One of the most sought after career prospects after completing the class 12th examination is an Engineering degree. Engineering courses find their roots in the Indian subcontinent way back during the British rule because of the necessity in requirement of technical skill in maintaining and construction of public amenities like public roads, buildings, canals, ports etc. and also for skills required in usage and construction of military apparatus.
Thomason College of Civil Engineering was the first engineering college in India established in 1847, now known as IIT Roorkee. The Indian subcontinent is one of the largest countries to have engineering and produce engineers in large numbers.
Today there are about 900 government universities and 45000 colleges affiliated with these universities. All these colleges must obtain approval from AICTE (All India Institute for Technical Education). Autonomous organisations like IITs, IIITs and NITs do not require approval from UGC or AICTE.
Through the act of Parliament, they have full authority to decide on their curriculum, technical standards and fee etc. The engineering degree given after completing the four – year course is BE or BTech.
BE stands for Bachelor of Engineering and BTech implies Bachelor of Technology. Both are undergraduate level engineering courses offered in Indian universities. The difference between the courses is very minuscule. While BTech focuses more on fundamentals and advanced studies in a particular area, BE deals with fundamental studies. But the difference lies more in the way of delivering these subjects. Let have a look at the difference between BE and Btech courses.
Difference between BE and BTech
The comparison of BE and BTech courses are given in the following table.
| BE |
BTech |
|
| Full form | Bachelor of Engineering | Bachelor of Technology |
| Course structure | Focuses on the skill and fundamental concepts. Also involves the study of subjects from other related branches also. | It is more data-oriented and extends the study beyond fundamental and theoretical concepts to include practical knowledge as well. |
| Duration | Regular 4 year duration. 3 year duration for lateral entry. | Regular 4 year duration. 3 year duration for lateral entry. |
| Eligibility | 10+2 pass with Physics, Chemistry and Maths with major subjects and securing at least 50% marks.Need to clear college-specific entrance examinations. | 10+2 pass with Physics, Chemistry and Maths with major subjects and securing at least 50% marks. Need to clear certain entrance examinations like IIT JEE, GUJCET, etc. for getting admission to certain colleges. |
How to apply?
The procedure for applying to both degrees are the same. One must have passed class 12th with Physics Chemistry and Maths as their subjects. Lateral entry is also possible after doing a diploma which reduces the total duration of the curriculum from four years to three years.
JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) is the national level undergraduate entrance examination. Clearing this exam is required for getting admission into India’s premium institutes IITs (Indian Institute of Science and Technology). Various other colleges also accept the results of this exam for admission into their colleges.
Apart from JEE state-level engineering exams can also be taken up by the students for admission into state-wise engineering colleges like BITSAT, VITEEE, SRMJEE, AP EAMCET, WBJEE, etc. Some of the private institutes in India like Manipal Institute of Technology, Ramaiah College of Technology, PSG College of Technology conduct their own entrance examinations.
Some of the popular branches of engineering are as follows:
- Electronics and Communication Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Computer Science Engineering
- Information Technology
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Aeronautical Engineering
- Marine Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Biotechnology Engineering
- Automation and Robotics Engineering
- Mechatronics Engineering
- Material Science Engineering
Career and jobs in engineering
After successful completion of BE or BTech, there are a wide variety of domains where one can opt to choose his/her career. One can enter Public Sector Undertakings after clearing the GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) or can take up higher studies like ME (Master’s of Engineering) or MTech (Master’s of Technology). One can even pursue teaching in engineering colleges or choose to enter industries like IT, Manufacturing, automotive, chemical, construction, aviation, electronics, etc.
Categories of Engineering Institutes in India
National Level Institutes
These are funded by the Union Government of India and includes the IITs, NITs, and IIITs.
Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT)
These are located in 23 centres in India – Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Chennai, Mandi, Patna, Roorkee, Ropar, Dhanbad, Palakkad, Tirupati, Bhilai, Goa, Jammu, Dharwad and Goa.
National Institutes of Technology (NIT)
These are the next prestigious colleges after the IITs. They are autonomous institutes that draft their own curriculum. These are also called Regional College of Engineering or RECs. There are a total of 31 NITs in India which are located in Allahabad, Agartala, Bhopal, Hamirpur, Durgapur, Kozhikode, Jalandhar, Kurukshetra, Jamshedpur, Nagpur, Jaipur, Raipur, Patna, Rourkela, Silchar, Srinagar, Surathkal, Surat, Tiruchirapalli, Warangal, Yupia, New Delhi, Farmagudi, Imphal, Shillong, Aizawl, Karaikal, Dimapur, Ravangla, Srinagar and Tadepalligudem.
Apart from the above institutes, there are some other national institutes like Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), Indian Institutes of Engineering Science and Technology (IIESTs), Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani), Jadavpur University, Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh, Amrita School of Engineering, IET Lucknow, DTU and NSUT.
State-level institutes
As of 2021, 28 states and 8 union territories can find and fund their own state-level technical institutes which come under the control of the union government. These educational institutes must necessarily obtain AICTE approval for conformation to the engineering standards.
BE vs BTech – Conclusion
As seen from the above facts there is no major difference between these two degrees. BE focuses more on the fundamental concepts whereas BTech extends the fundamental knowledge at a practical level. The two degrees basically vary in terms of teaching methodologies.
However, BE is more valued than BTech when applied abroad. It is purely upto the technical institutes what degree they provide. The procedure for applying for an engineering degree is also the same whether it is BE or BTech. Therefore, in the current scenario, the name of the degree doesn’t matter anymore if the institutions which provide BE or BTech degree follow all norms of the AICTE regulatory body.
