Electronics is constantly making our day to day life easy and smart. From smartphones, to smart homes electronics and communication engineering is marking itself as indispensable. Electronics is helping to build the planet smaller and is bridging up the gaps of communication through voice/video solutions that too within the financial reach of the common man. The quick evolution of robots and embedded systems during the last decade is indicating the role of Electronics and communication engineering in the future world. These observations as well as outcomes are suggesting Electronics & Communication Engineering as an exciting as well as optimistic frontier to study and work. 

For students, Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) is one of the most sought after branches of engineering as it is an umbrella term. ECE involves a variety of specializations under it like Analog Electronics, Digital Electronics, Consumer Electronics, Robotics, Internet of Things, VLSI, and many more. 

Ideally who should study ECE?

Electronic and communication engineering demands young minds to be creative as well as to possess a problem-solving outlook. It is best suited for the individual who can think logically and have a knack for subjects like Physics and Mathematics. The young minds are expected to have affection towards electronics/communication as well as to possess a passion for fixing things. To pursue a Bachelors of Technology in ECE, the fundamental requirement is the successful qualification in 10+2 with relevant engineering subjects like mathematics and physics. The students need to appear and qualify Joint entrance examinations or other institutes/university-specific entrance examinations to get enrolled into the exciting program of ECE.

Divergent and popular career options in ECE:

Telecommunication Engineer: A Telecommunication engineer attempts to design, test, deploy and maintain telecommunication systems. The tasks involve steps like circuit design, testing, production, judicious large scale developments, and maintenance of diverse telecommunication equipment’s/modules.

Instrumentation & Control Engineer: Modeling and testing complex electronics systems is the core task. This sphere of work is vital, as most energy-saving electrical systems used in our day to day life are associated with it.

Desktop Support Engineer: Almost every IT as well as Non-IT organizations requires these technocrats. These engineers support clients with hardware and software solutions.

Network Engineer: Network engineers are accountable for creating and sustaining the regular operation of computer networks that organizations rely on.

Service Engineer: Service Engineers are generally required to provide support, maintenance, and repair of sold products. They provide off-site remedial and protective maintenance services along with after-sales technical support solutions.

RF & BTS Engineer: The Radiofrequency (RF) Engineers are engaged in designing new wireless networks, their components, and plans for ensuring the fulfillment of regulatory standards. The RF & BTS engineers are also required to analyze devices, interconnect data using digital software, testing, implementing & maintaining wireless communication and identifying scope of improvements.

Scope for Electronics and Communication Engineering in the next decade:

The last few years have witnessed the massive recruitment of professionals perusing Electronics and communication engineering as a career. This is due to the accelerating tie-up among the electronics technology and the digital technology. A report from the United States Bureau Labor of Statistics, predicts that the employability in the domain of electronics and electrical engineering is expected to increase by 7% from 2016 to 2026. The report from Frost and Sullivan predicted that the count of connected cars with embedded telematics is expected to hike from 23 million in 2018 to 65 million in 2025. According to NASSCOM Engineering R&D, the Engineering R&D outsourcing market is anticipated to flourish at a Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% to reach USD160 billion by 2025. India’s Engineering Research & Development (ER&D) revenue is expected to grow at a Compound annual growth rate of 12% to reach ~USD 60 billion by 2025. The global Automotive Battery market size was valued at USD 48.71 billion in 2016 and is projected to grow with a CAGR of 8.5% by 2023. The survey from Aspiring Minds estimated the workability for positions such as Mechanical engineer and Civil engineer stood at a scant 5.55% and 6.48% respectively. Workability in the subject-especial positions was the loftiest for electronics engineers at 7.07%. Also, a recent collective survey by ASSOCHAM and NEC Corp suggests that the electronics market of India is presumed to reach $400 billion by the year 2020 at a 41% CAGR rate.

With the accelerated growth of novel technologies like 5G, IoT, Robotics, and artificial intelligence, industries to a great extent will rely on the potential of Electronic and communication engineering. The Technological industry, the Manufacturing sector, Multinational Corporations, Research-based companies, Armed forces, and many other domains are persistently looking for proficient ECE engineers, thereby leading to a surge in demand for professionals. Expanding applications of ECE in high-tech industries are likely to constitute some of the most sought-after career opportunities in the next decade.