Civil or Mechanical

Engineeering
Before you make a choice, it is best to know what is Civil engineering and what is
Mechanical engineering ?
Civil engineering is all about building and construction of structures, while Mechanical
engineering involves working on machines. Both are traditional engineering programmes,
but still high on career demand.
Here below we go through comparison on whether Civil or Mechanical engineering would
be best for a student, in terms of scope of study, work involved, curriculum topics, skills
required etc.,
scope of study
Civil

Designing, constructing and supervising new and old structures viz., roads,
buildings, airports, bridges, water supply systems etc.,

Mechanical

Design and develop machines based on the knowledge of movement and

the power / energy that is involved.
scope of work involved

Civil

Design, supervision and construction of structures.

Calculating the cost involved, safety of the structure and potential

environmental risks.

Involves travelling quite frequently.

Design and control of system that goes into the process of

Mechanical
manufacturing the machinery and product.

Testing new systems

Quality management and improvement

Marketing products and systems

type of industry one works

Civil

Building and construction

Private consulting firms

Government departments

Research institutes etc.,

Manufacturing

Automobile

Power

Aeronautical

Biotechnology

Mechanical

specific skills / attributes

Civil

Good logical and mental capability, problem solving skills and ability to
grasp new concepts are very essential to be a good civil engineer.
Should be able to express yourself using figures and words.

Mechanical

Good technical and communication skill coupled with logical capability to

interpret complex and changing concepts.

curriculum topics / field of study
Civil

Maths

Structures

Foundation

Construction

Eenvironment

Irrigation

Hydraulics

Surveying

Soil analysis

Maths

Physics

Thermodynamics

Fluid mechanics

Machine tool design

Heat transfer etc.,

Mechanical

core subject strength

Civil

Good knowledge of maths.

Mechanical

Good knowledge of maths and physics

specialisations available
Civil

Structural Engineering

Environmental Engineering

Transportation Engineering

Automobile engineering

Biomedical engineering

Environmental Engineering

Nuclear engineering

Nanotechnology

Mechanical

Civil or Mechanical engineering, both are high in demand among students andcareer-wise
too, hence students should choose the one that suits their skillset and have confidence in,
the most.