Engineering Branches in High Demand for 2025-26: Top Career Options, Trends

Engineering Branches in High Demand for 2025-26: Top Career Options, Trends

Team Careers360Updated on 23 Sep 2025, 11:13 AM IST

Engineering Branches in High Demand for 2025–26: The most in-demand engineering branches for the 2025-26 include Computer Science and Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Electronics and Communications Engineering, and Mathematics and Computing. The average salary for these engineering branches typically ranges between INR 12-20 LPA. The top roles include Software Architect, Cybersecurity Engineer, AI Researcher, Data Scientist, Embedded Systems Engineer, and many others. The top colleges for these emerging branches include IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, BITS Pilani, SRM University Chennai, VIT Vellore, NIT Trichy, and others. Interested candidates need to clear JEE Advanced, JEE Mains, BITSAT, SRMJEEE, VITEEE, and other exams. In this article, Careers360 discusses engineering Branches in High Demand for 2025–26.

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For JEE Main 2026, qualifying scores vary by category: General – 95+ percentile (~180–200+ marks), OBC/EWS – 82+ percentile (~100–170 marks), SC/ST – 64.5+ percentile (~60–130+ marks). Top NITs/IITs require 99+ percentile (~240+ marks).

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Engineering Branches in High Demand for 2025-26: Top Career Options, Trends
Engineering Branches in High Demand for 2025–26

Top Engineering Branches in High Demand for 2025–26

Engineering Branches

Average Salary Packages

Top Roles

Computer Science Engineering

25-30 LPA

Software Developer, Front-end and Back-end Developer, Blockchain Developer, Cloud Engineer,

Artificial Intelligence

18-22 LPA

AI Researcher, Data Scientist, Algorithm Engineer, Robotics Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer,

Electronics and Communications Engineering

20-22 LPA

Embedded Systems Engineer, Network Engineer, VLSI Designer, Telecom Engineer

Mathematics and Computing

18-22 LPA

Data Scientist, Quantitative Analyst, AI/ML Engineer, Cryptographer, Software Developer

Information Technology

10-15 LPA

Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Analyst, Cloud Engineer, DevOps Engineer

List of Engineering Branches in High Demand for 2025–26

Below is the detailed description of the list of engineering branches in demand for 2025-26. These data are based on general requirements and the official website of the institutions.

Computer Science and Engineering

Computer Science Engineering (CSE) is one of the most in-demand branches in 2025. The freshers' salary ranges between INR 25-30 LPA, while experienced professionals earn up to INR 42-50 LPA. This salary range has been taken from the IITs' Annual Reports uploaded on their official website. The top IITs for Computer Science Engineering have cutoffs of AIR 66 for IIT Bombay, 125 for IIT Delhi, 171 for IIT Madras, and 450 for IIT Kharagpur in 2025. Students in CSE are taught skills such as programming, languages, data structures, algorithms, cloud platforms, software engineering, operating systems, databases, and others.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is one of the emerging branches of engineering in 2025-26. Freshers can expect a starting salary package of between INR 18-22 LPA. The professionals with 4-6 years of experience earn between INR 35-40 LPA. According to the annual reports of the IITs, the salary packages are mentioned. The top IITs and their closing ranks include AIR 839 in IIT Kharagpur, 823 in IIT Hyderabad, and 2159 in IIT Gandhinagar. Key skills taught in AI include machine learning, deep learning, Python programming, data science, neural networks, cloud computing, and others.

Electronics and Communications Engineering

Electronics and Communication Engineering is one of the evergreen branches of engineering. The freshers' salary ranges between INR 20-22 LPA, while engineers with specialised experience earn up to INR 40-42 LPA. These average placements are mentioned accordingly from the placement brochure of the IITs. The top IITs with their AIR include 1394 in IIT Roorkee, 1656 in IIT Guwahati, 5535 in IIT Bhubaneswar, and 5556 in IIT (ISM) Dhanbad. Key skills taught are circuit analysis, digital electronics, microprocessors, signal processing, wireless communication, embedded system design, programming, and others. It offers diverse roles like Network Engineer, VLSI Design Engineer, Embedded Systems Engineer, and RF Engineer.

Mathematics and Computing

Mathematics and Computing in Engineering is one of the emerging branches that combines advanced mathematics with computer science. The new graduates typically earn between INR 18-22 LPA, and salaries for professionals rise to INR 35-40 LPA. These placement packages are taken from the official website of the IITs. The top IITs based on the 2025 include IIT Delhi with an AIR of 316, IIT Hyderabad at AIR 879, IIT Guwahati at AIR 1222, and others. Graduates learn about applied and pure mathematics, algorithms, programming, computational techniques, and other topics. Some top private colleges include BITS Pilani, SRM University Chennai, VIT Vellore, KIIT Bhubaneswar, and others.

Information Technology

Information Technology is another engineering branch that focuses on designing, developing, managing computer networks, software, hardware, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and data systems. New IT engineers get a starting salary of 10-15 LPA, while experienced specialists earn up to 22-25 LPA. Candidates can check the brief in detail salary package from the IIT's official website. The top colleges in India for IT include NIT Surathkal, IIIT Allahabad, DTU Delhi, BIT Mesra, and others. Skills taught in this course are networking, programming, cybersecurity, cloud platforms and others

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What are the top colleges offering these engineering branches?
A:

The top colleges offering these engineering branches include IITs, NITs, BIT Pilani, SRM University, and others.

Q: Mention some exams that candidates need to take for studying these courses?
A:

Candidates need to take exams like JEE Advanced, JEE Mains, BITSAT, SRMJEEE, VITEEE, and many other exams. 

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Hello aspirant,

With a 90 percentile in JEE Mains and belonging to the EWS category, you have a decent chance for some IIITs, especially newer or lower-ranked ones like IIIT Pune, Nagpur, Vadodara, or Lucknow, or non-CSE branches in better IIITs, but getting top IIITs (like IIIT Hyderabad/Delhi) or core

Hello,

Yes, attendance is compulsory in Class XI and XII.

As per school and board rules, students must maintain minimum attendance, usually around 75%. Schools can stop students from appearing in board exams if attendance is short.

Even if a student is preparing for JEE or any other competitive exam

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You can find here the direct links to download the JEE Main last 10 years PYQ PDFs from the Official Careers360 website.

Kindly visit this link to access the question papers : Last 10 Years JEE Main Question Papers with Solutions PDF

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Firstly, you cannot prepare for JEE in 8 days if you havent studied before. But still, You can try solving the previous year question papers. Here's a Link for the same

Previous Year Questions

HELLO,

If you are from General category with 57 percent in 12th then to appear for JEE Advanced you need to be in top percentile of your board as the eligibility for JEE advanced you need at least 75 percent in 12th or in the top 20 percentile of your