In general, a fresh civil engineer can make Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 a month. Someone with 15-20 years’ experience can earn Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh a month. In the government sector, for example, the CPWD director general earns Rs 80,000 a month.

9am: Reach office and start work 10am: Vet the drawings. Make changes and send it to the site 11am: Shoot mails to the mechanical and electrical departments for their inputs 12.30pm: Go through inputs received from various departments 1.30-2pm: Lunch 2pm: Check mails 5pm: Summarise and prepare a report 6 pm: Leave for home (the average day of a site engineer would involve supervision and management) n the payoff Those just starting out can make R30,000 to R40,000 a month. As one progresses and gains experience one can earn R50,000 to R90,000 a month Someone with 15-20 years’ experience can rake in upwards of R1 lakh a month

. You hold a technical qualification that stands you in good stead
. The work can get extremely challenging at times
. You might get to work on  some Heritage building other landmark structures
. You can derive tremendous satisfaction from seeing the physical manifestation of the fruit of your labour 
. The profession is not given its due
. As compared to other engineering streams the compensation is relatively low 
. Involves a lot of travelling which might keep you away from your family for long stretches of time
. You are responsible for the safety and durability of the structures

A student who wishes to get into civil engineering must take up physics, chemistry and maths in Class 12. After completing Class 12,  students can opt for a BE or BTech degree in civil engineering. Admission to the degree programmes is usually done  through an entrance test. One can also enroll for a diploma programme. The diploma holders also have the option of upgrading to the bachelors level through the associate membership of the Institution of Engineers (AMIE).

. The Indian Institutes of Technology, Delhi, Bombay, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Roorkee and Bhubaneswar 
www.jee.iitd.ac.in
. Institute of Technology, Varanasi,
www.itbhu.ac.in
. Delhi Technological University
www.dce.edu
. BITS Pilani
www.bits-pilani.ac.in
. Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra (Ranchi)
www.bitmesra.ac.in 
. National Institutes of Technology - Tiruchirapalli, Warangal, Surathkal, Calicut, Kurukshetra, Durgapur, Rourkela, Jalandhar, Hamirpur, Jamshedpur
nitt.edu, nitw.ac.in, nitk.ac.in, nitc.ac.in, nitkkr.ac.in, nitdgp.ac.in, nitrkl.ac.in, nitj.ac.in, nitham.ac.in, nitjsr.ac.in
. Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad,
www.mnnit.ac.in
. MN Institute of Technology, Jaipur,
www.mnit.ac.in
. Maulana Azad NIT, Bhopal
www.manit.ac.in (Indicative list)