| Conducting body | Staff Selection Commission (SSC). Official website ↗ |
|---|---|
| Posts | Junior Engineer (Civil), Junior Engineer (Electrical), Junior Engineer (Mechanical), Junior Engineer (Telecom), Scientific Assistant, India Meteorological Department |
| Qualification | Depends on the post and is counted on the closing date of applications. CPWD, CWPRS, Farakka Barrage, Brahmaputra Board and NTRO accept a diploma in the relevant branch, and the Central Water Commission and the Fisheries ministry accept a degree or diploma. BRO, MES and DGQA (Naval) want an engineering degree, or a three-year diploma plus two years of experience; the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships wants a degree, or a diploma with three years of experience. JE (Telecom) in DoT needs a B.E./B.Tech in one of the branches listed. Scientific Assistant in IMD needs a B.Sc. with Physics, or a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Applications, Electronics, IT or a related branch with Physics and Mathematics in Class 12. |
| Age limit | 18–32 years on 1 August 2026 (general category) |
| Domicile | Not required |
| Selection stages | Paper-I computer based exam (qualifying, used to shortlist for Paper-II) → Paper-II computer based exam (final merit uses the normalised Paper-II score only) → Document verification by the user department |
| Latest notification | Notice of Junior Engineer Examination, 2026 · 1,748 vacancies |
Last checked . Sources
About SSC JE
SSC JE recruits Junior Engineers for central organisations such as CPWD, the Border Roads Organisation, the Central Water Commission, Military Engineer Services and DGQA (Naval). All posts are Group B at Pay Level 6. The 2026 exam also recruits Scientific Assistants for the India Meteorological Department. Applications ran from 2 to 22 September 2026.
Eligibility
Age limit
General category: 18–32 years, counted on 1 August 2026.
Age relaxation
- OBC: 3 years
- SC: 5 years
- ST: 5 years
- PwBD: 10 years
- The upper age limit is 30 years for most posts and 32 years for JE posts in CPWD and the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships.
- PwBD candidates get 10 years (13 for OBC, 15 for SC/ST).
- Ex-servicemen get 3 years after deducting their military service from their actual age.
Qualification
Depends on the post and is counted on the closing date of applications. CPWD, CWPRS, Farakka Barrage, Brahmaputra Board and NTRO accept a diploma in the relevant branch, and the Central Water Commission and the Fisheries ministry accept a degree or diploma. BRO, MES and DGQA (Naval) want an engineering degree, or a three-year diploma plus two years of experience; the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships wants a degree, or a diploma with three years of experience. JE (Telecom) in DoT needs a B.E./B.Tech in one of the branches listed. Scientific Assistant in IMD needs a B.Sc. with Physics, or a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Applications, Electronics, IT or a related branch with Physics and Mathematics in Class 12.
Selection process
- Paper-I computer based exam (qualifying, used to shortlist for Paper-II)
- Paper-II computer based exam (final merit uses the normalised Paper-II score only)
- Document verification by the user department
Exam pattern
Paper-I
Mode: Computer based, objective multiple choice · Duration: 2 hours · Negative marking: 0.25 mark per wrong answer
| SUBJECT | QUESTIONS | MARKS |
|---|---|---|
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 50 | 50 |
| General Awareness | 50 | 50 |
| General Engineering in your branch (Civil and Structural, Electrical or Mechanical; separate parts for IMD and Telecom) | 100 | 100 |
Paper-II
Mode: Computer based, objective multiple choice · Duration: 2 hours · Negative marking: 1 mark per wrong answer
| SUBJECT | QUESTIONS | MARKS |
|---|---|---|
| General Engineering in your branch | 100 | 300 |
SSC JE syllabus
Civil and Structural Engineering
- Engineering mechanics, solid mechanics and structural analysis
- Construction materials, construction management, estimating and valuation
- Concrete and steel structures
- Surveying
- Soil mechanics
- Fluid mechanics, hydraulics, hydrology and irrigation
- Water, wastewater, air pollution and solid waste
- Highways, pavements and traffic engineering
Electrical Engineering
- Circuit elements, network solution methods and theorems
- Magnetic circuits and AC fundamentals
- Measurement and measuring instruments
- Transformers, DC machines, induction motors and synchronous machines
- Generation, transmission and distribution
- Estimation and costing, utilisation of electrical energy
Mechanical Engineering
- Engineering mechanics and strength of materials
- Theory of machines and machine design
- Materials science
- Thermal engineering
- Fluid mechanics and hydraulic machinery
- Industrial and manufacturing engineering, metrology
Paper-I general parts
- General intelligence and reasoning
- General awareness
What they ask
Paper-I has 200 questions in 2 hours: 50 on reasoning, 50 on general awareness and 100 on your engineering branch, with 0.25 mark cut per wrong answer. It only decides who reaches Paper-II, because final merit uses the normalised Paper-II score alone. Paper-II has 100 questions on your branch worth 3 marks each, and a wrong answer costs a full mark. Civil, Electrical and Mechanical questions are set at about diploma level, while the IMD and Telecom subjects are at graduation level.
How to prepare
- Put most of your time into your own branch. It is half of Paper-I and all of Paper-II.
- Civil candidates should cover the whole Paper-II list, from surveying, soil mechanics and hydraulics to concrete and steel design, estimating and environmental engineering.
- Clear the Paper-I minimum with room to spare: 30% for UR, 25% for OBC/EWS and 20% for other categories, with shortlisting done on merit above that.
- In Paper-II a wrong answer takes away 1 of the 3 marks you could gain, so skip questions you cannot narrow down.
- Keep reasoning and general awareness in practice with daily topic-wise practice quizzes on the free Improvam app.
Practise SSC JE syllabus topics a few minutes a day with short quizzes in the Improvam app.
SSC JE FAQs
Yes, for most posts. A few departments, such as BRO and DGQA (Naval), want either a degree or a three-year diploma with two years of experience, so check the post table in the notice.
Sources
- SSC notice: Junior Engineer Examination, 2026 ↗ (official, checked )
- SSC addendum on Scientific Assistant (IMD) qualification, Junior Engineer Examination, 2026 ↗ (official, checked )
- Staff Selection Commission home page ↗ (official, checked )
Checked against official sources on . Rules change with each notification, so read the latest one before you apply.