Men of iron

Metallurgy is one of the oldest sciences. It concerns itself with metals and their applications. Metallurgical engineering deals with the extraction of metals from their ores, purifying them and shaping them for practical use.

The lowdown
Metallurgy is one of the oldest sciences. It concerns itself with metals and their applications. Metallurgical engineering deals with the extraction of metals from their ores, purifying them and shaping them for practical use. This subject includes physical and chemical properties of metals, their atomic and crystalline structures, mineral beneficiation, and the structure-property relationship

Clockwork
For those into research and teaching:
6am: Wake up
8.30am: Take class
Noon: Prepare class notes, write papers/ analyse data
1.30pm: Lunch
3.15pm: : Go the library and read up on research work
5pm: Call it a day

The payoff
At entry level, income could be Rs40,000 per month. At the mid-level it can go up to Rs1 lakh to a month. At the senior level, the sky is the limit

Skills/TRAITS
* Knowledge of experimental techniques, operational features of sophisticated instruments
* Good analytical skills

Getting there
You should take PCM in Class 12 and clear the IIT-Joint Entrance Examination. You have to then complete a four-year degree programme in metallurgical engineering, which is conducted by some IITs, NITs and other engineering colleges or a five- year dual degree - BTech and MTech together - offered by these IITs/engineering institutes

Institutes and URLs
* IIT Kharagpur www.iitkgp.ernet.in
* IIT, Mumbai http://www.iitb.ac.in

Pros and cons
* Variety in work - from the nano level (real small materials)

There is very less awareness about this field. It is essential for people to know that it offers tremendous scope Rajesh Vishwakarma, retired additional chief engineer

HT Image

at a thermal power plant in Gujarat