Engineering is considered as one of the most reputable field in the world, mainly in India. It is also one of the hardest fields in education and when you explore various branches, the difficulty only increases. Well, deciding the toughest branch in engineering can be subjective and depends on individual strengths, interests, and perspectives. Moreover, in this blog, we will uncover the top 10 toughest engineering courses in the world. But, first, let’s discuss how engineering is vital in your career.
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A career as an engineer is promising. They are recognized by employers, peers, and society for their character, ethics, and quality of work. Engineers are employed in various sectors. Here are some of the bright side of being an engineer:
Overall, Engineering is a basic part of our society as it provides solutions to our problems that we face. shape our future, and impacts our lives in countless ways. Now let’s discuss the types of engineering that you can pursue.
Also Read: MBBS in USA for Indian Students: 2024-25
To engineer anything is to make, construct, or design it. As a result, engineering refers to any scientific or technological subject concerned with the development of machinery. Some engineering fields are subsets of other engineering disciplines. For example, environmental engineering is sometimes described as a division of civil engineering. However, most sources divide engineering into the five branches that are listed below:
1. Civil Engineering
Civil Engineering is the toughest branch in B.Tech. These engineers put main focus on constructing, design, and physical structures used by the public.It includes roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports and many more. Many of these engineers have speciality in making eco-friendly architecture to fight climate change.
2. Chemical Engineering
In the simple terms, chemical engineers deals with chemicals. These engineers create materials and products by taking concepts from chemistry, biology, and physics. They work with microbes and food. Also, they perform other experiments in labs.
3. Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering requires the production of mechanical systems and other devices in motion. These engineers use problem-solving, critical thinking, and theories of math and physics to make their concepts into real products. It includes ships, firearms, household appliances, turbines, and vehicles.
4. Electrical Engineering
Introduced in the 19th century, electrical engineering focuses on electrical equipments. They design, test, and maintain devices that produce electricity from little objects. These engineers mostly complete their tasks in an office or lab. Also, on-site work is common.
5. Industrial Engineering
The final and toughest branch in engineering is industrial engineering. This engineering deals with general business practices to reduce costs and increase efficiency. As an industrial engineer, you must work well with people. These engineers primary tasks include designing facilities and information systems, managing inventories, and ensuring workplace safety.
As discussed above, these are the 5 main types of engineering that a student can go for. Now let’s move ahead with the blog and discuss the steps in detail of how one can become an engineer.
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If you are interested in designing, creating or developing products, you must opt for a career as an engineer. Thus, we have mentioned below the steps for how to become an engineer.
1 Select the Engineering Branch You Wish to Pursue
As you have learned above, there are various branches you can choose from in engineering. Every one of them is different and requires separate skills and learnings. First, you have to do your B.Tech course, for instance, you have to choose a specialization later. Therefore, you must be sure while selecting which branch to follow. For that, conduct proper research, observe your interests and then match your skillsets with the branch in which you will shine the most.
2 Choose the Right Program
Once you know what type of engineering you wish to do, the next step is to select the right program. There are various types of diplomas, post-graduate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, and certification courses to get admitted yourself. The stage you choose will decide the program you’ll have to undertake. Mentioned below are a few of the programs you can join to start your engineering journey.
3 Opting for the Right Institute
After deciding the type of program of your choice, you have to go for the right institution to pursue your course. All engineering colleges have different types of programs and specializations available under them. You will have to list down the prospect institutes and then compare them based on your needs and preferences. Also, be aware of any entrance rounds that you might need to appear for in your chosen colleges.
4 Sign-up for Internships
Internships provide a practical learning experience for you as a graduate student. Additionally, an internship also places you higher above the rest of the candidates during your job placement. Especially in a field like engineering where almost everything is practical. If you want to explore more, then you can even try international internships.
5 Take up Work Projects
Taking up projects means learning through observation. Through this, you will observe the work of a professional and gain a practical understanding of a niche. You can even take this up as a part-time job alongside your branch and course.
