Engineering branches: What’s in demand?

After Independence, India made significant strides in science and technology, and the demand for engineering as a profession surpassed that of most other professions. Many young people aspired for medicine or civil services, but these fields were considered very difficult to enter and succeed in. Hence, engineering became the first choice of the majority of intelligent and high-scoring students, particularly boys.

The establishment of pioneering institutions, such as IITs and NITs (then known as RECs), further attracted the brightest minds. Simultaneously, the number of engineering branches continued to increase. Three decades ago, there were 30-40 options, and most of them were in demand.

With the turn of the century, the IT revolution changed the landscape, and Computer Science Engineering gradually became the most popular field. Due to restrictions imposed by universities on each branch, colleges began to establish allied branches, such as Information Science and Data Sciences, which were only slight variations in terms of syllabus.

Explosion of courses

The last two years have seen an explosion of branches related to AI, ML, robotics, cybersecurity, IoT, blockchain, VLSI, Automation, Cloud Computing, and similar options within the IT field. K-CET now offers more than 90 IT-related courses, all of which are in high demand. Other branches that were once popular, such as Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil, have slowly declined in demand, and some others, like biotechnology, chemical, and metallurgy, have negligible takers, even in reputed engineering colleges.

For instance, a reputed college in Electronic City discontinued offering Mechanical and Civil branches three years ago and increased its intake of computer science-related courses to more than 1,000. A similar scenario is seen in other colleges, from the most reputable to the average ones.  According to newspaper reports, Karnataka is offering a total of 1,51,436 engineering seats across 245 colleges for the academic year 2025-26, which is 10,427 more than the previous year. Since only 2,62,195 candidates have qualified for the engineering stream, and some students may opt for other courses, it is likely that almost every student can get admission in some college or another.

The issue is that demand for computer engineering and related courses, such as AI and ML, continues to grow at a rapid pace, and the number of seats in these disciplines has also increased steadily over the past few years. A prediction suggests that in 2030, the engineering fields expected to be in high demand will include Computer Science (encompassing AI, ML, and Data Science), Renewable Energy, Biomedical Engineering, Cybersecurity, and Aerospace Engineering.

There are concerns that some colleges may be increasing CSE seats beyond their infrastructure and faculty capacity, and that the job market may not be able to absorb all of them. The Karnataka government is reportedly reviewing the situation to potentially freeze the increase in CSE-related seats. Some time ago, there was an expectation of a revival of traditional engineering courses, but many colleges are still approaching the government to request either a reduction in seats or the closure of branches, such as mechanical and civil engineering.

The final seat matrix is yet to be released, and officials confirmed that the decision to reduce or close certain courses has already been made. Any increase in seats—especially for AI and related fields—will be reflected only after all colleges have submitted their data. Some colleges have yet to upload their seat matrices, and a few are still awaiting approval from the AICTE. Once that is done, the total number of available seats may rise.

Placement meltdown

Although most colleges do not wish to admit it, unofficially, they acknowledge that campus placements have been steadily declining. A reputed deemed university announced in the media that its campus placement is going smoothly, but final-year students from the same college stated that recruitment is still ongoing for the previous year’s batch, and they have not had any opportunities so far. A few college management have declared that their mechanical engineering graduates have been placed, while Computer Science graduates are still waiting for job offers.

Large IT companies used to recruit engineering students from other branches and train them in IT-related work; however, this practice has largely ceased, as many of them have reduced the number of candidates they recruit annually. Additionally, many reputable companies offered letters to fresh graduates, but for months afterwards, they did not extend a call to actually come and join. A top IT company recruited thousands of engineers but, after a few months of training in their Training Centre, found them unfit and sent them back, shattering the dreams of these young boys and girls who had already celebrated their selection in the well-known company. 

However, the demand for AI studies is growing rapidly at present, although it is difficult to predict how useful the new crew will be to their employers, given their basic knowledge, and whether this bubble will burst in the future.

Even the much-hyped IITs, NITs, BITS Pilani, and IIITs have struggled to maintain 100 per cent campus placement for the past two years. A student who completed Chemical Engineering this year from IIT Guwahati was unable to secure employment in his core sector or at IT companies and has settled for a marketing job with a modest salary.

These setbacks have already begun to affect the enrollment in engineering courses. In 2024, the KEA/CET quota (Cat 1) had 13,650 vacant seats (i.e., 17 per cent of the total 79,907 seats), and in the COMED-K quota (Cat 2), there were as many as 18,726 vacant seats, constituting 71 per cent of the 26,373 seats on offer.

The students I meet say they would like to pursue other branches of engineering than those related to IT, although a majority are still keen on IT branches such as AI. AI and data science can be incorporated into other engineering courses, enhancing students' efficiency. The good news is that it is comparatively easier to get an engineering seat than it was a few years ago, but you must make wise choices based on your aptitude rather than the hype that is being created.