Do you know the fundamental differences between electrical and electronics engineering? Are you completely unaware of the distinctions between these two overlapping fields? Are you too naive to understand which one holds better career prospects in terms of employment and salary?

Go through the following blogs. It will clarify your doubts and answer your queries in a simplified manner. It’s indeed a logically driven attempt that draws a clear distinction between electronics and electrical engineering and compares the career prospects of the respective professional courses in these two areas.

What is Electrical Engineering?

It is an engineering discipline that deals with the study of electrical power. The study includes detailed analysis and practical demonstrations of modern engineering solutions that we use to generate electricity on an industrial scale.

It also addresses the issues or engineering problems that come with the transmission and distribution of electrical power over longer distances. After all, the main aim of an electrical engineer is to successfully transmit a large volume of power without having extensive power dissipation.

So, as a student of B.Tech in electrical engineering, you would have to study everything concerned with the design and development of various electrical systems and devices used in the power generation and transmission systems. You would have to acquire deep knowledge and practical experiences in the core subjects of electrical engineering.

The study of electrical engineering includes subjects like Power electronics and drives, Power system modelling, Power control mechanism, Operation and maintenance of several electrical machines, Renewable energy resources, Electrical Vehicle, Electrical measurement and Control systems used in motors and generator drives, Network circuit and synthesis and many more.

What is Electronics Engineering?

Though the terms electrical and electronics are roughly correlated with electricity, they are slightly different from one another. While electrical engineering is related to the flow of high power, the term electronics specifically co-relates itself with the flow of comparatively low power.

Electronic engineering is a sub-domain of electrical engineering. The study of electronic engineering specifically covers designing, assembling, and optimizing various electronic appliances such as computers, laptops, mobile phones, and smartwatches.

Aspiring students willing to make a career in electronics engineering should immediately choose B.Tech in Electronics Engineering as their primary career option after 12th science. Some of the major subjects you will have to go through while pursuing your graduation in electronics engineering include Analog and digital communication, Optical fiber& wireless communication, Sensors, Satellite & Radar systems, Solid state devices, VLSI & Embedded systems, Robotics & automation systems, Microwave engineering, Internet of Things (IoT) many more.

What are the major differences between electrical & electronics engineering?

At first sight, both electrical and electronics engineering seem to be closely related to each other as both need to deal with electromagnetism to achieve their engineering goals. And yet they remain so distinct from each other, at least in terms of usability and practical applications.

While electrical engineering is all about the generation, transmission, and distribution of power, electronics engineering focuses on the design, development, and maintenance of electronic circuitry used in different types of equipment used in TV, radio, computers, smartphones, and IOTs. So, in short, though these two engineering fields share a vast extent of the same scientific fundamentals, they differ a lot on the implementation side.

To understand this difference, look at your smartphone. It has a lot of small components and complex circuitry, fitted in a compact space. Do you know who does this job for you? Do you know who assembles the smartphone you are carrying in your pocket? Do you know who creates the sprawling array of smart gadgets like AirPods, smart watches, home automation products, and commercial drones for you? Well, they are the electronics engineers working for big manufacturing companies like Samsung and Apple who are the real force behind the whole success story. They are directly involved in the design and development process of your smartphone and other smart gadgets.

But at the same time, if you think more introspectively, you would also find those electrical engineers playing a crucial role in modern-day telecommunication processes. Though your electronic gadgets are designed and assembled by electronics engineers, They are electrical engineers who perform the critical tasks of data transformation and transmission without which your mobile phone would probably lose its existential purpose in the commercial spectrum. They transform the digital data into electrical signals and transmit them to the farthest corners of the world along with satellite relays.

So, it’s clear that electrical and electronics engineers have different scopes and serve non-identical purposes. Whereas electrical engineering can be considered as the mother field, electronics is more like a modern subset of electrical engineering where engineers have to deal with the design and manufacturing of semiconductor-based electronics devices and gadgets that we use in our everyday life. 

Conclusion: –

For most immature candidates and common masses, the difference between electrical and electronics engineering is almost identical to the distinction between a mother branch and its derivatives. They are correlated in many areas but maintain a gulf of differences in their application and implementation.

For example, On the one hand, we have courses like B.Tech in Electronics engineering, teaching you how to design and develop modern electronic devices like TVs, LCDs, iPods, laptops, desktops, and smartphones. And on the other hand, we have courses like B.Tech in electrical engineering where you would learn the use of electric current and electromagnetism for large-scale power generation, transmission, and distribution without losses.