Staff Selection Commission Junior Engineer - Electrical Engineering

SSC JE Electrical Engineering is the route into Group B Junior Engineer posts for electrical diploma and degree holders. The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) runs one combined Junior Engineer examination every cycle, and electrical candidates compete for posts such as Junior Engineer (Electrical) and Junior Engineer (Electrical and Mechanical) in central government departments. This page covers the 2026 cycle, based on the official notice of 2 September 2026.

Applications for the 2026 cycle have closed, and the Paper-I schedule has been announced. Below you will find the key dates, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus summary, selection process, pay and a practical preparation plan. Dates and rules can change, so always confirm them on the official SSC website.

Table of Contents

SSC JE Electrical at a glance

Notification overview

SSC published the Junior Engineer notice on 2 September 2026. It covers Junior Engineer posts in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Electrical and Mechanical, and Telecom streams across many central government organisations, along with Scientific Assistant posts in the India Meteorological Department. The total of 1,748 vacancies is tentative, and SSC publishes post-wise and category-wise details separately.

A few points matter for electrical candidates in this cycle:

• One exam, separate merit lists: Paper-I is common, but merit lists are drawn separately by stream. Electrical and Mechanical candidates share one merit list.

• Paper-I is qualifying only: Its marks decide whether you are shortlisted for Paper-II. Final merit is based on Paper-II.

• Extra attention to the deadline: SSC reminded candidates on 17 September 2026 that the closing date would not be extended.

Important dates

The Paper-I dates come from SSC's schedule notice of 1 October 2026. The Paper-II month comes from the main notification and is tentative. Tentative dates come from the notification schedule and can change. Track the official SSC website and your registered email for admit card and city intimation updates.

Posts and vacancies for electrical candidates

Electrical engineers can apply for Junior Engineer posts in the following organisations, as listed in the 2026 notice.

The notice does not give a separate vacancy figure for the electrical stream, and vacancies vary from one cycle to the next. Treat any electrical vacancy number you see elsewhere as indicative until SSC publishes its own list. Candidates for Junior Engineer (Electrical) may also apply for Junior Engineer (Telecom) and Junior Engineer (Electrical and Mechanical), subject to the educational qualification for each post.

Eligibility

Educational qualification

The qualification depends on the post and the department. For electrical posts, it is a diploma or a degree in Electrical Engineering from a recognised institution. Some posts accept a three-year diploma only with two years of relevant experience, and experience counts only if gained after completing the required qualification.

Age limit

The upper age limit is 30 years for some posts and 32 years for others, counted as on 1 August 2026. Reserved categories receive the standard relaxations, which are explained on the eligibility page.

Other conditions

Candidates must be Indian citizens, or fall in the other nationality categories listed in the notice, which require an eligibility certificate. BRO posts are open to male candidates only.

Application fee and how to apply

Fee payment is online only. Applications are submitted through the SSC portal in these steps:

1. Complete One-Time Registration on the SSC website if you have not already.

2. Log in and open the Junior Engineer Examination 2026 application.

3. Fill in personal, educational and post preference details carefully.

4. Upload your photograph and signature as per the specifications in the notice.

5. Pay the fee if you are not exempt, and submit the form.

Applications can be rejected for blurred signatures or photographs that do not meet the rules, so check the upload specifications in the notice before submitting.

Exam pattern

SSC JE has two computer-based papers. Paper-I tests reasoning, awareness and your engineering subject, and only qualifies you. Paper-II is a pure engineering paper whose marks decide merit.

Negative marking is 0.25 marks per wrong answer in Paper-I and 1 mark per wrong answer in Paper-II. Each Paper-II question carries 3 marks, so a wrong guess costs a third of what a right answer earns. That makes selective attempting important.

What this means for you:

• Engineering decides your rank: Paper-II carries 300 marks and is the only paper counted for merit, so most of your preparation time should go to Electrical Engineering.

• Do not ignore Paper-I: You must clear the minimum qualifying marks to be shortlisted, and the reasoning and awareness sections are scoring.

• Guess with care in Paper-II: A wrong answer costs a full mark, so attempt only questions where you can eliminate options with confidence.

Older pages may still show previous patterns, so follow the official notification. A detailed breakdown is on the SSC JE Electrical exam pattern page.

Syllabus summary

Paper-I and Paper-II share the same Electrical Engineering subject, with Paper-II going deeper. The notification lists topics under these headings.

The full topic-by-topic checklist is on the SSC JE Electrical syllabus page.

Selection process

1. Paper-I: Computer-based and qualifying. Minimum qualifying marks are 30% for UR, 25% for OBC and EWS, and 20% for all other categories.

2. Paper-II: Computer-based and counted in merit. Shortlisting for this stage is based on normalised Paper-I marks.

3. Merit list: Prepared by stream. Where papers run in several shifts, marks are normalised using the formula in SSC's notice of 2 June 2025. Electrical and Mechanical papers are normalised against each other.

4. Post preference and allocation: Candidates submit preferences online before the first round of tentative allocation. Preferences are final once submitted.

5. Document verification: Done by the user department after the final result. Candidature stays provisional until certificates are verified.

No waiting list is maintained, and success in the exam does not confer a right to appointment.

Salary and career growth

Junior Engineer is a Group B post at Pay Level 6 of the pay matrix. The notice indicates a pay range of Rs. 35,400 to Rs. 1,12,400, plus allowances such as dearness allowance, house rent allowance and travel allowance. In-hand salary is not an official figure. It varies by department, city and the allowances applicable at the time.

Junior Engineers typically grow through departmental promotions to posts such as Assistant Engineer. Promotion rules differ by organisation, so check the service rules of the department you are allocated to.

How to prepare

Start with the high-weight engineering topics

Paper-II is entirely Electrical Engineering, so begin with the topics that connect to many others: network theorems and AC circuits, transformers, DC and induction machines, power systems and measurements. Strong basics here make later chapters such as power electronics and protection easier.

Build a plan around both papers

• Weeks 1 to 8: Cover core electrical subjects with notes, and spend 30 minutes a day on reasoning.

• From week 3: Add general awareness through short daily reading and a monthly revision note.

• From week 6: Take topic-wise tests after finishing each chapter, with timed numerical practice.

• Final phase: Attempt full-length mocks in the exam pattern, analyse each one the same day and revise from an error log.

Practise in the real format

Mock tests teach you the thing notes cannot: how to manage two hours and a negative marking rule. Pair them with previous year papers to understand the real difficulty level. You can also keep SSC JE Electrical study notes handy for quick revision of formulas and key concepts.

Cut-off reference

SSC publishes cut-offs after each stage. In the previous cycle, Paper-I normalised cut-offs for the Electrical and Mechanical group were around 127 marks for UR and OBC, with lower figures for reserved categories. Cut-offs change every year with difficulty, vacancies and the number of applicants. Treat last year's figures as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above them rather than a bare pass.

Official updates, notices and results are available on the Staff Selection Commission website.