Chemical Engineering

Think of a Chemical Engineer when you smell something bad!

Just like any other engineering discipline, Chemical Engineering too has wide scope in the industry. The opportunities range from the healthcare which is the most demanding in today's world to drug manufacturing, elimination of waste, textile industry, petroleum and petrochemical industry, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, paints, environmental health, etc. Chemical engineering is also related with other sciences like physics.

Wherever there is an involvement of chemicals in any areas like production, manufacturing, testing of manufactured products, treatment of waste etc., the chemical engineers have a role to play. While most of the chemical engineers work in the industrial sector, there are people who are interested in research and development in the industry as well as in academia. In most of the industrial sectors like manufacturing of footwear, dress materials, cosmetics etc. chemical engineers have good demand. Engineering knowledge with the mathematics and sciences is essential for working in the industrial sector, while working on big projects. Even in the manufacturing of detergent products, tooth care products, chemicals are involved. What more to say, in most of the packed food products have the chemicals included.

In producing the electronic parts too, there is a role of chemical engineer. Now a days, all the devices are becoming weightless while it has to compete in the market without reducing the quality and performance. Here, the chemical engineers will have to work on manufacturing the products on part with the quality. Even in consumer electronics, there is a role played by chemical engineer.

This profession or discipline is closely related with biotechnology.

Some of the important industries are:

                Agricultural Chemicals

                Drugs and Pharmaceuticals

                Industrial Gases & related products

                Painting industry including ink production

                Petrochemicals

                Petroleum Products

                Plastic industry

                Synthetic Resins and related products

                Polymers related with leathers, Tyre manufacturing, etc. 

                Paper industry

                Rubber and Rubber Products

                Cosmetics related industries such as Soaps, Perfumes, Fats, Oils, etc.

                Detergents based companies

                Synthetic Fibers, Textiles, and Films

In the recent times, nanosciences and nanomaterials also come under the purview of Chemical Engineering.

Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology:

This is more of a research area where the study is on the body of living cells and their biological changes. The objective here is to make products like insulin, antibiotics for certain diseases, artificial organs, etc. This area is also closer to the study of hybrid plants, as part of handling the living organisms. 

Chemical Engineering in relation with Civil & Construction industries

This is the field where the chemical engineers are required to design and built the industrial zones and places that can be operated with good safety mechanisms. All industrial plants are said to be efficient and safe only if the working environment is safe. Chemical engineers can easily identify the dangers in these places.  They will also have to work with the project managers who are from other disciplines, to setup an safe industrial plant.

Chemical engineers are also required in the aerospace and aeronautical industry to build spaceships, aircraft and the related components. Because of the variation in temperatures, the materials required for building these components can be selected only by a professional chemical engineer.

Choosing the best career

Climbing to the top demands strength, whether it is to the top of Mount Everest or to the top of your career – Abdul Kalam 

You can see a lot of websites in the internet that tells you about the degrees, disciplines, institutions and career. But here I am trying to make you think yourself about your inborn talents and taste. Whatever discipline you select – the selection must be out of your passion rather than the interest. Passion never fails, but interest does. To bring best output for any work done, passion is very much required. Towards the subjects you learn, towards the work you perform, passion plays a crucial role. Along with this, most required is the patience and enthusiasm. There is some way out each difficult situation. If you have passion towards what you learn, nothing can stop you from learning – even a bad teacher! 

Selecting suitable discipline for graduation is not that easy, but not impossible also. It is critical and important because this phase is the turning point in your life. When you think about graduation, you have to think about post graduation and also your ambition in life. That should be your goal in life – the long term goal. As a student this goal should drive you in demanding situations and success in your student life, till you reach the destination. People always advice their wards or relatives saying – you should go for “this” branch or “that” branch. Some of them talk about the “scope the branch in future” and “employment opportunities”. I would say that, these all are false imaginations. Looking at the current trend, think of what your area will make you after 10 years. 