It is a complete process, starting with passing of basic engineering exam that is fundamentals of Engineering (FE) to become an engineering intern (ET). After you have a few years of engineering background working under supervision you can get a professional engineering license. Now let’s discuss the top 10 engineering courses that you can pursue.
The most difficult engineering courses in the world include the understanding of complex theories and problems. Some fields often require students to practice on dangerous chemicals while others require them to develop technical parts. The good thing about some of these courses is that they pay off with high-paying jobs and the ability to provide life-changing solutions to mankind. Thus, the top 10 toughest courses in world are given below:
This is a branch of engineering sciences that involves designing, developing, operating, and maintaining systems that utilize nuclear energy. This field deals with the application of nuclear processes, nuclear fusion and fission, for various purposes. It is based on basic principles of physics and mathematics.
| Scope | Medical Isotope Production, Advance Reactor Designs, Small Modular Reactors etc. |
| Best Countries to Pursue | USA, UK, Russia, Hungary, Germany, China and Japan |
| Best Universities |
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| Average Starting Salary | $70,000 to $90,000 per year |
| Popular Designations |
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Aerospace engineering is the toughest branch in engineering in world that deals with the designing, developing, testing, and operating of spacecraft, and related systems. It is a vast field with two major disciplines that is, aeronautical and astronautical engineering. These engineers are responsible for making large flights ensuring safety and other operations.
| Scope | Hypersonic Flights, Space Exploration, Reusable Launch Vehicles etc. |
| Best Countries to Pursue | USA, UK, Canada, Germany, France and Japan |
| Best Universities |
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| Average Starting Salary | $65,000 to $75,000 per year |
| Popular Designations |
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It is a branch of engineering that deals with the principles to solve problems in biology and medicine. These engineers aim to improve healthcare facilities and act as a bridge to fill the gap between biology and the engineering world. Being listed among the hardest engineering branch, biomedical not only challenges the students to take up difficult work but also provides life-changing solutions.
| Scope | Artificial Organs and Tissue Engineering, Bioprinting, Brain-computer interfaces etc. |
| Best Countries to Pursue | USA, UK, Canada, Singapore and Australia |
| Best Universities |
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| Average Starting Salary | $75,000 per year |
| Popular Designations |
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It is a fascinating branch that bridges the gap between chemistry and engineering subjects. This is considered the toughest course in the world containing the difficult curriculum and the tendency to build from raw or scratch chemical substances.
| Scope | Nanotechnology, Biotechnology and Environmental Engineering |
| Best Countries to Pursue | USA, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands |
| Best Universities |
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| Average Starting Salary | $70,000 per year |
| Popular Designations |
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It is a specialised field within civil engineering that deals in the design, analysis, and construction of a structure. These engineers are the ones who ensure our buildings, bridges, dams, and other creations. The course requires strong mathematical knowledge, software, visualization and spatial reasoning.
| Scope | Building Designs, Building Information Modeling and smart materials and structures. |
| Best Countries to Pursue | USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland |
| Best Universities |
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| Average Starting Salary | $65,000 per year |
| Popular Designations |
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Computer engineering (CoE or CpE) is a branch of computer science that integrates several fields of computer science required to develop hardware and software. It is referred to as computer science and engineering at some universities. The students must be able to work with programming languages such as Python and Java.
| Scope | IT Software Companies, Sales & Marketing, Content Industry, Engineering Firms etc. |
| Best Countries to Pursue | New Zealand, Ireland, Switzerland, UK, USA |
| Best Universities |
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| Average Starting Salary | $85,000 to $110,000 per year |
| Popular Designations |
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This is one of the best engineering courses abroad that focuses on the exploration, extraction, and production of oil and gas. It is a field concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons. To excel in this field, it is beneficial to develop skills and stay updated on the latest advancements in drilling technologies.
