<span style="color: #000000;">In the good old days, there were only two kinds of engineers - Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers. Mechanical engineers designed weapons; and Civil engineers designed bridges and buildings which were targets for those weapons.</span>

<a href="http://www.indiacollegesearch.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/MISLLE_REAL7.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-60" title="Weapon &amp; Target" src="http://www.indiacollegesearch.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/MISLLE_REAL7.jpg" alt="Weapon &amp; Target" width="186" height="250" /></a>

<span style="color: #000000;">These days, Engineering is a very diverse field. Electrical engineers, for example, work with everything from power plants and the nation's power grid to nanoscopic devices. Chemical engineers work to make large scale, industrial versions of chemical processes.</span>

<span style="color: #000000;">We even have courses in Environmental Engineering. As a branch, this is the application of engineering principles to improving environmental conditions. Environmental engineers work on projects ranging from wastewater treatment plants to automotive catalytic converters.</span>

<span style="color: #000000;">So if you’re confused which branch to choose, I’ll break it down for you - in two parts. There's info about what each branch of engineering deals with, what you’re likely to study and even who will be your potential employer.</span>
<h3><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Chemical Engineering</strong></span></h3>
<span style="color: #000000;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">What it means:</span></strong> Chemical is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of physical science (chemistry and physics), and life sciences to the process of converting raw materials (chemicals) into more useful or valuable forms (fuel cells etc.)</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>What they’ll teach you:</strong></span> Process Control, Reactions Engineering, Thermodynamics</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Who will hire you:</strong></span> PSUs like BPCL, HPCL, Indian Oil and GAIL; Pharmaceutical companies such as Ranbaxy and Pfizer; FMCG companies like HLL and Nirma</span>
<h3><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Computer Science &amp; Engineering</strong></span></h3>
<span style="color: #000000;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">What it means:</span></strong> Computer science is the study of the information and computation, and their application in computer systems. Computer engineers work with algorithms and programming languages with the aim of developing software.</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">What they’ll teach you:</span></strong> Programming Language Coding &amp; Constructs, Database Management Systems, Computer Networks, Artificial Intelligence</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Who will hire you:</strong></span> TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Microsoft, Google, IBM, Cisco, Accenture, etc</span>
<h3><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Mechanical Engineering</strong></span></h3>
<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>What it means:</strong></span> Mechanical is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems.</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>What they’ll teach you:</strong></span> Manufacturing Processes, Mechatronics, Engineering Design</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Who will hire you:</strong></span> DRDO, GAIL, NTPC, BHEL, Indian Oil and. Most automobile companies (Maruti, Honda, Toyota, Tata Motors, TVS, Bajaj, etc) hire Mechanical Engineers, although they do give preference to Automobile Engineers, which we’ll discuss in part 2 of this blog.</span>
<h3><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Civil Engineering</strong></span></h3>
<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>What it means:</strong></span> Civil is a prominent branch of engineering which deals with buildings, bridges, roads, flyovers, railways, water supply, sanitary, development of townships and other infrastructural development.</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>What they’ll teach you:</strong></span> Structural Mechanics, Geotechnical Engineering, Fluid Mechanics &amp; Machinery</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Who will hire you:</strong></span> DMRC, Jaypee Associates, Reliance Infra, L&amp;T (ECC), EIL, ONGC, NHAI</span>

<span style="color: #000000;">I hope this helps in making a more informed decision about the right branch. I'll be covering the rest of the branches in part 2 of this post - watch this space!</span>