SSC JE
Recruits Junior Engineers (Group B, non-gazetted) in Civil, Mechanical and Electrical disciplines for central organisations such as CPWD, Central Water Commission, Military Engineer Services (MES), Border Roads Organisation and the Farakka Barrage Project.
Eligibility
Degree or diploma in Civil, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering depending on the post; some posts (e.g. MES with a diploma) additionally require two years' relevant work experience. The upper age limit is 30 or 32 years depending on the organisation, with standard category relaxations. Check the post-wise eligibility matrix in the notification before applying.
Age limit: Up to 30–32 years depending on post (minimum 18)
Exam pattern
Two computer-based papers with no interview. Paper 1: 200 marks in 2 hours — General Intelligence & Reasoning (50 marks), General Awareness (50 marks) and the chosen engineering discipline (100 marks); minus 0.25 per wrong answer. Paper 2 (objective CBT since 2023, replacing the old descriptive paper): 300 marks in 2 hours on the engineering discipline alone, with minus 1 mark per wrong answer. Selection concludes with document verification.
Syllabus at a glance
The non-technical half of Paper 1 covers reasoning and general awareness. The technical portion follows the diploma syllabus of the chosen branch: Civil (building materials, surveying, soil mechanics, RCC and steel design, hydraulics, estimating & costing), Electrical (circuits, machines, measurements, power systems, utilisation of energy) or Mechanical (thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and machinery, strength of materials, theory of machines, production engineering).
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Notification | Jul 2026 (delayed from the calendar's 30 April slot) | expected |
| Application window | Jul–Aug 2026 (about four weeks from notification) | expected |
| Paper 1 computer-based exam | Oct–Dec 2026 (the 2025 Paper 1 was postponed to 3–13 Dec 2025) | expected |
| Paper 2 computer-based exam | Early–mid 2027 | tba |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- SSC JE Previous Years' Topicwise Solved Papers (Civil/Mechanical/Electrical) — Made Easy Publications
- Civil Engineering (Conventional & Objective Type) — R. Agor
- Objective Electrical Technology — V.K. Mehta & Rohit Mehta
- Mechanical Engineering (Conventional & Objective Type) — R.S. Khurmi & J.K. Gupta
- Lucent's General Knowledge — Binay Karna & Manwendra Mukul
How toppers play it
- Half of Paper 1 (100 of 200 marks) is non-technical reasoning and general awareness — engineers who skip it lose the Paper 1 merit race to weaker technical candidates who did not.
- Recalibrate risk between papers: negative marking is a light minus 0.25 in Paper 1 but a full minus 1 in Paper 2, so aggressive attempting must stop at Paper 2.
- Paper 2 has been an objective CBT since 2023 — drill numerical MCQs and one-liner theory rather than long derivations from the old descriptive era.
- SSC JE repeats concepts and even question stems from past papers heavily; finish a topicwise PYQ volume for your branch before any new material.
- Verify post-wise eligibility (diploma vs degree, experience clauses, age caps per organisation) before final submission — wrong preferences cost selections at document verification.