What is Electronic Engineering? Branches, Scope, Jobs, Salary and Courses

Hello Friends! I hope you are doing well. Today, we are going to discuss a very comprehensive branch of engineering named "Electronic Engineering". We will cover the following content: Branches' of Electronic Engineering, electronic engineering vs electrical engineering, electronic engineering jobs, electronic engineering salary, electronic engineering courses, electronic engineering degree, final year project ideas of electronic engineering and top electronic engineers & their contribution. Trust me; this is going to be very informative. So let's get started! Electronics engineering is actually a sub-field of electrical engineering, but a broad field itself and further divided into various sub-fields such as analog electronics, consumer electronics, digital electronics embedded electronic systems and power electronics. Don't worry, we will also discuss these branches of electronic engineering briefly in this article. But here, let's start from the very basic what is Electronic Engineering?

What is Electronic Engineering?

  • Electronic Engineering(sub-branch of Electrical Engineering) deals with the designing & developing of electronics circuits/systems using electronics components i.e. semiconductors(transistors, diodes etc.), integrated chips(ULN2003, CD4050 etc.), logic gates etc.
  • Although Electronics Engineering was initially derived from Electrical Engineering but it has quickly established itself as Major Engineering Branch.
  • Now-a-days, new engineering branches are getting derived from Electronics engineering i.e. Embedded Systems.
  • Electronics has revolutionized technology as electronics devices are small-sized and highly efficient.

History of Electronics Engineering

After the revolution of Electrical Engineering, world was introduced with electrical devices i.e. radio, printers, televisions etc. The manufacturing process of these electrical devices was normally divided into three sections, which were:
  1. Mechanical: The designing of mechanical box to encapsulate everything.
  2. Electrical: Designing of electrical power supply circuits, which normally involved transformers, capacitors, inductors etc.
  3. Electronics: Designing of electronic circuits to perform smart operations i.e. turning power on/off, controlling IR remote etc.
Initially, these electronics circuit designing was the job of electrical engineers but later on, it seemed necessary to consider it as a separate branch and eventually around 1950 electronics engineering emerged as a new engineering field. Now-a-days, electronics engineering is enlisted in almost every engineering university.

Electronic engineering VS electrical engineering

As I mentioned in above section, Electrical engineering deals with the power management i.e. grid station, transmission lines, power generation, power conversions(AC to DC or vice versa) etc. So, in simple words, everything involved with electricity supply comes under electrical engineering. It could be a power supply to a simple computer or designing of a power grid itself. While Electronics engineering deals with the designing of smart circuits or kits, specifically designed for performing smart fixed operations. Let's understand the difference with the example of a simple general purpose computer/laptop, it's power supply is designed by an electrical engineer while its circuits/chips(i.e. RAM, ROM, processor etc.) are designed by electronics engineer.

Branches of Electronic Engineering

There are many branches of electronic engineering. In this section, I will discuss them briefly for your better understanding.

1. Signal processing

This branch of electronic engineering deals with the evaluation and analysis of signals. There are two kinds of signals; analog and digital. In analog signaling, the main concern is amplification of audio signals using different equipment. Whereas, digital signaling involves the checking and correction of error in the system.

2. Telecommunications engineering

It mainly focuses on the proper transmission systems of information using different communication devices (e.g. transceiver). They usually work on the strength of signals, make them strong enough to communicate well without any hindrance. This is also known as electronics and telecommunication engineering, deals with IT, computer and networking. They also find jobs in the air and space companies to get information. They are also responsible for checking aircraft communication n and navigation system proper functioning before the flight. Their works are in various firms and organization involve in air and space.

3. Electromagnetics

This branch provides insight study about the wireless and wired signals transmission channels.  Such as the key focuses are on electromagnetic waves, Transmission Lines and Waveguides, Antennas, their types and uses with microwave and radio frequency waves.

4. Control engineering

This branch of electronic engineering has broad uses in airplane companies and automation industries.

5. Instrumentation engineering

These engineers work on the designing and manufacturing of physical quantity measurement devices. Such as temperature measurement, pressure, flow, etc. They have a very deep understanding of physics principles.

