Summary 3
Description of the field 3
Areas of specialization 3
Job prospects 4
Where electrical engineers can work 4
Expected salary ranges 4
Duties and responsibilities of electrical engineers 4
Courses needed in high school to pursue Electrical Engineering 5
Works cited 6
Summary
Electrical engineers deal in the development, design, testing and operation of electrical and electronic machines, equipment and systems. In order for one to become an electrical engineer, they need to obtain good scores in mathematics and sciences at high school level. Afterwards, they can enroll for a bachelor’s course in electrical/electronic engineering from an accredited institution. The course usually takes 4 or 5 years after which the graduate electrical engineer is fit to work in manufacturing industries, power generation and transmission companies, electrical/electronic engineering consultancy firms among other related places. Information from the US Bureau of statistics shows that the US job market shall demand an additional 17,600 electrical engineers by the year 2020. The median annual pay for 2010 averaged at $87, 180. As such electrical engineering is a noble course whose importance, prestige and future remain bright.
Description of the field
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity and electronics. Electrical engineers acquire knowledge in Mathematics and science and hone their problem detection and solving skills through practice in order to come up with economical solutions to technical problems (campusexplorer.com, 2013). Through the use of advanced scientific methods, electrical engineers meet and solve consumer and societal needs in electrical and electronic engineering through commercial applications.
Areas of specialization
Electrical engineering covers several subfields such as power engineering, digital computers, telecommunications, electronics, and control systems among other related areas. Electrical/electronic engineers specialize to become either electrical engineers (dealing with power transmission and electrical machines) or electronic engineers dealing with communication systems, computers radars and integrated circuits. Whether designing, developing or testing simple music players or complex global positioning systems electrical/electronic engineers can basically tackle the same problems since the nature of training fundamentally equips all of them with the relatively the same information.
Job prospects
The job prospects for electrical engineers are very high due to the rapid advancements in industrialization and technology. In 2010, the US Bureau of Statistics stated that 294,000 electrical engineers were working in the United States with the figure projected to increase by 17,600 by the year 2020(bls.gov, 2012). This presents great job prospects for those who aspire to pursue this field of engineering.
Where electrical engineers can work
Electrical engineers work in industries that conduct research and development in electricity and electronics, in power generation companies, in manufacturing companies, in engineering service and consultancy firms, in the federal and basically all areas where there electricity electrical machines are in use. Electrical engineers are suited to work in offices (designing equipment, machines and systems) or in the field supervising projects in a hands-on capacity (campusexplorer.com, 2013).
Expected salary ranges
According to the US BLS (2012) the average annual salary for electrical engineers in the US was $87, 180 at an hourly rate of $41.42 (bls.gov, 2012).
Duties and responsibilities of electrical engineers
The duties and responsibilities of electrical engineers include but are not limited to:
- Applying techniques and principles of electrical engineering in research, developing, designing and testing of electrical components, equipment and systems.
- Direct and coordinate activities in order to ensure that manufacturing, installation, construction and operational testing of machines and systems conforms to the required standard and functional specifications
- Operate computer-aided equipment and software in order to perform engineering tasks
- Confer and cooperate with engineers from other fields, meet customers in order to discuss and come up with solutions to engineering problems be they projects or products.
In order to become an electrical/electronic engineer, one basically needs to acquire a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from an institution accredited by the Engineering regulatory bodies. Depending on the institution offering the course the bachelor’s degree maybe designated as Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Technology, Bachelor of Applied Science or Bachelor of Science. Other courses which lead to acquisition of expertise in electrical engineering are:
- Bsc. Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering
- Bsc. Electronics and Computer Engineering
Courses needed in high school to pursue Electrical Engineering
The fundamental subjects one needs in high school to gain admission and pursue electrical engineering are mathematics and sciences. Physics in particular gives potential electrical engineers a good foundation of basic electrical engineering principles. Today’s electrical engineer works as part of a team of other professionals and therefore a solid education in all the subjects offered in high school presents such as an engineer with a multi-faceted ability to solve problems in the society (campusexplorer.com, 2013).
Works cited
"Career Information: Electrical Engineers." College Search and Planning Guide - Campus Explorer. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013. <http://www.campusexplorer.com/careers/1250D81B/electrical-engineers/>.
"Electrical and Electronics Engineers: Occupational Outlook Handbook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013. <http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineers.htm>.