I have seen that finally most of my students have ended up with some of the following: 
1. Research in Academic Institutions associated with teaching 
2. Research & Development in a corporate (any private company) 
3. Teaching & Research (any discipline) 
4. A business entrepreneur 
5. Research in Government institutions like ISRO, BARC, DIT, etc 
6. A government servant – IAS / IFS / IPS, etc. 
7. Joining the army / navy / air force 
8. A well paid job in banking / insurance / IT or any other sector – both private / public 

This may be the case with any of the students. If you wish to contribute something to the world within your limitations and constraints, I would say – go for one among the first seven. Before you choose any subject in graduation or post graduation, you have to think about what you want to be after 10 years. You may have to sacrifice a lot of time to think on this. It should be your assessment, only your own. You are completely responsible for this. Your parents, teachers, friends, relatives all may only supplement or fuel your thinking. It is essential that you have to strive to keep your foot strongly on the chosen areas to make your dreams come true. Always have a minimum of two alternatives – in case one doesn’t work out, you have the other. Use your intelligence to gather more information on your interested area. Now-a-days, most of the information is available in the internet. 

Few success stories 

I have seen my students performing well by running import-export business after graduating in computer science profession. Another best example – after doing electronics and communication engineering, one of my students joined an institution to learn movie direction – he was one of the toppers in the country to get admission in one among the of top ten film institutions in the country. His ambition is to direct movies in Indian screen. So it is the passion that drives you. Your ambition is your dream, your goal. 

I know one of my students – very strongly determined – who did computer science and joined a reputed IT company. Though he was not interested in IT job, he joined the IT company because there was no other choice. He is an excellent organizer, programmer, and a real “student”. Immediately after the training he felt that it is futile and simply threw the job. He is a brilliant student and wanted to use his skills for a higher and meaningful purpose. His aim was to join government organizations like ISRO. He was so deterministic that he took the challenge, struggled a lot and got through the selection procedure. Now he is one of the team members working to record the data received from the satellite. He shared his thrilling experience when the data is received from satellite deployed by Govt. of India. This should be the aim and right attitude in one’s life as a student. As of now, I would encourage to start own company in any areas of knowledge. There were a couple of students who graduated from one of the reputed engineering institutions in Tamil Nadu, way back in 2008. They wrote a code-checker program (code checker program is used to evaluate a software program written by programmers in a particular language.) to run the programming contest in their college. As usual, with several minor bugs, the program executed well. Now they are managing a reputed online start up offering recruitment services for the computer professionals. Many multinational companies in India now use their software as the platform to recruit computer programmers. All I am saying is determination on the goal, patience and enthusiasm keeps you alive throughout your career. Don’t stop! Keep going... Please comment after you read!

Choosing a career

How to choose a career in life?

When I used to teach computer science courses, the first thing I would do is ask the students about their interest and why they chose “Engineering” career – especially computer science.  Unfortunately, the answers were quite unsatisfying.  Most of the students in the class joined engineering programme with the pressure from the parents or relatives.  In fact, courses should be selected based on your interest and mindset.  Before choosing the course, analyze yourself – direction of your thoughts, your deep inclination, and the topics of interest.  If your mindset has interest in multiple disciplines, better select a graduate specialization after an assessment.  For example, Mechanical Engineering has all the fundamental subjects in engineering, when compared with all other disciplines.  I have seen students ending up their career with IT industry, after doing their B.Tech / BE in Mechanical Engineering.  They are usually brilliant programmers or creative developers.

Truly speaking, an engineer’s life should not end with software development.  Software development is for those who complete computer science / application programmes like B.Sc. (CS), BCA, MCA, etc.  They are basically computer scientists and or computer application developers.  But not essentially engineers.  An engineer should be able to manufacture or assemble a computer by in his own.  He should have a good command over the latest technology and be updated in the field which he is employed.

Let me tell you, the number of years taken to graduate is less than 10% of your total life span. At the same time, it is the foundation for the entire life.  So, what ever you are in, you should be able to perform well.  Students get admitted into graduation irrespective of their choice or interest.  Finally what one can do is to perform well in the field of their respective graduation.  After graduation, you should be able to turn towards different dimensions in your area of interest.

How to choose your subject in graduation?

