ESE Department Preferences Explained: Which One Should You Choose?
The Engineering Service Examination, popularly known as ESE, is the gateway to joining different technical services/departments in India as a Group-A officer. ESE is an annual examination conducted by the prestigious Union Public Service Commission, or UPSC. It is conducted in 3 stages, viz., prelims, mains, and interview. Candidates who are in the final year of engineering or those who have completed their engineering and lie in the age bracket mentioned by UPSC are eligible to appear in ESE.
The Engineering Service Examination is conducted in 4 engineering streams viz, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering. After clearing prelims and mains, candidates are called for an interview or personality test by the UPSC. However, before the interview, candidates need to fill out the ESE department preference list. This list is a part of the Detailed Application Form, or DAF. After filling the list, different departments are allocated to candidates if they clear the interview.
ESE exam pattern
As said above, ESE is conducted in 3 stages, prelims, mains and interview. Let us look at the exam pattern of each stage.
ESE Preliminary examination or prelims is objective type exam with two paper, viz paper 1 and paper 2. Paper 1 is of General Studies and Engineering Aptitude with total of 200 marks and 2 hours duration. Paper 2 is discipline based (civil, mechanical, electrical, electronics and telecommunication) with total of 300 marks and 3 hours duration.
Those who clear prelims examination are called for main exam. ESE Main is descriptive type exam with two papers, viz paper 1 and paper 2. Both paper 1 and paper 2 are of total 300 marks and 6 hours (3 hours each).
After clearing ESE main exam, candidates need to fill their Detailed Application Form or DAF. This DAF, is a crucial part of the process of enrolling in the UPSC exam. Candidates who have successfully qualified for the interview stage of the Engineering Services examination (ESE) are required to fill out this form. The DAF includes six modules, such as personal details, educational information, parental details, employment information, uploading the required documents, and final submission of the Detailed Application Form.
The department are selected while filling the DAF. Candidates select the departments as per their choice. Different department through ESE are given below:
Civil Engineering
(i) Central Engineering Service
(ii) Central Engineering Service (Roads), Group-A (Civil Engineering Posts).
(iii) Survey of India Group ‘A’ Service.
(iv) *AEE (Civil) in Border Roads Engineering Service.
(v) AEE (QS&C) in MES Surveyor Cadre.
(vi) Central Water Engineering (Group ‘A’) Service.
(vii) Indian Skill Development Service.
(viii) Indian Railway Management Service (Civil).
(ix) Indian Railway Management Service (Stores) – Civil Engg. Posts.
Mechanical Engineering
(i) AEE in GSI Engineering Service Gr ‘A’.
(ii) Indian Naval Material Management Service (Mechanical Engineering Posts)
(iii) Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service/SSO-II (Mechanical).
(iv) *AEE (Electrical and Mechanical) in Border Roads Engineering Service (Mechanical Engineering Posts).
(v) Indian Skill Development Service.
(vi) Indian Railway Management Services (Mechanical)
(vii) Indian Railway Management Services (Stores) – Mechanical Engg. Posts.
(viii) Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-I (IEDS) Mechanical Trade
(ix) Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-II (IEDS) Mechanical Trade
(x) AEE Gr ‘A’(Mechanical Engineering Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence
Electrical Engineering
(i) Central Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Service (Electrical Engineering Posts).
(ii) Indian Naval Material Management Service (Electrical Engineering Posts)
(iii) Central Power Engineering Service Gr ‘A’ (Electrical Engineering Posts).
(iv) Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service/SSO-II (Electrical).
(v) Indian Skill Development Service
(vi) Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-I (IEDS) Electrical Trade
(vii) Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-II (IEDS) Electrical Trade
(viii) Indian Railway Management Service (Electrical)
(ix) Indian Railway Management Service (Stores) – Electrical Engg. Posts.
(x) AEE Gr ‘A’(Electrical Engineering Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence
Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering
(i) Indian Radio Regulatory Service Gr ‘A’
(ii) Indian Telecommunications Service Gr ‘A’.
(iii) Indian Naval Material Management Service (Electronics and Telecom Engineering Posts)
(iv) Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service/SSO-II (Electronics & Tele).
(v) Indian Skill Development Service
(vi) Junior Telecom Officer Gr ‘B’
(vii) Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-I (IEDS) Electronics Trade
(viii) Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-II (IEDS) Electronics Trade
(ix) Indian Railway Management Service (Signal &Telecommunication)
(x) Indian Railway Management Service (Stores) – S & T Engg. Posts.
(xi) AEE Gr ‘A’(Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence
ESE Department Preference
As said above, ESE department preference selection is based on the choice of the individual. The selection is based on multiple factors like work culture, postings, promotional aspects, nature of job, transfer frequency, etc. Let us look at some points that aspirants should consider before filling out the ESE department preference.
- ESE Work profile: Work profile is a very important aspect before selecting any department in ESE. As ESE offers Group A posts in different departments of the Government of India, it becomes utmost important that candidates should have a proper idea of the work profile or work culture of different departments. For example, railways through ESE is the first choice of many students. A lot of ESE top rankers want to join Indian Railways as Group A officers through ESE. However, working in railways is not very easy; railway works 24*7 for the whole year without any break, and thus, being a Group A officer, it is expected that the selected individuals would be on their toes.
