Major Difference Between Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Blog Summary: Are you unsure about the difference between electrical and electronics engineering? Are you naive on which one to choose? Then read this blog to know the difference between them and choose the right domain that suits you.

Introduction

One of the first questions engineers get asked when they are fresh out of college is, “What do you want to do?”. They are usually given a few options to choose from, and having a clear idea of what they want to do is a great way to start. However, it is not too easy to decide what to major in when you first start. There are many different branches in engineering, with different degrees that you can get. One of the first is majoring in both electrical and electronics engineering.

Engineering has many subdomains within itself, and a few of the most popular subdomains are electrical and electronics engineering. Although both domains have a similar name and are confused for the same most of the time, both are two different things. The difference between electrical and electronics engineering is prominent as both the domain deals with different entities. 
If you are looking to study engineering in the electrical department and are confused about which to choose, read this blog to know more about the same and decide which suits you best. 

What is Electrical Engineering?

Electrical engineering is the science of study that deals with how electrical power can produce different electrical entities and regulate their function. Electrical engineering is concerned with the study and design. The electrical discipline develops solutions for problems in many different fields, from telecommunications to space missions. Electrical engineering has many subdomains within itself. This domain is concerned with the large-scale operation of electrical power.

Electrical engineers study different things like system modelling, power engineering and Control, electromagnetism, operations of electrical machines, energy conversion for motor and generator drives, electronic design, digital design, web-based computing, digital communications system, and much more. 

There are few jobs in the world that can get you out of bed, get you through the day, and keep you up at night, just trying to figure out how to make things work. One of those jobs is electrical engineering.

What is Electronics Engineering? 

Electronics engineering is the study of electricity and is one of the subdomains in electronics engineering. Electronics engineering deals with electrical engineering principles and techniques such as modeling, circuit analysis, fabrication, and testing of electrical devices and systems. In addition, this field helps design smaller electronic circuits like electronic devices and more. 

Electronics engineering works by implementing applications, principles, and algorithms used in different fields and brings them together to produce electrical devices. Electronics engineer study about Electricity Technology and Machines, circuit analysis, control systems, transmission & distribution, instrumentation, power engineering, microprocessor interfacing, thermodynamics and much more 

Difference Between Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Electronics is a subfield of the broad category of electrical engineering, and this is the primary most difference between electrical and electronics engineering.

For most people, the difference between electrical and electronics engineering is the same as between a master and an apprentice. Electronics is the art of creating and manipulating electronic devices such as electronic devices like TV’s, computers, and smartphones. On the other hand, electrical engineering is the science that deals with the study of electric current and electromagnetism.

Difference between electrical and electronics

The term Electrical deals with the flow of electrical power or charge, whereas electronics deals with the flow of electrons. There is only a minute difference between electrical and electronics, and both of them more or less deal with electricity. If there is the involvement of just electricity as energy, then that is called electrical. If there is a clear cut manipulation of electrical energy, then that is called electronics. 

What Work do Electrical and Electronics Engineers do?

– An electrical engineer can be deployed to work in various fields like Power Generation, Electronics, Aerospace, Construction, Automotive, Chemical Defence, Marine, Telecoms, Consumer Goods, Pharmaceuticals, and much more. 

– An electrical engineer can work in various roles like Manufacturing systems engineer, Network engineer, Control and instrumentation engineer, Systems developer, Broadcast engineer, Systems analyst and much more.

– Electronics engineers can work in electronic manufacturing companies, electronic design companies, engineering businesses, technology companies, and any other places to create electronic systems or devices.

– Electronics engineers can work in roles like Electronics Device and Development Engineer, Network Planning Engineer. Communications Engineer, Technical Director, Desktop Support Engineer, Service Engineer and much more

The average Indian salary for freshers in electrical and electronic engineering is up to 5 lakh per annum. Thus, there is not much of a difference between electrical and electronics engineering in terms of salary, and both the domains get paid more or less similar. There is a much wider scope abroad for these fields. The global average salary range for these domains is $73,839 to $86,176 per year.

Which should you choose, Electrical or Electronics Engineering?

Electrical engineering deals with broader categories like signal processing, communication, electronics, electromagnetism, and much more. Electronic engineering is a microdomain that mostly deals with the design, processing and optimization of electronic devices. 

Now that you have gotten an idea of the difference between electrical and electronics engineering, you would have understood that electrical engineering is a broader domain. If you are sure that you would like to venture into electronics design development, then studying electrical engineering would be good. 

If you are interested in studying electrical power and its processing in general, then you choose electrical engineering as the best option for you. 

Wrap up

As John Wesley says, ‘Electricity is the soul of the universe.’ Electricity and Electronic devices contribute a lot to our daily lives. It is almost impossible to imagine a comfortable and normal life without electricity. To keep the structure of life through electricity intact, we need engineers who actively take up electrical and electronics engineering. We hope the above blog cleared you of your doubts regarding the difference between electrical and electronics engineering. Are you excited to venture into this domain? Let us know in the comments. Do contact us if you have any queries. 

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