I would say that it completely depends on your interest.

Parents think in such a way that which subject is easy to earn a job.  But mind you, it is equally difficult to maintain a job too.

You should at least have a minimum of three options to choose from.  Given a situation, you should be able to choose one of these or a combination among these.  For any subject you choose, there are job opportunities, but it depends on your performance at the end of the day.

For an engineer after doing +2, he/she can:

B.Tech / B.E – > M.Tech / ME -> Ph.D-> Research Scholar / Teacher

B.Tech-> MBA -> industrial job.

B.Tech-> IT Company / Core Engineering company->MS in specialized subject-> Ph.D.

There are only two places where you end up with – academia or industry.

Effort of students is 75% and that of teacher is 25%.  Always try to achieve and then enjoy.  In a choice based credit and continuous evaluation system, the student's role is to learn for number of hours equivalent to number of credits registered.

Generally, first year is the basics courses in engineering, second year is the basics courses on the specialization, third year is the core courses in engineering and then with projects, electives, etc.

Assignments, Labwork, Mini and Major projects shall be given equal importance throughout.

Usually, there is a tendency among students to compare themselves with others.  Comparison is good in a way that it is with good students (good means comparatively a brilliant student in the class).  But just the opposite happens every time.  Students always compare themselves with those who are in a lower level.  This is not correct.  It is necessary that students compare one with their higher level and try to compete with them, a healthy competition.  Nothing to do with a kind of jealousy, hatred, etc. When I used to ask students about their marks, they immediately say that "class average is less sir".  But that is not the answer why they got less marks. When we study, it is for our own knowledge and not to dump information on the examination answer sheets.  If you are in a college just to vomit the information in an answer book after eating it from the text book, why waste money and your valuable time?  There are lot of other things a student can do! Just like Google / FaceBook CEOs!  Invent, Discover, Innovate!!  That is also not bad!

Be clear about your goal in the first year itself.  Mind you, your brilliance and talent can be developed only during the graduation. You have the energy and freedom only during this time and not after that.  Learn a lot, learn as much as you can and then put it in practice.  Have a short term goal in the first year.  What are you going to be after four years.  Always be ambitious, don't be sluggish!.  Aim for higher goals and struggle!  That struggle must be your inspiration to reach the goal.  Just like a mountaineer climbing to reach the heights.  Every work has its own difficulty.  But it depends on how you approach the situation.  Each and every situation can be tackled. It all depends on your.  Be deterministic.  Some times we lose, but never give up! So, first year, you have to struggle.  There is no other way.  This is mainly because when you are released after your +2, it is your turning point in life - new environment, new people, new subjects, teachers, new place, everything.  Self confidence is very much needed to approach this situation.  Especially for those who stay in the hostels...

Civil Engineering

Behind construction of anything under the sun, there is brain of Civil Engineer.

A civil engineer is expected to design, supervise and built the roads, massive buildings, dams and water reservoirs, bridges, drainage systems, water supply, tunnels, airports, railway stations, etc. Civil and Environmental Engineers are almost close in the profession.  The reason is that while constructing anything in this planet, one has to think about the effect of environment as well effect on environment.  One has to ensure that the environment is not badly affected because of the construction and at the same time, ensure that the natural calamity will not damage the construction. Especially while constructing dams, bridges and roads etc. in hilly areas, this is important. Civil engineers are also responsible for analyzing the cost as well as the construction to deliver the best in minimum time.

Being the oldest disciplines in engineering, civil engineers play a critical role in city planning - like building of flyovers for smooth traffic, drainage systems for the cities, construction of roads to be built with a vision for next few years, etc.  We can see that in recent times, Indian road have become over crowded and there enough space in roads in most of the cities for the smooth travel and parking of vehicles. Though it may not be a direct involvement in construction, in administering the city also, civil engineers have a major role to play. As the population move from the urban areas to the rural areas the city limits expands and it makes variations in the balance of environment through construction of new roads and transportation systems becoming the major requirements of expansion.

Mechanical Engineering

Behind each machine you see, there is a brain of mechanical engineer!

