Mining Engineering is a specialized field of engineering that is growing in popularity among aspiring engineers, who want to select a totally different career path apart from conventional subjects such as Computer Science, Chemical or Mechanical Engineering. Mining Engineering is the science of extraction and processing of essential natural minerals from the environment. The discipline involves the theory, the practice, the science, the technology, and application of extracting and processing minerals from natural sources and processing ores for additional value.

Mining Industry is witnessing growing importance of reclamation and recycling. Mining Engineering involves using the latest extraction technology to treat secondary sources like contaminated land, industrial & domestic waste and waste from previously mined deposits. It is a branch of engineering that is related to the study of application and techniques to extract and process valuable minerals from natural surroundings. Its process involves extraction of metallic, non-metallic ores of all kinds and solid fuels and energy sources such as coal and nuclear material.

Job Responsibilities of Mining Engineer:

There are various phases in mining processes starting from exploration, feasibility analysis, production, development, procession, marketing, final land restoration and rehabilitation. The main role of mining engineers is to apply scientific theory, engineering techniques and improved technology to find sites containing naturally occurring minerals & petroleum and extract these resources. Mining Engineers ensure environment friendly, safe and economic extraction of minerals and resources making them highly demanded professionals who are offered reputed job profile with lucrative salary.  

Mining Engineers are involved in field work, which includes deep underground excavations as well as surface working in strip mines and quarries. Apart from that, they also plan and coordinate the operations of mining staff in order to ensure safety and efficiency.  A few of their important roles are as listed below:

Core subjects taught in Mining Engineering:

Top Mining Engineering institutions in India:

The duration of a full time UG course in Mining Engineering in India is 4 years. The best institutions for this course are:

Top recruiters of Mining Engineers:

The top recruiters of this sector are mainly private and government mining organizations. A few of the top recruiters are given below:

Job Profiles for Mining Engineers:

A successful graduate of this stream is one who has learnt enough to determine the profitability of a mine. Such skilled personnel are highly in demand and they might work as supervisors, mineral salespersons, environmental and health and safety managers. A few other career paths for Mining Engineers are as follows:

Scope of Mining Engineering:

Mining plays a key role in a nation’s economy and its importance is increasing every day because of the shortage of coal, petroleum, and other valuable minerals. Because of this the demand for advancements in Mining Industry is bound to improve and the human resource required for this task is still in a meager amount and there lies the scope for fresh Mining Engineers.

Mining Engineering contributes a lot in making use of a country’s natural resources and subsequently paving way to the country’s progress. Becoming a Professor or a lecturer of Mining Engineering department in an Engineering college is also a better option as it ensures a very bright future. After completing post graduation in Mining Engineering and clearing NET exam, you can teach this subject in universities and colleges.

Mining engineering encompasses a lot of subjects including chemistry, metallurgy, physics, safety and geology. It also introduces you to basic electrical and mechanical as they are part of the mining operation. More importantly, the primary focus of the course will be on mining principles which include exploration, extraction, rehabilitation and restoration. So go for it if you really wish to learn something new as well as rewarding!

Click here to read our previous post on career prospects of Bio Technology for budding engineers

What is Bio Technology?

Biotechnology is an upcoming popular career option among the student community. It is one of the very few rapidly growing areas of science that is gaining immense popularity recently. Biotechnology is application of biological principles and methodologies in latest technologies to bring new development. It is a fast growing and evolving field in science. Biotechnology can be defined as a set of powerful tools that employ living organisms to make or modify products, improve animals/plants, or develop microorganisms for specific purpose.

Biotechnology is a research oriented science which covers a wide variety of subjects like Genetics, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Immunology, Virology and Engineering.  With the introduction of industrial biotechnology and rising global interest in bio fuels, opportunities in this industry are increasing on a day to day basis. This branch of study is particularly beneficial in areas of medicine, chemical industries and agriculture & its associated industries.

Subjects covered in Bio Technology Engineering:

Just like any other course of engineering, during 1st and 2nd semesters, set of common Engineering subjects along with workshop sessions are present in the curriculum. The core subjects for Bio technology engineers are taught starting from the 3^rd semester of the engineering course as follows:

Important industries for Bio technology Professionals:

Since biotechnology is a vast field, there lies pool of opportunities for professionals of this branch of science across various sectors. Some of areas in which Bio technology engineers are employed are:

Planning, production and management are some of the areas in which bio technologists can also be employed.

