Unpopular Choices: Off Beat Engineering Courses You Must Know

Engineering is one of the most popular career choices for students in India. However, the orthodox choices of streams get restricted to Computer Science Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering. Easy employment opportunity may be one reason for students choosing these courses more, even though the competition is high.

On the other hand, there are several courses in engineering that remain unexplored. Due to the lack of popularity and lesser colleges for these courses in India, the demand for these engineers is high. They not only get huge remuneration but also have enough scope for innovation. Before you make your final choice, take a look at these offbeat engineering courses.  

Petroleum Engineering: Petroleum engineering is one of the most well-paying streams of Engineering. Students are taught activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can either be crude oil or natural gas. Exploration and production fall within the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry. Moreover, now several countries are aiming at energy independence, thus, opening a plethora of opportunities for petroleum engineers.

Aerospace Engineering: Aerospace engineering is concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major overlapping branches, ‘aeronautical engineering’ and ‘astronautical engineering’. Both these branches of aerospace offer great career options to engineers. IIT, Bombay, Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) and many other colleges in India offer this course. 

Chemical Engineering: If you have an interest in all things in science, chemical engineering is for you. It is a branch of engineering that uses principles of chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology and economics to efficiently use, produce, design, transport and transform energy and materials. There are plenty of job opportunities after the course gets over. You can work as an analytical chemist, energy manager, environmental engineer, mining engineer and so on. IIT Bombay, Delhi, MIT and many other colleges offer this course in India.

Sound Engineering: If you thought science isn’t being creative, you are wrong. Creativity gives life to innovation. Sound Engineering is one such field of engineering which will honour the creative side of yours. It is a technical job that would require you to play with sound, mix and match and create a sound that blows people’s mind. Today, sound engineers are high in demand with the growing and changing taste of people in music and art. You can explore the world of cinema, music, broadcasting and many more with this branch.

Ocean Engineering: Did you know there exists ocean engineers too? Students who wish to join the Navy, ocean engineering can be an option for you. It is often misunderstood as maritime engineering, however similar, both are not the same. Colleges like Indian Maritime University (IMU), Chennai, Tolani Maritime Institute, Mumbai and many other institutes offer ocean engineering in their premises. According to payscale.com, the average salary for a marine engineer in India is Rs 6,18,713.

Agriculture Engineering: Agriculture is often considered a thing people from rural areas do. One of the most misunderstood branches of engineering, agricultural engineering is one where students learn about a range of technologies in harvesting the crops. In the reign of the current government, a lot of innovations and focus is being given to agriculture, opening doors of opportunity for agriculture engineers in farm machinery and soil management companies in India.

Photonics Engineering: The profession deals with light or photon, hence, photon engineers are responsible for completing the tasks and transforming the data based on the light. They can work as engineers, technicians or technologists, research officers in government and industry laboratories and as professional officers in universities and government offices. While pursuing this course, they are trained in fibre optics as well. They will find plenty of opportunities in the manufacturing industries related to the production of optics and electronics, manufacturing, design, research, development, systems and applications. 

IIT-Madras, IIT-Delhi, The International School of Photonics, CUSAT, Periyar EVR College (Affiliated to Bharthidasan University) Tamil Nadu, Rajarshi Shahu Mahavidyalaya, Department of Photonics, Latur, Maharashtra are some of the premier colleges in India offering Photonics engineering.

Sports Technology Engineering:  If you love sports, you may also try being a sports engineer. Sport is a growing profession and every day a new technology is born which relates to sports. As a result, sports technology engineering has achieved professionalism in recent times with the introduction of computer technology. Students are trained to create designs on the computer in order to create or develop the sports equipment. There are huge opening and opportunities in many sporting companies for sport technology engineers. 

MotorSports Engineering: Bachelor of Technology in motorsport engineering is a four-year undergraduate program. It offers specialisation in motorsport technology. 10+2 completed candidates are eligible to apply for this course. This interdisciplinary course caters to the needs of the motorsport industry. The average salary of the employed candidates in this industry is Rs 4,50,000 plus there are always opportunities worldwide.

Energy Engineering: Now more than ever, energy engineering matters the most. As a focus on utilising renewable engineering grows, the scope of energy engineering increases manifold in India and abroad. It is a multidisciplinary field which deals with the efficiency of energy, management facility, plant engineering, environmental compliance and alternative energy technologies. The average salary of an energy engineer is $71,535 as per payscale.com.

All the above-mentioned courses are unique, high paying and have huge opportunities in India and abroad. Make a well-informed decision while you surf through the courses.