(‘The Right Choice’ is a series by The Indian Express that addresses common questions, misconceptions, and doubts surrounding undergraduate admissions. You can read the stories here.)Engineering aspirants often face a dilemma when choosing between a Diploma in Automobile Engineering and a BTech in Mechanical Engineering. Both options lead to exciting career opportunities, but they differ in terms of scope, duration, fees, entry level, and long-term growth. Let’s dive into a detailed comparison to understand the differences, career prospects, and who should choose which path.A Diploma in Automobile Engineering is a subset of Mechanical Engineering at the bachelor’s level. The diploma course is a narrowed-down to a specialisation with a duration of three years, and the bachelor course is a broad spectrum of Mechanical Engineering with a duration of four years.As per the academic fee is concerned, the diploma course is much cheaper than the degree course. The entry level to the course for a diploma is much ahead, i.e, soon after Class 10. However, after Class 12, if anyone is interested in receiving a diploma, they could join directly in the 2nd year. But for a degree course, the entry level is after Class 12 only. To get admission to both programmes, students should have studied physics, chemistry, and mathematics. There will be an entrance examination to get into an undergraduate degree program, and no such examination for diploma courses.The nature of the learning for the diploma is more practical, hands-on, and workshop-based in vehicle design, maintenance, servicing, and production. On the other hand, a degree course focuses on a combination of theoretical and practical, research-oriented and covering broader areas of study in foundation covering mechanics, thermodynamics, materials, robotics, energy systems, and more, with the option to specialize in automotive or related fields. The job roles after the diploma are automobile technician, service engineer, workshop assistant/ supervisor, quality inspector, production assistant, etc. in automobile workshops, vehicle manufacturing plants, component suppliers, transport corporations, and service centers with an average salary of Rs. 1.8 – 3.5 LPA, the growth plateaus without higher studies. However, there is an option one can pursue lateral entry to BTech (starting directly from 2nd year) for better positions and higher salaries.The job roles after BTech in Mechanical Engineering are Design Engineer, Research and Development Engineer, Production Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Project Engineer, Service Engineer, Automotive Engineer, Maintenance Engineer, Robotics Engineer, Quality Engineer, Automation Engineer, etc. in Automotive, Aerospace, Energy, Oil & Gas, Robotics, Heavy Machinery, Research Organizations, and even IT (Data analytics, simulation, AI in mechanical systems) and many more with the average salary of Rs. 3.5 –12 LPA depending on company and skills.BTech in Mechanical Engineering can fetch more diverse placements in both core engineering and interdisciplinary fields (automation, data science, renewable energy, etc.) and also acts as a gateway to doing higher studies in India and abroad, further to reach the highest academic level of PhD.Story continues below this adOne can choose a Diploma in Automobile Engineering if the person wants to start working right after schooling (10th/12th), who prefers practical and hands-on training and is passionate about vehicles. One can choose a BTech in Mechanical Engineering if the person is strong in Physics and Mathematics, aiming for higher-paying jobs, further growth in the career via promotions, and especially looking for global opportunities, having the flexibility to work in different industries, not just the automobile.(The author is from Alliance School of Applied Engineering)