6. Computer engineering

This is one of the key branch of electronic engineering, mainly working on complex computer systems. They also design novel computer software and hardware and enhance the use of computers in the industries.

Electronics engineering jobs

Today, Electronics engineering is considered one of the most rewarding career choices. Their main responsibilities are to design, develop, maintain, and properly install electrical devices in specific industries (commercial industries, medical field, or military). Further, they analyze what the customer needs, and then calculate the cost and efficiency to fulfil the plan. They are responsible for communication signals and lighting systems in businesses, homes or other firms. They gets hired from different fields for example:
  • Electronics design and development.
  • Telecommunications.
  • Automation industries.
  • Consumer products electronic engineering
  • Medical electronics.
  • Manufacturing engineering.
  • Broadcast.
  • Research & development.
  • Aeronautical electronics.
  • Defense electronic engineering.

Electronics engineer salary

The demand for electronic engineers holding an academic electronic engineering degree from well-known institutes has increased a lot in the market. Let’s me tell you the estimated annual salary of the most common job of electronic engineering
  • The annual salary for Instruments manufacturing, navigational, electromedical, measuring and control systems electronic engineers is $114,260.
  • Those electronic engineers working under federal government projects (e.g. postal service) are paying an annual salary of $112,870.
  • Further, the annual salary of electronic engineers responsible for the manufacturing of semiconductors and many other electronic components is $106,240.
  • Electronic engineers in telecommunication systems are earning an annual salary of about $98,600.
So this is all about the most electronic engineer’s jobs and salaries. I hope you have understood very well the branches of electronic engineers and their scope in the market. This will be going to help you in your future.

Electronics engineering courses

Now you are well aware that every university has its own curriculum, but there are some major subjects taught by every electronic engineer to get an electronic engineering degree. I have enlisted below; have a look.
Mathematics Electronic Communication
Physics Electronics Engineering
Electrical Engineering Electronic Measurements
Digital Systems Applied Communication Skills
Applied Communication Skills Electronic Communication
Computer and Programming Skills Design Project
EDL Radio Engineering
Applied Calculus Microwave Communication
Introduction to Electronics Software Engineering
Electrical Engineering Management
Digital Systems Electronic Applications
Applied Communication Skills Industrial El
Digital Communication Power Electronics

Electronic Engineering projects

If you are a student of electronic engineering and want to get the degree, you must be thinking about your final year project ideas. Do you? A good and unique final year project can help you a lot in your future as well. So, here are some suggestions and top discussed issues in the field of electronic engineering. I really want to share these ideas with you for your help in your final year project to earn an electronic engineering degree.
  • You can design a more efficient solar system for home use
  • Robotic Arm for those who are interested in automation
  • Developed any smart energy projects
  • Digital signaling processors using python
  • Novel designing of circuits or integrated circuits
  • Innovation in the traffic lighting system
  • Design & developed weather monitoring equipment
  • The tracking system in the vehicle
  • Automated home appliances
  • Radar communication system
  • The invention of high dimensional smart cameras.
Thus, these are the latest project ideas for you. I hope you have got an idea for your final year project for electronics engineering. Let me tell you another important thing here. What are the main steps you have to follow in developing your final year project successfully?
  • First; you have to design the initial concept of what you think
  • Developed this design
  • Testing of this initial developed design
  • If it is efficient then start developing the final design
  • If not, then after trial make suitable changes in your design
  • Final design testing and analysis
  • Introduced it into the market and check the popularity

Top universities offer an Electronic Engineering degree

There are so many universes offering electronic engineering degrees all over the world. I am going to enlist some top universities below. Check it out!
Harvard University Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)
University of Oxford Washington University in St Louis
Stanford University Wuhan University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Texas A&M University
University of California, Berkeley Macau University of Science and Technology
University of Cambridge Politecnico di Milano
California Institute of Technology University of Waterloo
Princeton University Harbin Institute of Technology
ETH Zurich Aalborg University
Peking University National University of Singapore

Best Electronic Engineering Books of all Times

1. Next Generation HALT and HASS

HALT (highly accelerated life test) AND HASS (highly accelerated stress screen) are the novel paradigm methodology-based techniques to check the reliability of electronic devices. The author explains these equines in this book. So if you want to work on these techniques, I strongly recommend this book.

