Deciding what to study and where to study it is a big decision, both in terms of time and money, and so it is vital that you choose the right course and the right university. To make the right decision you have to take account of many different factors, as outlined below.
Looking at the lists of courses available, it is easy to be confused by the wide choice, ranging from straightforward Electronic Engineering to more specialist courses, such as communications, semiconductor devices or microelectronics. There is also a wide range of joint courses, combining electronics with computer science or language studies, for instance.
An Electronic Engineering course will cover all of the key knowledge and skills required to become a successful engineer, including the skills required to rapidly become familiar with new developments, while a more specialist course may neglect some of these topics in order to cover the more specialist subjects. This can be an advantage for those wanting to follow a career in the particular specialisation, but if you do not know which specialisation would suit you best, then a more general course may be more appropriate.
Fortunately, many courses begin by covering general Electronic Engineering, but allow specialisation in later stages of the course. A typical course may be fairly general for the first two years, with specialisation available in the third and fourth years. While following a joint course will give additional skills, it will allow less time for the core electronics knowledge, and so choosing an unrelated subject can leave the graduate not fully qualified in either of the subjects contributing to the degree.