After clearing the 12th standard, the real challenges begin that bring the students to a crossroads where they have to decide on their careers. Which has a good career option or precisely a good pay scale option? After the 12th course, they are often stuck in the struggle between Medical and Engineering.
Medical and Engineering both draw a significant number of students because of immense job prospects.
Medical and Engineering both offer lucrative career choices, and you need to understand the complexity of each field and your aptitude before making the right career choice. Whatever you choose, prepare yourself for years of hard work and complete devotion to studying.
Reason to choose
Choosing between Medical and Engineering is a dilemma for 12th science students because they expect a highly paid career and a lucrative life after 4-5 years of devoted study. No doubt, Premedical and Engineering offer a secure job, but job satisfaction is necessary to grow in a career. Students should follow their interests, passions, aptitudes, skills, and talents and choose the right career path that gives meaning to their life.
Check your skills and temperaments carefully. If you are fascinated by technology and technical innovation, your character suits engineering. If you are inclined towards care and service, undoubtedly medical path is good for you. Studying Medical or Engineering both are an investment for a lifetime.
Define your Career Goal
Engineers are heavily in demand in the age of global expansion and technological growth. Technology is exploring various fields of science and innovation and delivering diverse opportunities in Information Technology, Finance Management, Healthcare, and many other domains. The competitive job market and workload are the main hurdles. After completing the BTech, you can get a decent-paying job. Engineering is a creative profession that improves problem-solving skills and out-of-the-box thinking. Although the engineering market has a lot of possibilities, it is difficult to get jobs because of high competition.
To pursue engineering, you have to clear engineering entrance examinations, including IIT JEE-Main, JEE Advanced Exam, GATE, BITSAT, etc.
The medical field is vast and has professional certainty across the world. It is the most revered profession, and your patience and problem-solving skill give you emotional and social rewards and respect. A reputed medical career can increase your income and quality of life three times better. It’s a safer career choice but long hours of duty, and extensive study are associated with a medical career. They need almost eight years of studies to achieve an excellent pay scale.
Though, after MMBS, you can have plenty of job opportunities in allied fields. Doctors have a direct and significant impact on people’s life. They are widely appreciated in the society. Even though the job market is, saturated qualified medical professionals will always be in demand.
For a medical career, you must pass medical entrance examinations such as NEET, AIIMS, JIPMER, etc., to pursue MBBS after that.
Analyze the Scope
Engineering
BE, or BTech is a four years undergraduate engineering course. Students must qualify for IIT JEE and JEE Main to get admission to good engineering colleges.
Combining math and science knowledge can generate new ideas and sharpen problem-solving skills. You can find solutions to day-to-day problems easily by creating, exploring, and discovering new ideas. After completing engineering graduation, you can do a Master, Ph.D., or specialization in various advanced engineering fields. AI, Machine learning, Genetic engineering, Molecular engineering, and Nanotechnology are becoming popular, and students pursue specialization courses after engineering graduation. The diverse field of engineering offer 40+ specialization and career opportunities to skilled aspirants.
Lots of startups offer a significant amount of job opportunities. Some engineers even start their own company after a few years of jobs. You can explore yourself in managerial and executive-level roles also. Software/App development, Consulting profile, Analyst profile, and Core sciences/R&D roles come under a very high pay slab.
The newly advanced field of medical engineering is giving immense job opportunities. The employment rate is anticipated to increase by 10% between 2023 and 2035.
Medical
MBBS is a 5-6 years undergraduate medical course. Students must qualify NEET exam after 12 science to pursue career projects in medicine.
After completing the medical professional course, you can be hired in medical colleges, research institutes, training institutes, nursing homes, hospitals, back office medical work, and pharmaceutical industries. Depending on your degree and advanced specialization, you can be a physician, doctor, surgeon, etc.
Medical is a well-respected and intellectually exciting profession. The medical field is vast and has a low risk of unemployment than engineering. Medical graduates hold MBBS, MS/MD/Diploma and can go for specialization in a specific branch. It is the noblest profession and has lots of respect in people’s eyes. Although the job market is competitive, there is high scope for employment. Doctors can set up private clinics. The medical college directly hires the MBBS graduates in their own hospitals.
With discoveries and inventions, numerous opportunities are explored in the medical field. Many new courses are introduced with promising career growth and employment rate. The medical profession is hugely satisfying and rewarding. It required a lot of effort and commitment to devout long work hours to heal people’s diseases.
