[salilpawar1]

I am currently in Standard 12 and all engineering entrance examinations are zooming towards me at lightning speed....

My initial preference is towards mechanical engineering.
Now, I don't want to pursue automobile engineering because a lot has been talked about it and most thoughts are negative.

I have a decent academic record (touch wood) as of now and hope to get a decent score in the entrance examinations.

What I want to know from all you guys out there?

1. The best form of course in mechanical engineering (i.e, specialization, type etc.)
2. List of Good colleges in mechanical engineering (in India only) for automobile engineering. When I say good, I mean it. No substandard colleges please.
3. Entrance exams for admissions for above colleges apart from regular exams like IIT-JEE, AIEEE, CET.
4. Duration of courses in above colleges.
5. Approximate entrance exam cutoffs for above and other such important admission related requirements.
6. Job placements from above colleges/courses.
7. Other engineering courses apart from mech, which can fetch me connected with the auto sector.
8. Best of combination of courses (e.g. engineering+designing or engineering+management or engineering+postgrad in auto) to get a decent job opportunity.
9. Colleges to lookout for postgraduation related to auto sector outside India/ in India.
10. Details of any scholarships if available.

Your views are very valualble for me. Please help me. All my relatives expect me to do electronics engg./computer engg. for the fat salaries they command. But I want to prove them wrong and prove (and hope) that there are greener pastures in the mechanical engg. sector.

Please help me!!

P.S. By the way, recently I received a scholarship from Tata (the Dorabji Tata Scholarship) and the interview was held at Bombay House, where all the board meetings of the Tatas take place. I got to see the place where Mr. Ratan Tata sits in the meetings. I even got a chance to talk with one of Ratan Tata's relatives (I guess he was Naval Tata, Ratan Tata's brother). And the best thing, all the questions asked to me during the interview was about Tata Motors. Turned out to be a piece of cake for me. And the previous batch of interviewees got to see Mr. Ratan Tata in person. Too bad I was not from that batch.

[ported_head]

All answers wrt Mumbai University only.

The best form of course in mechanical engineering (i.e, specialization, type etc.)

In India there is either Mechanical, Production or Automobile. First year is same for all three curriculum wise. Mech and Auto are similar till the Third Year, give or take a couple of subjects. You'd be better off doing Mechanical Engg., would give you a broader scope when you are done with academics. Auto companies are not finnicky about picking up only auto students.

List of Good colleges in mechanical engineering (in India only) for automobile engineering. When I say good, I mean it. No substandard colleges please.

Hahahahahahahahah. If you find one please let me know too.

Entrance exams for admissions for above colleges apart from regular exams like IIT-JEE, AIEEE, CET.

Mah. State requirements keep shifting between CET and no CET above the general 12th standard academics.

Duration of courses in above colleges.

All B.E. courses are 4 years. Diploma courses are 3 years, but they start after the 10th. IIT supposedly offers B.Tech + M.Tech for 5 years, I think.

Approximate entrance exam cutoffs for above and other such important admission related requirements.

They change every year, find out from the colleges you have short listed.

Job placements from above colleges/courses.

Hahhahahahaha. Except IIT, and if you aggregrate throughout the 4 years is 60% plus with no KTs ever, don't expect people falling at your feet for campus recruitments.

Other engineering courses apart from mech, which can fetch me connected with the auto sector.

Dude, auto sector needs every type of engineer. You need to figure out what you want to do.

Best of combination of courses (e.g. engineering+designing or engineering+management or engineering+postgrad in auto) to get a decent job opportunity.

Depends on what you want to do in the Auto sector.

Colleges to lookout for postgraduation related to auto sector outside India/ in India.

Take it one step at a time. Scenario will change drastically once you've completed your undergrad in 4 years.

Details of any scholarships if available.

You are more experienced than I am. I was never eligible for any.

To sum it all up, considering you are academics are in shape, and you get scholarships and all that, get out of the country for education. B.E. is your fundamental course for engineering, Masters you can adapt to yourself if your basics are right.

