The Military Engineering Services (MES) are availed by the Army, Navy and Air Force in India. They are responsible for the designing, construction and maintenance of all works, buildings, airfields, dock installations, etc. used by the armed forces. Besides, they also solve problems related to military roads, bulk water and electricity supply and drainage among others.
Personal Competencies
You like to build things
You are good at math
You like to help people solve their problems
You are a careful and organized person
Entry Pathway
1. Complete 10+2 in the Science stream (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics)
2. Complete Bachelor’s degree (B.E./B.Tech) in any engineering discipline
OR
Complete Bachelor’s degree, followed by a Master’s degree (M.E./M.Sc) in the same discipline.
After your Bachelor’s/Master’s degree, you are to appear for exams under SSB (Selection Service Board), SSC exams, combined defence services examinations, AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test) and so on.
Please check the duration of the course during enrolment Under Service Selection Board (SSB)
• Technical Graduate Course (Permanent Commission) – Men only. In this case final year engineering students can apply if they have already cleared all papers till third year. Notification is issued twice a year and involves no written exam, only interview
• University Entry Scheme (Permanent Commission) – Men only. Students who are in their pre-final year of engineering can apply. Involves no written exam, only interview
• Short Service Commission Technical Entry (SSC) - gender no bar. It is an eight to 14-year stint. Graduates for technical university can apply.
• Combined Defence Services Examination - can be taken by both engineers and non-engineers and gender no bar. Includes a written-test and followed by an interview. Candidates to serve for 18 months in case of army, navy, airforce and 49 weeks if he or she is part of Officers Training Academy. Under UPSC
• Indian Engineering Services - Candidates can work in Indian Railways, Power, Telecommunications, Central Water engineering, Defence service of Engineers, Central Engineering Service. Candidates must hold a Bachelor's degree in engineering or an equivalent from a recognised university. Other exams
• Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) - Candidates can join as airmen, medical officers, commissioned officers (Ground Duty Non-Technical), engineers (Ground Duty Technical) etc
Please check the duration of the course during enrolment
Where will you study?
You can apply to any recognised engineering college in India.
Fees
•The approx. course fees is around INR 5,000 - 25,00,000.*
*(The above mentioned figures are approximate numbers. This will vary from Institute to Institute)
Scholarships & Loans
Scholarships
• Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana Scholarship - This scholarship is provided to students enrolled in the first year of their engineering undergraduate course. Eligibility includes an aptitude test. It is awarded by the Government of India for economically backward students who have a strong aptitude for scientific research.*
• Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship - About 20,000 such engineering scholarships are awarded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs every year. The full course fees of awardees is directly paid to their institutions under this scheme.*
• Indian Oil Educational Scholarship - The IOC Ltd offers 300 scholarships every year to eligible students. Students need to be enrolled in an undergraduate course. The scholarship particularly focuses on students with physical disabilities, women and students from North East and J&K.*
• National Scholarship Portal - Visit http://www.scholarships.gov.in the National Scholarship Portal. Under this portal there are central government schemes offered by different departments, UGC/AICTE Schemes and State Schemes.*
• Scholarships are made available by institutes themselves based on merit.*
*(Availability of these scholarships vary from time to time)
Loans
• VidyaLakshmi, http://www.vidyalakshmi.co.in, is a portal for students seeking education loan. This portal has been developed under the guidance of the Department of Financial Services, (Ministry of Finance), Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Human Resource Development) and Indian Banks Association (IBA).
• Some states have student credit cards with low interest rates, for instance, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, etc.
• All banks give education loans.
Where will you work?
Places of Work: Army, Navy, Air Force and Defence Research and Development Organisation
Work Environment: Your work environment will vary depending on the wing of the armed forces you are engaged with. While you will work in an office set up, your responsibilities may lead you to travel. You are likely to work 8 to 12 hours. The job is transferable in nature.
Opportunities for work exist for the differently abled in this field
Expected Growth Path
Assistant Garrison Engineer → Garrison Engineer or Assistant Garrison Engineer (independent) → Commander Works Engineer
Lieutenant → Captain → Major → Lieutenant Colonel → Colonel → Brigadier → Major General → Lieutenant General HAG Scale → Lieutenant General HAG +Scale → VCOAS/Army Cdr/Lieutenant General (NFSG) → COAS
OR
Assistant Executive Engineer or Assistant Director → Executive Engineer or Director or Work Manager → Deputy General Manager or Joint Director → Joint General Manager or Chief Engineer (Level 2) → Chief Engineer or Additional General Manager → Senior General Manager or Engineer-in-Chief → Chairman or Managing Director of a governmental organisation
Expected Income
The approximate salary of a Military Engineer ranges between INR 56,100-2,24,100 per month*
Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee (Retd) PVSM, AVSM, YSM was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers in 1971. In the later part of his career, Gen Banerjee was the Chief Engineer, Western Army Command, the General Officer Commanding of the Madhya Bharat Area and the Chief of Staff, Central Army Command. Following his retirement he joined as editor with Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi, and a consulting editor with the reputed Indian Defence Review.*
Military Engineering Services
NCS Code: N/A | E0471. Complete 10+2 in the Science stream (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics)
2. Complete Bachelor’s degree (B.E./B.Tech) in any engineering discipline
OR
Complete Bachelor’s degree, followed by a Master’s degree (M.E./M.Sc) in the same discipline.