Mechanical Engineering is believed to be the broadest and oldest branch in engineering disciplines. The focus of mechanical engineering discipline is on the design, manufacturing of all types of mechanical devices. It involves the application of heat and energy, materials, sciences, mathematics and all fundamental principles of engineering.  When compared with other branches, this branch is flexible, broader and has an individuality. A mechanical engineer has a wide range of opportunities available from all the mechanical devices, machines, systems used under the earth, ship technology, aviation, robotics, space vehicles, nuclear power, missiles, arms, weapons and so on. I have also seen some mechanical engineers involved in Information Technology too.  Mechanical Engineers can involve in

• Research
• Design
• Development
• Manufacturing
• Testing

of machines, engines, refrigerators, air conditioners, combustion engines, gas turbines, and any mechanical devices. It can also include machines that produce power and energy, escalators, industrial and domestic elevators, machine tools and even robots.  

Computer Science Engineering

M.Tech in Computer Science Engineering

Even after the successful completion of B.Tech programmes and placements getting dull because of the recent economic downturn in India students tend to move for M.Tech either by attending the GATE or otherwise.  Career after M.Tech is also promising as there are so many opportunities for the M.Tech graduates in the public sector, industrial sector as well as in the government agencies. After M.Tech, there is a good chance of getting into teaching and research in the academia. Product based companies are also looking for smart students who successfully complete M.Tech. Scope of getting into the public state understakings for centrally funded departments is also more. Organizations like ISRO, DRDO, Department of Information Technology, etc. seek smart graduates provided you are promising. While doing M.Tech, number and quality of research papers published during the course shape your future. The innovative and analytical research assignments done during the M.Tech programme is the path towards your career after the M.Tech graduation.

Electronics & Communication Engineering

M.Tech Specialisations in Electronics

In India, there is a belief that electronics and communication is the best branch in B.Tech. While this is true, other branches too have the same or equal chances of getting jobs as well as higher education prospects. There are wide range of opportunities available for an electronics graduate, after completing the engineering. With the tremendous growth of communication systems and technologies in recent times, there are large number of M.Tech specializations offered by premier institutions in India.  The technological development has also lead to create more job opportunities for electronics graduates. VLSI is the one of the most preferred specialization by electronics and communication graduates. With the growth of mobile consumer electronic market, scope is high for getting a good profile job in the industry.  If you wish to pursue a teaching career after M.Tech in any branch of electronics, VLSI is also a good option. Later in teaching profession, it is possible to select a topic and do a research.

Electrical & Electronics Engineering

M.Tech in Electrical & Electronics Engineering

With the acute demand for the power growing every day, demand for electrical engineers is also growing day by day. Where ever we look, there is not a single device in the everyday life that doesn't use power. Now, solar energy generation is growing with a good pace. There is good demand for B.Tech Electrical & Electronics Engineering branch in India too. Unfortunately, the tendency among the students is to get into information technology companies after their graduation.  This makes them leave the core electrical background to code testing / software development or similar IT jobs. The main objectives of electrical and electronics engineers is to get involved in innovation / research in the field of power generation / manufacturing of equipment,   etc.  Just like any other product, this too has the design phase, development phase, testing, etc.  Manufacturing of power generators which are widely used in the industry need good engineers for its efficient development.

Electrical engineers are also involved in the design of electronic equipment and devices too. From common man’s point of view, for the electrical wiring of a huge building needs good expertise so that the design is efficient enough to carry the power without any wastage. Electrical engineers can also play a vital role in the manufacturing of vehicles in the automotive industry.  Apart from automotive, they have ample opportunities to work with robotics, aviation industry.  Electrifying an aircraft is not an easy job. It requires a good knowledge of the electrical engineering domain.  To manufacture electrical motors used for the domestic purposes, those in the consumer electronics also needs the help from the electrical engineers. Control systems, instrumentation that has been playing a critical role in the healthcare sector has also created a demand for the electrical engineers. Any electronic device manufacturing company will need an electrical engineer to develop a complete product. This is one of the branches where there is equal importance given in both the academia as well as the industrial sector.