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.

LiveJEE Mains 2026 Registration LIVE: NTA to begin application process soon at jeemain.nta.nic.in; exam date, feeOct 16, 2025 | 10:39 PM IST

Based on the registration trends from previous years, the JEE Main 2026 registration process is expected to begin in October, with the first session likely in January and the second session in April. The JEE Main previous years registration trend is given in the table below.

Exam Year

Registration start date

2025

October 28, 2024 

2024

November 1, 2023 

2023

December 15, 2022 

2022

March 1, 2022 

2021

December 16, 2020

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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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Questions related to JEE Main

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to JEE Main ?

Hello,

JEE has two exams:

  1. JEE Main : for NITs and eligibility for JEE Advanced.
  2. JEE Advanced: For IITs

The percentage or marks needed to get seat in NITs and IITs are:

  • For NITs, aim for 150+ marks in JEE Main.
  • For IITs, aim for 50-60% marks in JEE Advanced.
  • Focus on concepts, practice, and take mock tests for best results.

Go through the link for more details:

https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-cutoff

I hope this answer helps you, All the best!



Heya,

Yes, you can refill your category again. In the case of the April session JEE Main registration, you have the option to change your category while registering your details only once. You can switch from General to EWS if you have a proper certificate. Just be certain that the EWS certificate is granted before the last date of the April session form and complies with the NTA's requirements of validity.

Hope it helps!!!

Hello,

You can certainly get admission at DTU (Delhi Technological University) as the minimum requirement there is 60% aggregate in PCM. In such a case, you will be given admission to the top branches of CSE/ECE. Nevertheless, the case is totally different for IIT Hyderabad.

Admission into IITs is through JEE Advanced, and they require either a minimum of 75% in boards or to be in the top 20th percentile of the board for eligibility. But, if you fail to get 75% and happen to not be in the top 20th percentile, you can't get admission at IIT even if you have a good rank in JEE Mains.

Hope it helps!!!

Hello Tanishka,

Although i believe your attempting strategy and sequence depends entirely on your stage of preparation and your personal progress, i would suggest you sit for your January attempt even if you aim to seriously prepare for April.

Whatever stage of syllabus completion you are at, i suggest you give it a try to get an estimate of the exam difficulty and see roughly where you stand among the applicants that year. No matter how many mock tests you attempt, the actual examination environment happens to be very different from mock tests. The first attempt is going to give you an idea of the exam environment so you can prepare for your April attempt better.

All the best for your exams!

Hello Swati

Yes, your EWS certificate will be valid for JEE Main 2026 and counselling if it’s issued after April 1, 2025.
This is because EWS certificates are valid for one financial year from April to March.
So, a certificate made in October 2025 will be for FY 2025–26, which covers both JEE and counselling. You’ll need the certificate number during JEE registration in October 2025.
Even if you don’t have it yet, you can still register and upload it later during counselling. Just make sure the certificate clearly mentions the correct financial year.
Always keep a few extra copies and the original ready for verification.
You're good to go if it’s issued after April 1, 2025