My answer to Question on @Quora: Would it be worth it to study category theory? http:/
The sad answer for most in your situation is: probably not yet. There just isn't a broad layer of applied use of category theory in your area yet. (I'll note that I'm also an electrical engineer with a background in information theory.) HOWEVER, this certainly doesn't mean it's not important and that the future won't find lots of applications for it, particularly given its abstraction and ability to connect disparate areas of mathematics. On the bleeding edge of research, however, it's another story. (For a flavor of some of this, take a look at John Baez's blog Azimuth: https:/
My suggestion to you, particularly as you mention that it seems very abstract, is that you do some preliminary background work in abstract algebra, combinatorics, and even set theory, which will likely be much more immediately applicable to your present area of study. These will give you a far better preparation for attacking category theory in the future. (I can't recall having seen or heard any EE departments even suggesting category theory courses recently, much less requiring them, even at the master's level. Further, very few universities are offering coursework directly in the topic at the moment, so it's far more likely that you'll only see it at the graduate level.
Those looking to dip their feet in the water might consider taking a look at How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics by Eugenia Cheng [http:/
I'll recommend that, if you're impatient, you take a peek at David Spivak's book Category Theory for the Sciences [http:/
As you're roughly in the same area I am, I'll mention that my interest in the topic was recently piqued by an article by Ilyas Khan: Category Theory – the bedrock of mathematics? [http:/
As someone currently studying the topic, I will note that it isn't very difficult so far, and is relatively much easier than topics like advanced algebraic topology or Lie groups, so it could certainly be done at an advanced undergraduate level, but I'd certainly recommend diving into Spivak's book before any/many of the others which require a much higher level of mathematical sophistication typically required at the master's level or above. I would suggest that if you've done coursework in calculus and linear algebra and know most of the material in a book like A Primer of Abstract Mathematics (Classroom Resource Materials) by Robert B. Ash [http:/
