I have friends studying production engineering at PEC Chandigarh and they have come across that it is somewhat similar to mechanical engineering. You can expect a lot of mechanics and physics, however, some subjects differ as you get into the core.

Coming to the question, it totally depends on your pool of interest whether you are into mechanics and production or metallurgy. Here are two major factors you might consider before choosing any of them

• Production Engineering can get you jobs and packages similar to mechanical engineering. Also, it is a versatile branch where you can learn about manufacturing, operation, maintenance, etc.
• If you are planning to get into research work after completion of engineering, then you must choose Metallurgy. It has broader research scopes than production engineering.

At the end of the day, follow your passion and know where you can invest these 4 years of your life. Nevertheless, if getting a job is your goal then go for production engineering. On the other hand, metallurgy engineering can open doors for good research work if you are interested in doing so.

My brother had the option of VIT for CSE on merit still he chose PEC metallurgy. There are various reasons as to why he took that decision:

• VIT is more expensive. Even if he had gone on merit, it would have cost him much more than PEC.
• Placements in core companies in ECE are negligible. You can sit for IT companies, but they pay less to ECE undergraduates than CSE counterparts.
• If you are a north Indian, culturally VIT might be different and might take time to adjust.
• Metallurgy is an undervalued branch in India; many of my seniors are pursuing MS from Germany, the United States, and France, and some have gone to IIMs and FMS with strong credentials.
• One of our seniors received a PPO of 15 lakhs, which is more than many students from elite branches.
• You can choose to upgrade, but you'll quickly realize that it's not that simple because the grading criteria favors those who are less deserving (no offense).
• Whether you accept it or not, those who claim that placement in metallurgy is poor (as it is in all branches except CS/IT) are correct. Placements in the core are hard to come by.
• Only 4000 people in GATE are from metallurgy, whereas there are 1.8 lakh from CSE and 2.1 lakh from Mechanical, implying that the probability of you getting a PSU is greater than that of a mechanical engineer.

I personally believe VIT is overrated because a friend who did not even pass mains received 2000 AIR in VITEEE. In the CBSE 2016 boards, he scored 78 percent, which was below average.

Always pursue what you are interested in because if you love to do something in a field particularly, you will definitely achieve heights. Since I have a few friends at PEC, I can give you some idea about the Metallurgy course offered there. 

PEC-Metallurgy:

• The alumni base of PEC Chandigarh is immense and they still make huge donations for students.
• If you need the best facilities such as college hostel life, high-speed Wi-Fi, Co-curricular activities Join PEC.
• But, quality of education plays a vital role which is average at PEC. 
• However, you will surely get placements. 

Here’s a brief comparison of the institutes.

Now, if you want to do research or want good placements, don’t even think about Pantnagar. 

It depends upon your expectations, your goals, your abilities, etc. The worth of doing Material Sciences and Metallurgy Engineering at PEC Chandigarh will depend on the following factor:

• If you gave your very best at the entrance exams but still could not score well enough to get a higher rank which would have given you an option for a better college or branch, then probably it is best to move on and choose the branch and the college. There will be opportunities here as well, no doubt about that.
• If you think you did not give your full efforts and you could do better in the next year, then definitely you should drop a year for better preparation. It is better to drop rather than lamenting in the future that you did not give your 100% and got stuck here.
• If you prefer engineering and you are passionate about the subject, then the college reputation and brand should not bother you much. It is about the learning you would get and not about other stuff like rankings, placements, etc. You would get plenty of options and opportunities here as well and after graduating too.
• If placements matter to you more than anything and you do not have any preference about the branch you would get, then definitely you should prefer a college with a better reputation, placements, etc.

PEC Chandigarh is not a bad college and has a legacy of close to 100 years now. It is also ranked 68 in the NIRF 2020 engineering college rankings. Take a decision based on what you want rather than superficial stats and other things.

NIT Tadepalligudem is located in Tadepalligudem, Andhra Pradesh is the news NIT in India. The institute is recognized by AICTE and UGC. It offers a 4 year BTech course and 3 postgraduate courses along with BTech in Metallurgical and Material Engineering. 

The course curriculum for Metallurgical and Material Engineering involves the physical and chemical properties and behavior of metallic elements, compounds, and alloys.

Admission Requirements 

• Students who want to seek admission for BTech Metallurgical and Material Engineering at NIT Tadepalligudem should have 75% in their 10+2 qualifying exam with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as compulsory subjects.
• JEE Main rank will be considered for selection. The final selection will be based on the entrance exam scores.

The table given below gives a brief overview of the institute:

Placement Highlights - 

Though Metallurgical and Material Engineering might not be as recognized as the other or core engineering fields, it still is one of the diverse interdisciplinary fields. Metallurgical Engineers can work in both PSU and MNCs.

• Students opting for Metallurgical Engineering can work as Process Metallurgist, Metallurgical Engineer, Chemical and Physical Metallurgist.

• More than 22 companies participated in the placement program.
• 154 students received job offers.
• The top recruiting companies include Tata, Usha Martin, Vedanta, JCAP, DRDO, Essar Steel, L&T Hydrocarbons, BHEL, Jindal Steel, Hindustan Copper Limited, NTPC, etc.

Faculty:

NIT Andhra Pradesh Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering has 5 faculty members and 4 of them have PhDs.

Facilities: 

• The Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at NIT Andhra Pradesh has two well-equipped laboratories, i.e. Physical Metallurgy and Metallography Lab and Unit Processes In Extractive Metallurgy Lab.

• The institute also provides students with hostel facilities, library facilities, sports facilities, and transportation facilities.

NIT Trichy would be a better choice than IIT Bhubaneswar for Metallurgy because of the following reasons.

• The placements are better for in ECE than in Metallurgy.
• If students fail to get core placement in NIT Trichy, they can still try for top-notch coding and management companies recruiting from the ECE department.
• There are numerous Technical clubs for first years students who are passionate about Electronics.
• NIT Trichy has lower academic fees than IIT Bhubaneswar. But it may vary for different courses. The course fee of B.Tech in NIT is 72,100 whereas in IIT Bhubaneswar it is 1.4 lakh.
• In terms of quality of infrastructure and social life, NIT Trichy is better than IIT Bhubaneswar as it is much older.
• NIT Trichy ECE in 2019 has undergraduate placement of 95% and IIT Bhubaneswar Metallurgy has 90% placement in 2019.

One of my acquaintances who has graduated from VNIT has asked me to choose my institute by keeping the following points in mind.

• VNIT for metallurgy would be a suitable choice for you if you don’t have a particular liking. Apart from that, the metallurgy of VNIT holds an enviable position in India. The syllabus for metallurgy is vast and involves a lot of memorization.
• If you want CS and unfortunately end up not getting it, the next logical step would be to choose IT. The syllabus of IT and CS are almost the same. In the big picture, it will have little importance if you complete your B.Tech from VNIT or NIT Raipur. You will have a degree and you will not regret the decision you made.

IT has a lot of scopes. Later down the road, if you want to continue with your higher studies, you will be capable of switching to almost any department pertaining to computers. IT from NIT Raipur is an excellent choice.

The scope in the metallurgy sector is limited nowadays. It is obviously your call, though. There is vast scope in IT like research, job, etc.