Electrical Engineering Career
An electrical engineer is a highly-skilled professional that designs and improves electrical equipment and processes. They are frequently in high demand by employers and contractors, who are looking for skilled professional electrical help.
An electrical engineer will often be hired by contractors, commercial property owners, and third-party electrical engineering firms. An electrical engineer will typically spend the majority of their time working on the job site where they may be tasked with a range of different responsibilities. Electrical engineers will also spend a period of time each week working in an office while they are working on a variety of reports.
Electrical Engineer Career Snapshot
Further details on a career as an electrical engineer are listed below (statistics from the May 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics and Onet Online):
is the average annual salary for electrical engineers.
increase in employment between 2014 and 2024.
have a Bachelor’s degree while 23% have a Master’s degree.
Electrical Engineer Education
Becoming an electrical engineer requires a higher education degree. While an electrician may not need a higher degree, most electrical engineers have at least a bachelor’s degree while nearly a third have a master’s degree. Electrical engineers will also have to complete a variety of training and licensing courses, which vary based on the location of employment.
Electrical Engineer Job Duties
An electrical engineer could have a range of different duties on a daily basis. The core responsibility that they have is to develop and maintain quality and safe electrical systems. They may also work with property owners to find ways to make existing systems safer and more efficient. Electrical engineers are also required to spend some of their time learning about changes to building codes and industry practices, which will have an impact on their job going forward.
Electrical Engineer Salaries
Electrical engineers are highly-skilled and trained professionals, which often demand high levels of compensation. The median income for an electrical engineer is in excess of $90,000 per year according to BLS.gov May 2016 reports. The top 10% of all electrical engineers earn over $140,000 per year. Those that are looking to earn the most will eventually want to open their own firm, which has a much higher earning potential.
Electrical Engineer Job Outlook
Overall, the job outlook for electrical engineers is flat. Electrical engineering is a mature professional organization that will continue to need new engineers as experienced engineers retire or move on to other professions. The overall project job growth over the next 10 years is expected to be 1%.
Electrical Engineering Skills & Traits
| Electrical Engineering Skill Set: | Required Abilities: | Tools Used by Electrical Engineers: | Typical Work Activities: |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Active Listening • Complex Problem Solving • Critical Thinking • Reading Comprehension | • Deductive Reasoning • Oral Comprehension • Problem Sensitivity • Written Comprehension | • Laboratory evaporators • Semiconductor process systems • Signal generators • Spectrometers | • Interacting With Computers • Getting Information • Making Decisions and Solving Problems • Analyzing Data or Information |
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