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ENGINEERS

The Indian engineering profession could be in better shape.

Firstly, the quality of new graduates varies somewhat. In the absence of a stringent examination for professional status (like the Chartered Engineer exams in the UK), it can sometimes be difficult to select the most promising personnel.

How useful the Master’s programmes are for commerce and industry is also debatable. As with elsewhere in the world, engineering graduates are turning away from the engineering profession, either to information technology or to business. An MBA has more earning power, unfortunately, than an engineer.

The civil engineering profession has suffered from a bad image due to instances of corruption in the contractor’s guilds and the public service. This has perhaps been an influence on the drop in new entrants to civil engineering courses at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), even though the requirements for roads, railways, airports, harbours, hydropower etc. has increased dramatically.

On the other hand, thanks to a tougher selection process in the IIT), the quality of those undergraduates who do choose engineering is on the up. Though a degree in engineering is not necessary for an IT job, many employers still rate this Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) very highly.

In summary, however, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find young and competent Indians who want a career in engineering. And in order to achieve some kind of internationally-recognised standards, a stricter examination system on the UK Chartered Engineer model needs to be introduced.