| Scope | Oil and Gas Extraction, Company Management, Coal and Petroleum Manufacture etc. |
| Best Countries to Pursue | USA, Canada, Australia and China |
| Best Universities |
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| Average Starting Salary | $56,000 to $78,000 |
| Popular Designations |
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It is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering that deals with the design and development of robots/machines, to automate robotic control actions. The future of this engineering is full of possibilities. Robotics engineers make use of knowledge from computer, mechanical, electrical, and software engineering.
| Scope | Designing and Developing, Material Handling, Quality Control etc. |
| Best Countries to Pursue | USA, Canada, Australia and China |
| Best Universities |
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| Average Starting Salary | $56,000 to $78,000 |
| Popular Designations |
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Material engineering is a field of finding uses for materials in other industries. They take help of computers to understand the model and elements of materials. Employment of material engineering is expected to grow faster than of all the occupations.
| Scope | Researching the properties of materials, Selecting the best materials, Complex Designs etc. |
| Best Countries to Pursue | UK, France, Canada and Germany |
| Best Universities |
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| Average Starting Salary | $90,000 to $95000 |
| Popular Designations |
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It is the course that deals with the study, design, and application of devices. They use systems which have electricity and electromagnetism. Careers in this engineering typically offer above-average salaries and job growth projections.
| Scope | Renewable Energy Sectors, Automation, Telecommunication etc. |
| Best Countries to Pursue | USA, Germany, UK, Japan and Netherlands |
| Best Universities |
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| Average Starting Salary | $102,000 to $155,000 |
| Popular Designations |
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This was all about the 10 toughest engineering courses in the world, their applications, future prospects, and the best universities and countries for getting an education in these fields. Also, these are the best courses in demand abroad for the engineering field. In the next section, we’ll look at some factors that make these branches toughest in engineering.
The above mentioned courses in the list requires dedication. Plus, some of these courses requires a lot of hard work. Thus, the concept of toughest engineering branch is subjective and depends on personal aptitude and interests. Let’s have a look at some factors that contribute to the difficulty of a particular engineering discipline.
1 Evaluate the level of complex mathematical concepts involved in each branch.
2 Assess the depth of fundamental concepts within each engineering field.
3 Consider the practical experiments and hands-on work involved in laboratory experiments and projects.
4 Explore the demand for professionals in each field and the competitiveness of the job market.
5 Personal strengths and interests play a significant role, choose a branch aligned with individual aptitude.
Overall, the difficulty of an engineering branch varies from person to person, making it essential to align educational goals with personal strengths and interests. Moving ahead with the blog, let’s know that what things you should consider while choosing your engineering major.
Also Read: Best Courses in Demand Abroad 2024-25 | Your Handy Guide
If you want to pursue the most toughest branch in engineering, you need to keep a few things in mind. Like any other major decision you make in your life, you must know about the pros and cons as well as the indications of selecting your engineering specialization. Here are some considerations you should keep in mind when deciding on the engineering degree you want to pursue.
By keeping these things in mind, you can obtain clarity while making your decision to find your way around the toughest engineering branch. Now let’s know about some skills that you will need to become an engineer.
Whether you are applying for the easiest, hardest, or top engineering courses in the world, each one of them requires a specific skill set that maximizes your chances of success. Below in the image, there are some of the soft skills you need, along with hard skills to put on a resume and master for a rewarding career.
Also Read: Top 10 Toughest Exams in the World 2024
Finally, above is a detailed guide on which is the toughest branch in engineering and which branch is best for the future out there that can help you build a bright career. Whether dealing with the complexities of aerospace engineering, or other branches aspiring engineers in these fields find themselves at the forefront of problem-solving. The ever-evolving nature of technology ensures that these branches will continue to be perceived as the toughest branch in engineering domain. Moreover, if you are an Indian student dreaming of pursuing engineering in foreign nations then connect with Gradding.com experts for a free counselling session.
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