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.

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: 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. 

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.

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Questions related to JEE Main

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to JEE Main ?

Hello there,

Understanding and solving different question papers is one of the best practices for preparation ,especially when it comes to JEE. It gives you a proper understanding of the exam pattern, important topics to cover, and the marking scheme.

Here is the link attached from the official website of Careers360 which will provide you with the question papers of JEE exam. Hope it helps!

https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-question-papers

thank you!

Hello aspirant,

In order to prepare for the JEE Main 2026 exam, it is strongly advised that students complete the JEE Main 2025 Question Paper. This will help them comprehend the exam's difficulty level and question kinds. The JEE Main 2026 session 1 test will be administered by NTA from January 21 to 30, while the session 2 exam will take place from April 2 to 9.

To get the previous year question papers, you can visit our site through following link:

https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-question-papers

Thank you

With a BC-E category certificate, EWS certificate, and Telangana home-state quota, your chances of getting admission to AIML or related CSE branches in CBIT, VNR VJIET, or similar top private colleges in Telangana depend mainly on your JEE Main percentile and the TS EAMCET counselling process, because these colleges fill seats through both TS EAMCET ranks and JEE Main scores (Category-B seats).

For Category-A seats (through TS EAMCET), JEE Main percentile is not considered. Admission is purely based on your TS EAMCET rank, reservation category, gender, and home-state status. CBIT and VNR are highly competitive, especially for AIML, CSE, and IT branches, so you generally need a very strong TS EAMCET rank (usually within a few thousand for BC-E candidates, sometimes slightly relaxed for girls).

For Category-B seats (JEE Main quota), JEE Main percentile matters. Based on recent trends, to have a realistic chance:

  • For CBIT (AIML / CSE / IT), a JEE Main percentile of around 95+ is usually expected, even for reserved categories, because Category-B seats are limited and competition is high.

  • For VNR VJIET (AIML / CSE / IT), candidates with 92–95 percentile sometimes have chances, depending on availability and the specific branch.

  • If your percentile is below 90, getting AIML or core CSE in CBIT or VNR becomes difficult, but you may still have chances in slightly lower-demand branches (like ECE, EEE, or emerging specialisations) or in other good private colleges affiliated with JNTU or autonomous institutions.

Your BC-E and EWS certificates do help mainly in TS EAMCET counselling (Category-A seats), not significantly in Category-B (JEE Main) admissions, where merit largely dominates. Home-state status is already assumed for these colleges, so there is no extra advantage beyond eligibility.

In summary, if your JEE Main percentile is 95 or above, you can reasonably target AIML/CSE in VNR and possibly CBIT through Category-B. If it is 90–94, VNR or related branches are more realistic than CBIT. Below that, it is better to focus on TS EAMCET performance or consider other reputed Telangana colleges offering AIML. If you want, you can share your exact JEE Main percentile and TS EAMCET rank, and I can give you a more precise college- and branch-wise estimate.

Hello,

JEE Mains is a national level entrance examination conducted for admission to UG engineering course in IITs, NITs, etc. This also is a qualifying test for JEE Advanced.

Practicing with previous year question paper will give you on overview of the entire exam pattern, marking scheme, types of questions asked, etc.

Check out the official website of Careers360 for the question papers, preparation tips, etc.

https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-question-papers

Careers360 is also conducting a free JEE Mains mock test which you can attempt. The last date for registration is 8th January, 2026.

https://learn.careers360.com/test-series-jee-main-2026-free-mock-test/

Thank you.

Hello,

The link to the mock test series is attached here. The mock test of Careers360 is completely free, and the structure and questions were prepared keeping in mind the exam of JEE Mains. The registration is ongoing. the last date of registration on 8th January.

https://learn.careers360.com/test-series-jee-main-free-mock-test/

Thank you.