Often referred to as electrical engineering, electronics engineering does not include large electrical systems but deals with the passage of charged particles in a gas, vacuum or semi-conductor. Electrical engineering, on the other hand, deals with the motion of electrons in metals such as wires and filaments.
It is believed that each U.S. household has about ten electric motors or more running on fans, dishwashers, washing machines and refrigerators. Vehicles are also manufactured with a variety of electrical and electronic devices and these are all designed by electrical and electronics engineers. The contribution of electronics engineers to the growth of the digital age cannot also be understated.
This branch of engineering over the last few decades has been quite tremendous with control systems providing the basic intelligence for a lot of devices. Engineers in this field can gain employment in various industries as every piece of electrical or electronic equipment needs the knowledge that these engineers possess for design, development and manufacturing. Radios, television sets, missile control systems, various motors and generators, to name a few, are designed, developed and manufactured using the expertise of these type of engineers. These are then utilized in tandem with other engineering fields such as aerospace, mechanical and even computer engineering.
Mechanical Engineering
This branch of engineering, often considered the mother of all engineering, deals with power and design of machines and processes necessary for power generation and its applications to useful purposes. A mechanical engineer works with systems, subsystems and components that are motion enabled. Mechanical engineering is usually deemed to be wider than any of the other engineering branches but can be classified into work concerned with power-generating machines and work that deals with machines that transform or consume the generated power for carrying out peculiar tasks.
Mechanical engineers are further subdivided into power engineers, design specialists, automotive engineers, and heating engineers. These engineers can gain employment in a wide variety of industries including being employed as professors or as government engineers.
- “Engineering Branches”. Class Notes, 2017.
- “These Are The Main Engineering Branches.” Thoughtco, 2017, https://www.thoughtco.com/engineering-branches-604020.