2. Integration of Renewable Sources of Energy

This is the all-time challenging task in electric engineering to develop energy from renewable sources. Now novels techniques have been using such as bounds and leaps in generating energy from fossil fuel or nuclear energy sources. This book is all about understanding with practicing techniques related to renewable energy sources.

3. Digital Electronics, Volume 3

If you are working on developing a digital electronic device for your final year project, this is a must-read book for you. It teaches you all the basic guides about electronic equipment designing and basic principles to developing them. The author provides insight into the circuit and its types such as a combinational logic circuit as well as a sequential logic circuit. So I found these books on electronic engineering most interesting. But there are so many other books I want to recommend here. These books can provide you complete guidance during your electronic engineering degree.
  • Elements of Power Electronics.
  • Portable Electronics Product Design & Development.
  • Low-Power Electronics Design.
  • Handbook for Electronics Engineering Technicians.
  • Advanced Electric Drive Vehicles.
  • Design of Brushless Permanent-Magnet Motors.
  • Integrated Electronics.
  • Electrical and Electronics Reference Manual for the Electrical and Computer PE Exam.
  • Basic Electronics.
  • Learning the Art of Electronics.
  • Electronic Design Automation for Integrated Circuits Handbook.
  • A Dictionary of Electronics and Electrical Engineering.
  • Electrical and Electronic Principles and Technology.
  • Power Electronics in Renewable Energy Systems and Smart Grid.

Popular Electronic Engineers & their Contribution

To understand any branch of engineering, you must know about the popular engineers and their contribution in that field. That's why, I think its important to tell you about some top electronic engineers and their inventions here.
1 William Gilbert He was one of the popular English scientists during the time of Queen Elizabeth. He completely changes the word electrics through his ideas. He did great work on static electricity and magnetism. He was the first who invented the term electric force and magnetic poles.
2 Benjamin Franklin He is considered the master of electricity, has remarkable contributions to electricity. He proved that electricity and lighting are the same through experimental work on it. He also invented the lighting rod. Discovered the law of conservation and positive & negative charges identification.
3 Luigi Galvani He has a great contribution to the field of bio electromagnetism. He did an incredible experiment with a dead frog’s leg muscles and work on signals and electrical patterns from nerves, tissues and muscles.
4 Charles-Augustin de Coulomb He discovered two famous theories about the attractive and repulsive forces between charged bodies. He also explains the inverse square law as well as worked on conductors & dielectrics.
5 Alessandro Volta He had great inventions in electronics engineering branch, discovered a reliable battery. Explains electromagnetism and the uses of electricity.
Some other popular electronic engineers are:
Lawrence A. Hyland Caroline Haslett
Kees Schouhamer Immink Oliver Heaviside
Konrad Zuse Oskar Heil
Fleeming Jenkin Heinrich Rudolf Hertz
Kristina M. Johnson Hertzian waves
Johann Dirry Peter Cooper Hewitt
James Clarke Maxwell William Hewlett
Edith Clarke Godfrey Hounsfield
Michael Faraday Edwin J. Houston
Steve Wozniak John Hopkinson
I hope this article will help you to get deep understand about electronic engineering, its branches, jobs & salaries, popular electronic engineering books and famous electronic engineers of all times. Moreover, I have also shared some ideas about final year project of electronic engineering. So check it out. Good Luck!
Syed Zain Nasir

I am Syed Zain Nasir, the founder of <a href=https://www.TheEngineeringProjects.com/>The Engineering Projects</a> (TEP). I am a programmer since 2009 before that I just search things, make small projects and now I am sharing my knowledge through this platform.I also work as a freelancer and did many projects related to programming and electrical circuitry. <a href=https://plus.google.com/+SyedZainNasir/>My Google Profile+</a>

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Syed Zain Nasir