Other than this, some services offer office-based work, while other services involve different engineering projects or field-based work.
- Job Postings: Job location is another important factor in deciding ESE department preference. Different services offer different work locations as per the requirement. For example, services related to defense might give first postings in areas like Kargil or the Northeast, which might not be preferred by some candidates. Similarly, naval services, like the Indian Naval Material Management Service, might give postings close to naval bases.
- Promotional aspects: The promotional aspects are different in different services. One should keep the promotional aspects in mind before filling out the ESE department choice.
- Work life balance: Generally after clearing ESE, candidates have an assumption of great work-life balance. This might be true in some departments but not in every department. In the initial days after joining, it is expected that the officer should learn different things along with completing the assigned duties. This might hamper work-life balance in some departments.
- Transfer Frequency: Transfers are inevitable in government jobs and when the job is of Group-A officers transfers become a new opportunity to work. One must consider the transfer frequency while filling ESE department preference.
- Facilities and perks: Facilities and perks are different in different services; for example, in railways, railway passes are provided to Group-A officers for travelling. In defense-related services like BRO, MES canteen facilities are provided to Group A officers, where they can purchase different items at subsidized rates.
- Political interference: Although ESE services are generally not affected by political interference, some services like CPWD might have little or more political interference. One must consider this factor while filling out the ESE department preference.
These are some of the factors that a candidate must keep in mind before filing ESE department preference. Now let us look at what should be the department preference for different branches through ESE.
Branch-wise ESE Department preference
Till now, candidates would have gotten some idea about the post preference in ESE. However, it is quite tedious for aspirants to check all the above-mentioned factors and then fill the preference. Therefore, for the ease of aspirants, we are providing branch-wise ESE department preference. These preferences are based upon the combining of all the above-mentioned factors.
Civil Engineering
- Indian Railway Management Service (Civil).
- Indian Railway Management Service (Stores) – Civil Engg. Posts.
- Central Engineering Services
- Central Engineering Service (Roads), Group-A (Civil Engineering Posts).
- Central Water Engineering (Group ‘A’) Service
- Indian Skill Development Service.
- Survey of India Group ‘A’ Service.
- AEE (Civil) in Border Roads Engineering Service.
- AEE (QS&C) in MES Surveyor Cadre.
Mechanical Engineering
- Indian Railway Management Services (Mechanical)
- Indian Railway Management Services (Stores) – Mechanical Engg. Posts.
- Indian Skill Development Service
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-I (IEDS) Mechanical Trade
- AEE in GSI Engineering Service Gr ‘A’
- Indian Naval Material Management Service (Mechanical Engineering Posts)
- Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service/SSO-II (Mechanical).
- AEE (Electrical and Mechanical) in Border Roads Engineering Service (Mechanical Engineering Posts).
- AEE Gr ‘A’(Mechanical Engineering Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-II (IEDS) Mechanical Trade
Electrical Engineering
- Indian Railway Management Service (Electrical)
- Indian Railway Management Service (Stores) – Electrical Engg. Posts.
- Central Power Engineering Service Gr ‘A’ (Electrical Engineering Posts).
- Central Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Service (Electrical Engineering Posts).
- AEE Gr ‘A’(Electrical Engineering Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence
- Indian Skill Development Service
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-I (IEDS) Electrical Trade
- Indian Naval Material Management Service (Electrical Engineering Posts)
- Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service/SSO-II (Electrical).
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-II (IEDS) Electrical Trade
Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering
- Indian Railway Management Service (Signal &Telecommunication)
- Indian Railway Management Service (Stores) – S & T Engg. Posts.
- Indian Telecommunications Service Gr ‘A’.
- Indian Radio Regulatory Service Gr ‘A’
- Indian Skill Development Service
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-I (IEDS) Electronics Trade
- Indian Naval Material Management Service (Electronics and Telecom Engineering Posts)
- Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service/SSO-II (Electronics & Tele).
- AEE Gr ‘A’(Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence
- Junior Telecom Officer Gr ‘B’
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-II (IEDS) Electronics Trade
This is ESE department preference from our end, candidates should note that they should choose the services/departments in ESE as per their requirement. However, they can refer to this preference list in case they need any help. This list is based on considering different factors like nature of job, posting etc. and candidates are free to modify these list as per their requirement.
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Civil Engineering
- 10 rank in top 10
- 20 rank in top 20
- 90 selections out of 92 vacancies
- 73% selection from classroom and online courses
Mechanical Engineering
- 10 rank in top 10
- 16 rank in top 20
- 16 selections out of 18 vacancies
- 69% selection from classroom and online courses
Electrical Engineering
- 10 rank in top 10
- 20 rank in top 20
- 26 selections out of 26 vacancies
- 89% selection from classroom and online courses
Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering
- 10 rank in top 10
- 20 rank in top 20
- 65 selections out of 70 vacancies
- 74% selection from classroom and online courses
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FAQs
What are the ESE departments?
Answer: ESE departments are the services allocated after clearing ESE prelims, main and interview
How is department allocation done?
Answer: Department allocation is done on the basis of marks scored by candidates as well as the preference selected by the candidates while filling out the DAF.
Can department choice affect job profile?
Answer: Yes, every department has different job profile.
Can I change my department after allocation?
Answer: No, department can’t be changed after allocation.
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