With public, private and foreign investment pouring into infrastructure projects, there’s sustained demand for professionally qualified structural engineers

The rapid urbanisation of India requires massive in­vestment in highways, roads, power, construction, and infrastructure industries. Inevitably, demand for professionally qualified structural engineers needed to build the required infrastructure is set to skyrocket.

Structural engineering is a specialised field within civil engineering. It’s the science and art of constructing huge, capital-intensive projects capable of withstanding the forces of nature and discharging their functions with safety, durability and economy. The field encompasses the completion of residential, commercial, educational and recreational buildings, besides bridges, stadia, ports, dams and aqueducts — just about every type of ‘structure’. A structural engineer manages technicians and workers on a project site and discharges the duties of planning and overseeing construction and/or maintenance of buildings, bridges and other structures, within budgeted periods and expenditure.

The minimum eligibility for admission into a BE/ B.Tech in civil engineering study programme with speciali­sation in structural engineering is Plus Two science (phys­ics, chemistry and math). Entry into engineering colleges is usually on the basis of performance in entrance tests such as IIT-JEE or competitive state-level CETs (common en­trance tests). For admission into the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) formerly known as Regional Colleges of Engineering, success in IIT-JEE is a prerequisite. After graduation, students often continue their studies by signing up for the ME/M.Tech programme offered by most engi­neering colleges/universities including IITs and NITs.

STUDY PROGRAMMES. The aggregate number of approved institutions offering undergraduate and postgrad engineering education in India is estimated at 3,500. Of them, 700 offer degree programmes in civil engineering (of whom about 100 offer specialisation in structural engineering). Together these institutions graduate nearly 18,000 structural engineers annually — a number far short of the demand for 100,000 civil/structural engineers.

Among the most respected engineering colleges offer­ing certification in civil engineering with specialisation in structural engineering are the 15 Indian Institutes of Tech­nology (IITs); BITS, Pilani; VJTI, Mumbai; Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Pune; Delhi College of Engineer­ing, and University of Roorkee.

REMUNERATION PROSPECTS. With public, private and foreign investment pouring into infrastructure projects, there is sustained demand for professionally qualified structural engineers within the economy, resulting in a quantum leap of over 40 percent in average remuneration during the past two years. Indian structural engineers are also in high demand in Asian, African and Middle East countries. Currently, professionally qualified structural engineers command starting salaries ranging between Rs.4-21 lakh per annum, depending on their qualifications and work sites.

“There are excellent job opportunities for qualified structural engineers in the public and private sectors. Of late, several large multinational engineering corporates are mopping up available talent by offering huge pay pack­ages which Indian companies can’t match. It’s an enviable profession to be in at the moment,” says Uday Chande, the promoter-proprietor of U.D. Chande Consulting Engineers, Surveyors & Valuers, a Mumbai-based firm promoted in 1979.

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE. A civil engineering graduate of the Maharaja Sayajirao (MS) University, Baroda with a Masters in structural engineering from the University of Florida, Chande acquired valuable work experience in the US where he worked for two years, before returning to India in 1972 to work with his father, also a civil engineer. Seven years later, he struck out on his own and promoted U.D. Chande Consulting Engineers.

Today, the firm provides blueprints and detailed plans for all types of projects including residential, commer­cial, public structures, bridges, highways, etc. “I have also proofchecked public structures and have been recently appointed project management consultant for several rede­velopment projects. Apart from this, I am also registered as valuer of immovable properties since 1978,” says Chande.

According to him, during the next decade civil con­struction projects will become bigger and more complex. “Clients will demand faster project completion and there will be greater awareness of the vital importance of high-quality structural design. Designers will get greater recognition accompanied by the more onerous burden of greater responsibility. For engineering visionaries, this is a challenging and inviting career. Moreover with the use of advanced computer technologies and invention of new materials, future developments will be very exciting,” predicts Chande.

(Update: Chande died in 2020 and the company is now managed by his son Gautam Chande).

(Excerpted and adapted from 101 Great Careers for the 21st Century by Indra Gidwani, 2016)