[salilpawar1]

The point is that I want a decent job in the automotive sector which can give me good job satisfaction as well as good moolah.Thus, I want to study something which can fulfill my requirements. I am ready to take all the efforts required. The only thing is that I need somebody to show the right direction.

I am interested in more technical stuff rather than outright designing although I do sketch a lot of cars (in 2D form only). Thus, I am more interested in CAD designing rather than actual sketching.

I want info on the following colleges (for mech engg) with respect to parameters in my first post.
1) VJTI, Mumbai.
2) Sardar Patel College of Engg., Mumbai.
3) Father Agnel College, Navi Mumbai.
4) Mahrashte Inst. of Tech, Pune.
5) Delhi Coll. of Engg., Delhi.
6) BITS, Pilani, Goa and Dubai.
7) K.K. Wagh of Engg. Nasik.
8) All NITs situated in India.

I want to take up either R&D in engines may be and sometime later enter customization business or even motorsport (engg. not driving) if motorsport improves in India

BTW, if I wish to join some auto major in the above mentioned fields, what would be the best educational qualification

Can somebody please shed some light on the details entrance examinations of Design Institutes in India. I wanted to appear for NID's entrance exam for some experience. Can somebody tell me about this entrance exam viz. application procedure, minimum requirements, pattern of examination, number of attempts allowed and so on.

[Nikhilb2008]

I dont know if this will help you much.....

I was also thinking like you 2 yrs back when I joined MEch Engg. I am passionate abt cars and I wanted to work in the auto sector. MY dad already being there is obviously a bonus.

I took up mech engg and now, I have taken up Automotive Engineering as my elective for the 6th sem.

Apart from the regular engineering, try doing some outside courses. Like, there is this institute in Coimbatore which conducts automobile workshops. It lasts for abt 15 days or so.

And for CAD, join some CADD centre and learn it. Dont rely on colleges.

My personal experience is this. I joined BIT(not Birla Intitute, bt Bangalore Institute of Technology) under VTU. IT is supposed to be ranked 4th or 5th in Bangalore. But, you cant know that. The teachers are incompetent. SOme of them are really nice, but some of them dont know what they are talking abt. So much for reputation.

I asked a friend of mine doing Mining and Metallurgy in IIT Kharagpur. He also said that it is just the hype. Teaching isnt great in his college too. Same story from a friend in NIT Rourkela and NIT Suratkal.

all of them agree that there are a handful of very good teachers. But not what they expected. You have a certain expectation from an IIT or NIT. But it is quite ordinary. IT is just the name and of course, the placements at the end of 4 years.

This has left me quite disillusioned. If you can afford it, think about going abroad. And people say for a Masters related to automobiles, Germany is the best.....

If you do stay in India, think beyond college. Go to CADD classes or something....

[kpzen]

Check this thread too...Might help u

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...gineering.html

Kp

[salilpawar1]

Can somebody give me a bit of more info which CAD courses related to auto designing are worth learning..... Renowned institutes for the same.... Duration of course.....Fees...and so on.

[SRK]

Salil..
It would be better to go abroad for quality education..If you want to struggle, be in India..

I was warned by "ported head"..for the same thing..but I was determined in getting into auto engg..
I did get into it but now I dont feel like completing it..

"Hey Ported Head when does the real fun start??
I mean when do degree guys get hand on experience?"

He is the one who will help you to know why you should be abroad..I have just started collecting that data...


By the way Best of Luck in whatever you do..

[salilpawar1]

@SRK and all other T-Bhpians for that matter.
Basically my strategy is to my basic graduation in mech engg. in India. Going abroad for my undergraduation is a big NO NO for me. After engineering I plan to do designing (only if I manage to get admssion in a decent institute) or management (to be honest, just to make my bio-data sound good) or post graduation in mechanical/auto engg. or another engg. degree in computers (if it is legally/humanly possible)!!

I personally don't feel that mechanical engg. won't cause me much problems from future prospects or will it?

