For students from the science stream, engineering is one of the most sought after career paths after 12th boards. In India, there are hundreds of engineering entrance exams for admission of candidates to premier engineering colleges across the country.
Among the most popular ones, Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE Main), formerly known as AIEEE exam, is conducted to select students for NITs and select IITs. This entrance exam is conducted by CBSE. Candidates can attempt JEE Main for a maximum of three times. The entrance test consists of two papers – Paper 1 and Paper 2. Paper 1 consists of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, and Paper 2 tests Mathematics, Drawing and Aptitude skills of candidates. For admissions to various IITs, JEE Advanced is the only entrance exam.
Candidates applying for the above engineering exams must have passed 12th board exams with Physics, Chemistry and Maths, along with English and one elective paper as subjects. Besides these, there also are many other engineering entrance exams that a student can apply for admissions to the many prestigious colleges like Birla Institute of Technology and Science Admission Test (BITSAT), Vellore Institute of Technology Engineering Entrance Examination (VITEEE), West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE), Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Entrance Examination (KIITEE), Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET), Andhra Pradesh Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test (AP EAMCET), among many others.
The entrance exams are held in the months from February to May. Engineering results are usually out by June-July and sessions start from August.
For those going for engineering as a career, there are several branches of engineering to choose from, such as electronics and communications engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, aeronautical engineering, civil engineering, etc.