS) quota; the Home-State quota usually closes later. Every figure is General (OPEN), gender-neutral, from the final JoSAA 2025 round (round 6).

  1. IIT Bombay

    Mumbai · Government · NIRF 2025 Engineering #3

    JEE Advanced

    CSE closed at AIR 66 (General, gender-neutral, JoSAA 2025 round 6) source

  2. IIT Delhi

    New Delhi · Government · NIRF 2025 Engineering #2

    JEE Advanced

    CSE closed at AIR 126 (General, gender-neutral, JoSAA 2025 round 6) source

  3. IIT Madras

    Chennai · Government · NIRF 2025 Engineering #1

    JEE Advanced

    CSE closed at AIR 171 (General, gender-neutral, JoSAA 2025 round 6) source

  4. IIT Kanpur

    Kanpur · Government · NIRF 2025 Engineering #4

    JEE Advanced

    CSE closed at AIR 271 (General, gender-neutral, JoSAA 2025 round 6) source

  5. NIT Tiruchirappalli (NIT Trichy)

    Tiruchirappalli · Government · NIRF 2025 Engineering #9

    JEE Main

    CSE closed at JEE Main CRL 1,449 for the Other-State quota and 4,569 for the Home-State quota (General, gender-neutral, JoSAA 2025 round 6) source

  6. NIT Karnataka (NIT Surathkal)

    Surathkal · Government · NIRF 2025 Engineering #17

    JEE Main

    CSE closed at JEE Main CRL 1,827 for the Other-State quota and 2,800 for the Home-State quota (General, gender-neutral, JoSAA 2025 round 6) source

  7. IIIT Hyderabad

    Hyderabad · Deemed · NIRF 2025 Engineering #38

    JEE Main (own counselling, not JoSAA) or UGEE

    CSE through the JEE Main route usually needs roughly a top-1,000 to 3,000 JEE Main rank (General, 2025, portal figures vary by round)(approx.) source

  8. BITS Pilani (Pilani campus)

    Pilani · Deemed · NIRF 2025 Engineering #11

    BITSAT

    B.E. Computer Science closed at a BITSAT score of 304/390 (final cut-off, 2025-26 admissions; BITS does not run category quotas) source

Cut-offs move every year and differ by category, quota and home state. Use them to judge the level, then check the official counselling data.

Which branch can my JEE rank get?Every IIT, NIT and IIIT branch against your rank, from the last JoSAA final round.Open Rank Finder

Is it for you?

Good fit if

  • you enjoy maths and physics and making things work
  • you will keep learning new tools for decades

Think twice if

  • you are choosing it only because friends are

Official links and free study material

Engineering: common questions

How do I get into Engineering after 12th?

JEE Main: Joint Entrance Examination Main: Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, sat by about 15 lakh students. JEE Advanced: The IIT (Indian Institutes of Technology) entrance, open only to top JEE Main scorers. Class 12 rule: NITs (National Institutes of Technology) and IIITs (Institutes of Information Technology) need 75 per cent or your board's top 20 percentile.

Which stream do I need for Engineering?

Open to PCM. Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

How much does Engineering cost in India?

About 12 lakh at an IIT; 25 lakh or more at private colleges. By college: IITs: About 2 lakh a year in tuition; NITs and IIITs: About 1.25 lakh a year; BITS Pilani; Manipal; VIT: Up to 5 to 6 lakh a year. Fees change every year; confirm in each official notice.

What is the salary after Engineering?

Software: 3 to 6 lakh to start, about 14 lakh after 5 years and about 22 lakh after 10 years. Core engineering: about 3 lakh to start, about 7 lakh after 5 years and about 12 lakh after 10 years (yearly, in rupees). Pay varies widely; treat every figure as a range.

Is Engineering a good career for me?

A good fit if you enjoy maths and physics and making things work, and you will keep learning new tools for decades. Think twice if you are choosing it only because friends are.

Source: Chapter 5 of the book. Notes and sources