I think the main problem with auto engg. in India is not the outdated syllabus or substandard faculties but the fact that most people join auto engg. not because they are interested in cars but because they don't get admission in other fields of their choice and join it just for the sake of joining. This is what basically reduces the market value of an educational course and people like us who honestly like cars have to bear the brunt. Take this example for instance, we are all seeing a big boom in the construction industry but still civil engineering is still the last choice for most engg. aspirants because of the same reasons. Am I making sense? Do correct me if I am wrong.

Note: Do not post entirely in BOLD. Use the feature to only highlight points that you wish to.

[sujaylahiri]

I'm studying mechanical with Automotive engineering in ontario, canada. All I have to say is that the automotive market is very bad here. Jobs are scarce and people like us have to branch out to other options.
Regarding your designing software, the best thing to learn right now is CATIA. It's made by Dassault Aviation and is in great demand with big companies like Daimler Chrysler, Ford etc. In fact most of the Formula 1 cars are designed on CATIA.

[salilpawar1]

Originally Posted by sujaylahiri

I'm studying mechanical with Automotive engineering in ontario, canada. All I have to say is that the automotive market is very bad here. Jobs are scarce and people like us have to branch out to other options.

By saying here, do you mean Canada or India? Now, I am getting confused. Everybody is saying here that the best thing to do is to study abroad (which I may do only after my graduation). But now I am hearing this from you. Somebody, please clarify.

By the way, are there any softwares apart from CATIA worth learning? Is AUTO-CAD an outdated program now???

[ported_head]

Originally Posted by SRK

"Hey Ported Head when does the real fun start??
I mean when do degree guys get hand on experience?"

And you are not enjoying already? Erm.. not to break your bubble, but almost never throughout the course. You'll get your hands a little dirty in the 6th Sem, and probably a little bloody too. And it's no fun when there will be 20 of you and one gearbox, which has a couple of gears missing and a few selector rods here and there, but otherwise in good shape. Also, at one point 20 of you will not be enough because they will make you work on TATA truck differentials, which come complete with the entire axle and the drum brake assembly. And it's quite a task when they even ask you to dismantle the differential with 4 other guys. And think TATA 1615 and not TATA 407.

Originally Posted by salilpawar1

Basically my strategy is to my basic graduation in mech engg. in India. Going abroad for my undergraduation is a big NO NO for me. After engineering I plan to do designing (only if I manage to get admssion in a decent institute) or management (to be honest, just to make my bio-data sound good) or post graduation in mechanical/auto engg. or another engg. degree in computers (if it is legally/humanly possible)!!

See, I'll tell you again, take it one step at a time. You are 17, you may absolutely know what you want to do, or you may not. Middle path is don't rush into it, for now think of only the B.E. degree. The way you think may change by the time you are 21. Don't only do a course to get a good job in the end, though that is necessary too and a pragmatic approach, but you don't want to be disappointed in the end. If you are out only for lucrative careers, there are others which are higher paying in lesser time.

Originally Posted by salilpawar1

I think the main problem with auto engg. in India is not the outdated syllabus or substandard faculties but the fact that most people join auto engg. not because they are interested in cars but because they don't get admission in other fields of their choice and join it just for the sake of joining. This is what basically reduces the market value of an educational course and people like us who honestly like cars have to bear the brunt.

Yes, you are wrong. My class has about 50% people who are pretty reasonably fascinated by automobiles. About 10% who are downright crazy about them. The rest are in it because they had weak 12th scores or somebody told them, "Beta, aaj kal Auto industry mein bahut growth hain, accha job milega," or they got fooled by the fancy colour college prospectus.

The syllabus is outdated, the professors are barely updated with current trends, and facilities are sub-standard. Except for the AC in the HOD's cabin nothing else works very well. The course has no market value, because companies know exactly what the course is like. The Auto majors give no preference to Auto Engg. students over other branches. Most cases they prefer Mech. Engg. students from fancy colleges such VJTI, SP, etc.