After your Bachelor’s/Master’s degree, you are to appear for exams under SSB (Selection Service Board), SSC exams, combined defence services examinations, AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test) and so on.
Please check the duration of the course during enrolment Under Service Selection Board (SSB)
• Technical Graduate Course (Permanent Commission) – Men only. In this case final year engineering students can apply if they have already cleared all papers till third year. Notification is issued twice a year and involves no written exam, only interview
• University Entry Scheme (Permanent Commission) – Men only. Students who are in their pre-final year of engineering can apply. Involves no written exam, only interview
• Short Service Commission Technical Entry (SSC) - gender no bar. It is an eight to 14-year stint. Graduates for technical university can apply.
• Combined Defence Services Examination - can be taken by both engineers and non-engineers and gender no bar. Includes a written-test and followed by an interview. Candidates to serve for 18 months in case of army, navy, airforce and 49 weeks if he or she is part of Officers Training Academy. Under UPSC
• Indian Engineering Services - Candidates can work in Indian Railways, Power, Telecommunications, Central Water engineering, Defence service of Engineers, Central Engineering Service. Candidates must hold a Bachelor's degree in engineering or an equivalent from a recognised university. Other exams
• Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) - Candidates can join as airmen, medical officers, commissioned officers (Ground Duty Non-Technical), engineers (Ground Duty Technical) etc
Please check the duration of the course during enrolment
You can apply to any recognised engineering college in India.
•The approx. course fees is around INR 5,000 - 25,00,000.*
*(The above mentioned figures are approximate numbers. This will vary from Institute to Institute)
Scholarships
• Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana Scholarship - This scholarship is provided to students enrolled in the first year of their engineering undergraduate course. Eligibility includes an aptitude test. It is awarded by the Government of India for economically backward students who have a strong aptitude for scientific research.*
• Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship - About 20,000 such engineering scholarships are awarded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs every year. The full course fees of awardees is directly paid to their institutions under this scheme.*
• Indian Oil Educational Scholarship - The IOC Ltd offers 300 scholarships every year to eligible students. Students need to be enrolled in an undergraduate course. The scholarship particularly focuses on students with physical disabilities, women and students from North East and J&K.*
• National Scholarship Portal - Visit http://www.scholarships.gov.in the National Scholarship Portal. Under this portal there are central government schemes offered by different departments, UGC/AICTE Schemes and State Schemes.*
• Visit http://www.buddy4study.com a gateway to scholarships starting from Class XI.*
• Scholarships are made available by institutes themselves based on merit.*
*(Availability of these scholarships vary from time to time)
Loans
• VidyaLakshmi, http://www.vidyalakshmi.co.in, is a portal for students seeking education loan. This portal has been developed under the guidance of the Department of Financial Services, (Ministry of Finance), Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Human Resource Development) and Indian Banks Association (IBA).
• Some states have student credit cards with low interest rates, for instance, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, etc.
• All banks give education loans.
Places of Work: Army, Navy, Air Force and Defence Research and Development Organisation
Work Environment: Your work environment will vary depending on the wing of the armed forces you are engaged with. While you will work in an office set up, your responsibilities may lead you to travel. You are likely to work 8 to 12 hours. The job is transferable in nature.
Opportunities for work exist for the differently abled in this field
Assistant Garrison Engineer → Garrison Engineer or Assistant Garrison Engineer (independent) → Commander Works Engineer
OR
Garrison Engineer (independent) → Zonal Chief Engineer or Project Manager Map → Command Chief Engineer → DG Map → Engineer in Chief
OR
Lieutenant → Captain → Major → Lieutenant Colonel → Colonel → Brigadier → Major General → Lieutenant General HAG Scale → Lieutenant General HAG +Scale → VCOAS/Army Cdr/Lieutenant General (NFSG) → COAS
OR
Assistant Executive Engineer or Assistant Director → Executive Engineer or Director or Work Manager → Deputy General Manager or Joint Director → Joint General Manager or Chief Engineer (Level 2) → Chief Engineer or Additional General Manager → Senior General Manager or Engineer-in-Chief → Chairman or Managing Director of a governmental organisation
The approximate salary of a Military Engineer ranges between INR 56,100-2,24,100 per month*
Source: https://joinindianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/Portal/NotificationPDF/TGC-136_NOTIFICATION.pdf
*These figures are indicative and subject to change
Experts from the field
Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee (Retd) PVSM, AVSM, YSM was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers in 1971. In the later part of his career, Gen Banerjee was the Chief Engineer, Western Army Command, the General Officer Commanding of the Madhya Bharat Area and the Chief of Staff, Central Army Command. Following his retirement he joined as editor with Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi, and a consulting editor with the reputed Indian Defence Review.*
Source: https://www.vifindia.org/author/lt-gen-retd-gautam-banerjee
*The above information is for training purposes only and will not be used for any commercial gains
indian army corps of engineers, military engineer service, military engineer