My Tryst with Civil Engineering
Savisesh
After writing the common entrance test (CET) 2002 in Karnataka, I took up a seat in civil engineering in NITK Surathkal. I dont say that I took the seat out of my interest as I hardly had knowledge about the various branches of engineering, for me it was the college which drove me to take this seat. But I didnt have an idea how good my decision was.
With the initial fear of the 'goodness' of the branch and placements (which are always the two concerns any student would have), I joined NITK in 2002 and from there on as time progressed I realized I hadnt made a wrong choice. Civil Engineering is the broadest and the oldest engineering disclipine after military engineering. It focuses on the infrastructure of the world which include Water works, Sewers, Dams, Power Plants, Transmission Towers/Lines, Railroads, Highways, Bridges, Tunnels, Irrigation Canals, Traffic Control, Industrial Plant Buildings, Skyscrapers, etc.
The course break-up in civil engg at NITK can be broadly divided into geology, basic construction, study of important construction materials in detail, fluid mechanics, soil mechanics, surveying, designing (steel, concrete etc), irrigation, transportation, engg drawing related to these subjects and a wide range of electives. This branch basically needs a candidate to be good at mathematics and natural sciences.
The NITK Civil dept has an experienced teaching faculty ready to help the students at any time. This steered us to do great in our subjects. So our first concern about the branch was solved. The next concern was our placements. This was answered as we saw our seniors getting placed batch by batch.
NITK is known for its excellent placements throughout the country. We had seen core companies visiting our campus and our seniors getting placed. The Placements only improved for every batch. Even many of the IT gaints were open for civil. Due to some personal reasons i took up a software job, but 40 % of my batchmates were comfortably placed in core companies like L&T, GMR and many other construction companies.
Govt. organisations like HAL, DRDO etc. also recruite civil engineers. Many civil engg. students do an MS or Phd from foreign universities after appearing for GRE. Some do M Tech in the IITs and get into core civil engineering desciplines.
Civil engineers across India are also opting for courses in construction management. This is a growing feild since the infrastructure development in India is in full swing and is expected to be like this for many years to come. The other option that many civil engineers take up is to write CAT and get into management institutes like IIMs, NITIE, MDI etc.