With the commercialization of electrical products, systems and processes in the last century came the branch of electrical engineering, involving the design and application of electronics and electricity to modern society. Electrical engineering has many subdisciplines, and engineers often specialize in a combination of them.

Some of the main subdisciplines are listed below:

• Computers
• Telecommunications
• Instrumentation
• Signal processing
• Microelectronics
• Power
• Control
• Electronics

Computers

Computer engineering involves the study and application of design to computers and computer systems. Incorporated within computer engineering are the specializations of hardware and network engineering, and to certain extent software engineering as well, although this is a separate field of study.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications engineers work to improve and support telecommunications systems, often supervising the design and installation of complex systems. Telecommunications began with the simplistic technology of the telegraph, telephone, radio and television and has evolved into far more complex systems involving satellites, the internet, and fiber optic cabling.

Instrumentation

Instrumentation engineering involves the design of measurement instruments, these are used for automatic processes in modern engineering. This is particularly useful in ensuring safety, reliability, and efficiency in industrial factories.

Signal Processing

Signal processing concerns the analysis and manipulation of transmission signals and has many categories including digital, analog, continuous-time, discrete-time and non-linear signal processing.

Microelectronics

Microelectronic engineering involves the design and application of very small electronic components, most normal electronic components including insulators, conductors, diodes, transistors, inductors, resistors, and capacitors can be micro-engineered to create smaller and more portable devices.

Power

Power engineering focuses on the generation, distribution, and management of electricity through the design of power grids, generators, and transformers. In an energy-driven world, power engineering and energy management is of utmost importance and will continue to be so in the future.

Control

Control engineering in simple terms is the design and manufacture of controllers for the purpose of manipulating the behavior of electronic systems.

Electronics

Electronic engineering is essentially the design and utilization of electronic circuits to cause systems to have a particular function. Electronic engineers use many types of components in order to create functioning systems and processes.