Top recruiters for Bio-tech engineers:

There are a large number of companies in Indian biotechnological industry which extensively use biotechnological techniques and processes for developing and innovating processes and products. Here is a comprehensive list of top companies to work with:

Job Prospects for Bio Technology Engineers:

Biotechnology is a mixture of innumerous disciplines. Adding to that there is a great demand for biotechnical experts in countless organizations and industries. The biotechnological techniques are used extensively in Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Environment Conservation, Genetic Engineering, Health Care, Medicine and Industrial Research and Development.

Career opportunities for students in biotechnology are vast in both private and public sector undertakings. The career prospects widen up for post-graduate degree holders in biotechnology stream in number of industries. These days more and more qualified biotechnical professionals are engaged by several industries for the safe disposal of hazardous materials and for environment protection activities.

Career paths for Bio Technologists:

The Scope for the Biotechnology engineers, both in India and abroad is immense. A number of diversified job opportunities are available to Biotechnology graduates. Bio technologists can become an intense lab-based research interest to on-field business manager depending on his area of interest. The various other potential career paths for Bio Technology professionals are as follows:

Pay Scale for Bio Technology Engineers:

The compensation package for Bio Technology Engineers largely depends on your academic qualification, your area of specialisation and the college from which you have graduated. The average starting salary for a fresher is generally between 2.4 to 5 lakh Rupees per year.  However candidates with a Masters degree in Biotechnology tend to get better starting salary in comparison to students possessing just an under graduate degree in this field. With an increase in the level of experience, there is abundant scope of earning more in this exciting and inspiring profession.

The advantage of having a career in this field is that this industry is upcoming and constantly growing and provides worldwide scope in research activities. Since the scope for research is very wide and efficient work of Bio Technology Engineers are well received among multinationals. And with advent of globalization and liberalization many private businesses are exploring this field and have started heavily investing in it. It is safe to say that there are ample job opportunities for B.E./B.Tech. Biotechnology Graduates in private sector.

Click here to know more about Chemical Engineering discipline and its associated job opportunities

Chemical engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the engineering of chemicals to identify and resolve technical glitches. This branch of engineering is mainly concerned with the processes that convert raw materials or chemicals into some valuable and useful forms. Chemical engineers are also involved in fields such as nanotechnology and bio engineering.

If you pursue Chemical engineering in a sincere manner it is highly profitable and the scope of this industry in India is huge. A common myth is that the work conditions of chemical engineers are hazardous and unclean but in reality the chemical engineers work in safe environment and there is very less possibility of direct contact with chemicals.

Job Description of a Chemical Engineer:

So what exactly does a Chemical Engineer do in his daily work? The various duties of a chemical engineer are as follows:

Various industries to work for Chemical Engineers:

Chemical engineers work in both offices and laboratories depending upon the job requirements. They get an opportunity to work at industrial plants, refineries and locations where they monitor or direct chemical operations. They usually work with technicians and design professional or work on-site. The industries that primarily employ chemical engineers are as follows:   

Top recruiters of Chemical Engineers:

Being a Chemical Engineer the following are the dream companies to work for:

Pay Scale and Growth Forecast:

Employment of chemical engineers is projected to grow 4% from 2012 to 2022 a tad slower than the average for all occupations. At present the salaries of chemical engineers in India are very lucrative which will improve over a course of few years from now. Once you get into a Public Sector Unit (PSU) Organisation using your GATE score you can even get a hefty CTC of 11.6 lakh per annum. The amount of competition is also less as only 12,000 to 16,000 chemical engineers take GATE exam annually. But this may not be possible for everyone and so we need to gain ourselves enough experience to make our pay checks fatter.

Even though Chemical Engineering is considered to be a niche area, we have numerous fields of specialisation in it as well. You can explore jobs in materials, environment, petroleum or energy industry. To ascertain our fact we can say that most of the Safety Engineers in processing industry are either chemical or mechanical engineers and therefore getting a job must not be a big worry once you graduate in this stream. As of current situation a fresher out from college can expect an average salary of Rs. 25,000 per month to Rs. 30,000 per month at his initial stage.

Top recommended Institutions across the World for Chemical Engineering:

The Scope for Chemical Engineers in upcoming years is vast. It is only a matter of your talent, skills and of course opportunity to come in flying colors in this sector. Moreover chemical Engineers are in the most important line of people in paint, pharmaceutical, chemical, petroleum and in similar type of industries. In fact, the Petroleum engineers are some of the best paid people on this planet. There are many specialized jobs for chemical people nearly in all the industries. If you are interested in research, you could also opt for higher studies in Chemical Engineering stream itself.

Click here to read our previous post to get to know about career prospects of Metallurgical Engineers