Challenges
At the time of medical emergency, as we had at the time of the COVID-19 Pandemic, there was a massive demand for doctors and nurses. Still today, the Medical industry needs more medical staff and increased work schedules from doctors and caregivers. Healthcare professionals face long working long shifts, dealing with patients and their families, staff shortages, medical equipment, etc. Medical students have to deal with many corpses and diseases, and if they are weak hearts or have any allergies to smell and blood, they might give up the option of Medical.
Keep environmental aspects in mind too. A medical career is not just a job; it’s a responsibility to provide the best patient care and meet health and hygiene standards in surroundings.
As technology is developing rapidly, engineers are required to maintain and sustain their knowledge and skill. It needs continuous education to learn new skills and do license and certification courses. Work overload and project deadlines are like the hanging sword upon them, frequently—disbalances work-life balance. New, innovative engineering solutions are the latest trends, and engineering graduates are still interested more in computers and electronics.
They wish to pursue something other than a specialization after graduation. The engineering sector wants a digitally skilled workforce who can think and work across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The engineering industry needs help with the right skill and fitting expertise. Engineers have to face challenges in updating knowledge and skills, sharpening organization skills, and maintaining work-life balance.
Job stability
The medical profession offers stability and job security until some significant issues arise of negligence or error. You can work in various health environments as a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, technologist, physical therapist, athletic trainer, dietician, pubic health educator, etc. It provides a steady level of growth and income. Numerous high-paid jobs in the medical field offer the right level of longevity and income support.
There is a massive demand for specialists in medical science, such as surgeons, psychologists, gynecologists, cardiologists, neurologists, etc.
Engineers are also in high demand and offer a competitive salary. However, regarding job security, it’s less stable than the medical profession. If the companies are going to lose, they fire engineers immediately.
Engineering gives you flexible working opportunities, workplace well-being, work-from-home comfort, employee wellbeings programs, etc. As your career progress and you diversify your skill sets, you alter your way and switch jobs. Engineering is dynamic, and you constantly face challenges to progress in your career.
Salary Growth
Physicians, surgeons, and specialized doctors earn an average salary between 12-15 lakh, depending upon where they work. Surgeons are the highest-paying professions. They get medical compensation that encompasses housing, transportation, and other perks. There are wide discrepancies across various medical disciplines. The healthcare business encompasses hospitals, clinical procedures, pharmacists, nursing staff, lab technicians, medical assistants, etc. The healthcare market is saturated, but they give high payouts.
There is no fixed salary growth in the engineering professions. Engineers in research and development, design and development, system engineering, software engineering, information technology, data engineering, and machine learning come under a high salary range. The core employee value proposition focuses on employee wellness, upskilling, and retention of employees’ policies which aid in their perks.
Every industry increasingly relies on engineering skills for data functioning, system maintenance, software programs, computer hardware, data analysis, and many limitless daily online management activities. The rise of technology is providing significant career opportunities.
Also, read: Tips for selecting the best coaching institutes for Class 10
Recommended Colleges List for Engineering and Medical
Engineering
As per the current scenario of technological development, the Top engineering colleges in India are IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee, NITS, Jadavpur University, and other IITs and NIITs and Private colleges. These ratings are based on IIRF engineering colleges ranking 2023.
IIT Roorkee improved to 5 in 2023 compared to 6 in 2022.
IIT Hyderabad recorded the highest average package offered, INR 20 LPA.
The IIT Kharagpur, Roorkee, Jodhpur, and Madras offer courses for Emerging Technologies such as Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber security, Cloud computing, etc.
Admission to Engineering colleges is based on high-ranking scores in JEE Main, IIT, TNEA, MHT, EAMCET, TS EAMCET, etc.
Medical
According to NIRF Ranking 2023, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, AIIMS Delhi, is the top medical college with a score of 94.32. The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, PGIMER Chandigarh and Christian Medical College, Vellore, Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research, Banaras Hindu University, etc, follow it.
These institutes are scored after considering various key aspects such as infrastructure, specializations, faculty, academic performance, placements, fee structure, eligibility criteria, reviews, etc.
NEET UG exam is mandatory for all medical pursuant who want admission to government MBBS or private colleges.
Also Read: Top 10 Careers You Can Pursue With A Degree in Architecture
To Sum up
Medical vs. Engineering is an ongoing debate. These two are the most sought-after degrees after the 12th science. At that age, you might not be aware of the insights of these fields. Keep personal aspects in mind always. Personal and professional satisfaction are both necessary to grow in a career. Choose your career path wisely.