The Staff Selection Commission opened its Junior Engineer examination for 2026 on 2 September, under advertisement number HQ-C-3019/1/2026-C-3, with 1,748 vacancies and a closing date of 22 September. That much is on every aggregator. The parts worth reading are further in.
The exam is one process feeding several employers — among them the Central Public Works Department, the Military Engineer Services, the Border Roads Organisation and the Central Water Commission. They do not all have the same vacancies, the same age limits, or the same physical requirements. The department-wise vacancy table is what determines where a Civil candidate can actually be placed, and it changes year to year.
The post is Group B, Level 6 of the seventh pay commission, which is a band of ₹35,400 to ₹1,12,400. That band is the pay scale, not the starting salary, and the difference trips up first-time applicants comparing offers against private-sector CTC figures.
Eligibility is a three-year diploma or a degree in the relevant engineering discipline, and the upper age limit differs by department — thirty-two years for several CPWD posts, lower elsewhere. Check the limit against the department you want, not against the headline.
Selection is a two-paper computer-based examination. Paper I is objective across general intelligence, general awareness and the discipline. Paper II is the discipline in depth. Marks from both count, which means a strong Paper I cannot carry a weak Paper II.
One administrative note that costs people their application every year: the fee payment and the final submission are separate steps, and an application that is filled but not submitted before the deadline is simply not an application.