What qualification an AI engineer needs in India, from 48 fresher job listings

What degree fresher AI engineer jobs in India ask for

AI engineer jobs open to freshers in India ask for a degree, and where they name one, it is usually a computer-related one. On 27 October 2026 we read the first three pages of Naukri's search for AI engineer jobs at 0 years of experience (Naukri, AI engineer, 0 years), kept the 48 listings titled as AI engineering roles (42 jobs and 6 internships), and read what each description says about degrees, in the employer's own words.

This is one reading of one job board's first pages, in Naukri's own order, mostly from small companies. It shows what fresher AI engineer listings ask for, not whom they hire.

Naukri's "Any Graduate" is not the whole answer

Every Naukri listing has an education field the employer fills in, and for AI engineer jobs it usually reads "UG: Any Graduate". It did on 39 of the 48 fresher listings we read. The descriptions behind those 39 often say something narrower: 22 of them name a degree in their own words, and 18 of those ask for a computer-related one, such as "a degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field".

The other 9 education fields name a degree outright: a B.Tech or B.E. in computer science, IT or AI branches on 4, a B.Tech or B.E. in any branch on 2, a B.Sc, BCA or B.Tech in AI branches on 1, and a postgraduate degree only on 2. The field is filled in loosely, too: 8 of these AI engineer listings name "LLM in Law" among the postgraduate degrees they accept. Read the description, not only the field, before deciding a listing is open to your degree.

Which degree for an AI engineer: computer science or any engineering?

For an AI engineer job in India, computer science is the degree named most, but it is rarely the only one accepted. Of the 28 fresher listings whose descriptions name a degree, 23 ask for computer science, IT, AI or data science "or a related field", and 12 of those 23 also accept any engineering branch or one close to it, such as electronics. Two of the 23 also accept mathematics.

Two listings ask for a master's degree: one in machine learning, statistics, computer science, physics or maths, and one for a B.Tech and an MS together. They are the exception among AI engineer jobs at 0 years of experience, not the rule. A B.Tech or B.E. in a branch outside computer science is accepted in more fresher AI engineer listings than a master's is required in.

Can you become an AI engineer with BCA, B.Sc or MCA?

A BCA, B.Sc or MCA is named in some AI engineer listings for freshers and excluded by none. MCA appears in 4 of the 48 descriptions we read and in 3 education fields. BCA or B.Sc appears in 1 description, which accepts "Any Graduate (B.E./B.Tech, MCA, M.Tech, M.Sc. (CS/IT), BCA, BCS, B.Sc. (CS/IT), or equivalent preferred)", and in 2 education fields, one of them for a BCA or B.Sc in artificial intelligence. Where a listing names a degree, it is usually a computer-related one, and BCA and MCA are computer degrees by name.

Campus drives are different: each company publishes its own degree list. Our guide placement preparation for B.Tech and MCA students shows which of TCS, Accenture, Wipro and Cognizant list MCA, from their own notices.

AI engineer after 12th: the degree comes first

After 12th, the route to an AI engineer job in India runs through a degree, because the fresher listings ask for one. The degree named most often by name is a B.E. or B.Tech: in 6 of the 48 descriptions and 9 education fields. Some ask for computer science, IT or an AI branch, and others accept any branch. BCA and B.Sc are named less often, in 1 description and 2 education fields.

For a student choosing after 12th, the listings point the same way as the rest of this guide: a computer-related bachelor's degree is asked for most, an engineering degree in another branch is accepted by many, and the skills come next. Our AI engineer roadmap for freshers in India sets out those skills, stage by stage, checked against the same kind of listings.

Does an AI engineer need JEE?

An AI engineer job does not ask for JEE. None of the 48 fresher AI engineer listings we read mentions JEE or any entrance exam; they ask for a degree and for skills. JEE matters earlier, for getting into a B.Tech. The National Testing Agency's information bulletin for JEE (Main) 2027 says Paper 1 "is conducted for admission to Undergraduate Engineering Programs at NITs, IIITs, other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs) and Institutions / Universities funded / recognized by participating State Governments", and that "JEE (Main) is also an eligibility test for JEE (Advanced), which is conducted for admission to IITs" (NTA, JEE (Main) 2027 bulletin).

The same bulletin lists, among the examinations that qualify a candidate for JEE (Main), "A diploma recognized by AICTE or a State board of technical education of at least 3 years duration", beside Class 12.

Can you become an AI engineer without a degree?

None of the 48 AI engineer listings open to freshers that we read said a degree was not needed, and every one of their education fields named a degree. Four descriptions accept something else beside the degree: "or equivalent", "or equivalent education and experience", "or equivalent practical experience", and, in one list of degrees, "or equivalent preferred". So the fresher AI engineer listings on Naukri expect a degree, and a few leave room for experience alongside it.

What this reading cannot show is who gets hired outside these listings. A job board's first pages say what employers ask for in public, and the honest answer from them is that a fresher without a degree is applying against the stated requirement of every listing we read.

Marks and graduation years in AI engineer listings

Marks cut-offs are rare in fresher AI engineer listings on Naukri. Two of the 48 we read set one, both posted by the same recruiter: "Minimum 70% marks in 10th, Intermediate, and the highest degree" in one, and "Minimum 65% in the highest degree" in the other. One of those two also limits the graduation year, to "2025, 2026, 2027". The other 46 listings set neither.

Campus drives set their own cut-offs and degree lists, and they are stricter documents than a job board listing. Check each company's notice; our placement preparation guide quotes them.

After the degree: the skills AI engineer listings ask for

A degree gets an application read; the skills in the same listings decide what happens next. In 44 fresher AI engineer listings we read on Naukri on 19 October 2026, 35 asked for Python, 30 for APIs or databases, and 29 for building on large language models. Our AI engineer roadmap for freshers puts those skills in order. For the difference between the AI engineer and the machine learning engineer, and what each is paid, see our guide AI engineer vs ML engineer.

Where Prokopi Vanguard fits

Prokopi Vanguard, Prokopi's AI engineering program, "is for B.Tech and MCA students who want to clear placements and build real AI products", in the words of Prokopi's own FAQ. The program, its modules and its terms are on the Prokopi Vanguard page.