Maybe this is not what you might like to hear, but that's the real picture. Or I suggest you make a trip to the college yourself.

Originally Posted by salilpawar1

By the way, are there any softwares apart from CATIA worth learning? Is AUTO-CAD an outdated program now???

Nothing is outdated, but you could start out with AutoCAD 2D and then work it up to 3D and Pro-E types. These are a little complicated but they need practice. Courses at places like CADD Centre are expensive, and even more so with softwares like Catia and Ansys. Catia itself costs some good 35k+ for a course at CADD Centre. I suggest try and get hold of any of the CAD programs and learn it yourself at home using tutorials available online, they are really helpful.

[v2006]

Dude you arent gonna get a high paying job unless you go to IIT or graduate from a TOP university abroad, and not just any. I am going to study Mechanical Engineering at UCL which is ranked third in the UK and 25th worldwide and should offer decent prospects.

[Bass&Trouble]

Originally Posted by salilpawar

The point is that I want a decent job in the automotive sector which can give me good job satisfaction as well as good moolah.Thus, I want to study something which can fulfill my requirements. I am ready to take all the efforts required. The only thing is that I need somebody to show the right direction.

I am interested in more technical stuff rather than outright designing although I do sketch a lot of cars (in 2D form only). Thus, I am more interested in CAD designing rather than actual sketching.

I must say I was faced with similar dilemmas if not greater when I was in the 12th standard. I was unsure whether I wanted to do medicine or engg. I am still unsure how I ended up doing Mechanical Engineering in the end.

During the 12th and all through my engineering course, I was pretty confused about what I would love to do best in terms of work, and ultimately realized that without any exposure to it in reality, there is no way to really tell whether you'll like it or not. That may be the case just with me, I'm not saying it applies to you. By the time I was through with my engg. course, I was almost sure that I would pursue some management course before I would start hunting for a job, but once I finished engg, I took up a job and ended my pursuit of further studies.

Originally Posted by salilpawar

I want info on the following colleges (for mech engg) with respect to parameters in my first post.
1) VJTI, Mumbai.
2) Sardar Patel College of Engg., Mumbai.
3) Father Agnel College, Navi Mumbai.
4) Mahrashte Inst. of Tech, Pune.
5) Delhi Coll. of Engg., Delhi.
6) BITS, Pilani, Goa and Dubai.
7) K.K. Wagh of Engg. Nasik.
8) All NITs situated in India.

VJTI, SP are top colleges. You need some insane grades to make it there. I had to settle for what's no. 3 on your list: Fr. Agnel's a.k.a Fr. C.R.I.T. which is a good college too, which most people will disbelieve considering I am one of the outcomes!

Originally Posted by salilpawar

I want to take up either R&D in engines may be and sometime later enter customization business or even motorsport (engg. not driving) if motorsport improves in India

I think your choices are extremely specialist and specific. I think you need to broaden your job search keywords. Since you would be entering any organization as a regulation mech engg graduate, it would be difficult for me to believe that you will be at once assigned the post of R&D engineer in a field that is by now quite saturated, i would suppose. Also subject to an opening of course.

Originally Posted by salilpawar

BTW, if I wish to join some auto major in the above mentioned fields, what would be the best educational qualification

With your inclinations, I would suppose B.E. (Mech). With Automobile, you would narrow down your job choices very greatly. Mech offers a very wide platform, and a lot of flexibility.

By the way, I did my BE. Mech to land up working for the audio industry.

[salilpawar1]

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

By the way, I did my BE. Mech to land up working for the audio industry.

So are you working with an auto major and how is it going along?

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by ported_head

The course has no market value, because companies know exactly what the course is like. The Auto majors give no preference to Auto Engg. students over other branches. Most cases they prefer Mech. Engg. students from fancy colleges such VJTI, SP, etc.

I can agree here. In some cases an auto company will even pick a Civil Engineering grad from a top school like IIT or REC to an Auto Engg. They believe once you have the basics from a rep univ, other details can be learnt on the job.