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WBPSC Assistant Engineer (Civil) — exam pattern, syllabus & preparation

The Public Service Commission, West Bengal recruits degree-holding civil engineers as Assistant Engineers for state government departments such as PWD, Irrigation & Waterways and Public Health Engineering. Selection is by an objective written test followed by a personality test.

At a glance

Conducted by	Public Service Commission, West Bengal (WBPSC) — psc.wb.gov.in
Post	Assistant Engineer (Civil), West Bengal government departments
Qualification	B.E. / B.Tech in Civil Engineering, or equivalent
Age limit	Up to 36 years in the 2025 notice (relaxation for reserved categories as per rules)
Selection	Written test (objective) → Personality test (interview)

Written test pattern

Questions	100 multiple-choice questions on Civil Engineering
Marks	200 — 2 marks per question
Duration	2 hours
Negative marking	2/3 mark deducted for every wrong answer

Based on the 2025 WBPSC AE notification. Patterns can change between cycles — always confirm with the official advertisement on psc.wb.gov.in before you apply.

Syllabus — what the paper covers

The paper is degree-level Civil Engineering. Across the previous papers, questions come from these subjects:

Structural analysis & SOMStress–strain, BMD/SFD, deflection, indeterminate structures, columns and buckling

RCC design (IS 456)Limit state method, beams, slabs, columns, footings, development length, prestressed basics

Steel structures (IS 800)Bolted and welded connections, tension and compression members, beams, roof trusses

Soil mechanics & foundationsIndex properties, permeability, consolidation, shear strength, bearing capacity, piles

Fluid mechanics & hydraulicsFlow through pipes and open channels, notches and weirs, pumps and turbines

Irrigation & hydrologyDuty–delta, canals, headworks, dams and spillways, rainfall–runoff

Environmental engineeringWater supply and treatment, sewage treatment, sanitation, pollution control

Transportation engineeringHighway geometrics and pavements (IRC), traffic, railways

SurveyingLevelling, theodolite and traversing, contouring, curves

Materials, estimating & managementBuilding materials, construction, estimating and costing, PERT/CPM

How to prepare

Start with previous papers. WBPSC repeats concepts heavily — work through the old papers first to see which topics come up again and again.
Respect the negative marking. At −2/3 per wrong answer, a blind guess costs you on average. Answer when you can eliminate at least two options.
Revise the codes. Many RCC and steel questions are direct clause values from IS 456 and IS 800 — keep a one-page sheet of key numbers.
Practise against the clock. 100 questions in 120 minutes is about 72 seconds each, so attempt full timed papers, not just topics.