What Does an Electrical Engineer Do?

Electrical engineering is a vast field focusing on electrical equipment development and design. When we talk about what an electrical engineer does while working in the field, we are mainly looking at different electrical components and their interactive connection, which is usually the primary focus of the role of an electrical engineer in any firm.

Electrical engineers design, build, test, and manage the manufacture of electrical equipment. Learning about this occupation might help you decide if this is the right career path.

This article will look at the typical tasks of electrical engineers, the industries where they typically operate, and the career prognosis for this field.

Job Duties and Responsibilities of an Electrical Engineer

Let’s now look at what electrical engineers do and what responsibilities and tasks form most of their typical workday.

Duties

• Equipment Repair: Assist Maintenance professionals with equipment repair.
• Documentation: Record in documents all electrical design changes and updates. Ensure documentation is upto date.
• Designing Electrical Systems: Design new electrical engineering and control systems. Work with the team to ensure a smooth roll-out.
• System Utilization and Performance: Perform with team staff and external professionals to supervise and enhance site electrical systems utilization.

Responsibilities

• Developing And Testing Prototypes: It is an integral part of the job of any electrical engineer to give a usable form to their ideas in the form of prototypes. Then these prototypes are put to the test by them to work on improvements and usability.
• Conducting Research and Analysis: In order to be able to improve processes and different electrical components, it is imperative to conduct regular research and analysis to find out opportunities for the creation of new technologies.
• Ensuring Compliance with Safety Standards and Regulations: It is critical in the field of electrical engineering to ensure compliance with not only safety but health standards as well as other different regulations. This is because some of the work electrical engineers perform or oversee can be hazardous to health and life if rules and guidelines are not followed.
• Troubleshooting And Resolving Issues: At times, specific issues arise relevant to areas of work for electrical engineers. This is where an electrical engineer gets to work in order to help identify, resolve, and ensure that an issue does not arise in the near future again.

Industries and Sectors Where Electrical Engineers Work?

We shall now look at some of these industries and sectors where jobs and careers for electrical engineers are typical:

1. Energy And Utilities:  Electrical engineers are critical in the energy sector. Think about power plants and energy installations that are relevant to electric power.
2. Manufacturing: Production machinery relies heavily on electronic systems that are controlled and managed by electrical engineers.
3. Aerospace And Defense: Electrical engineers are pivotal in defense and aviation. They are responsible for complex routers, network infrastructure, and electronic equipment.
4. Telecommunications And IT: Electrical engineers handle telecom equipment, towers, signal processing units, and even power control to central servers.
5. Construction And Infrastructure: Electrical engineers and their skills for putting in electrical systems are compulsory for constructing any building and structure.

Job Outlook and Salary of an Electrical Engineer

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of electrical engineers is expected to expand by 7% between 2020 and 2030, with about 23,000 new job vacancies expected per year.

The number of electrical engineers working in the solar energy business is predicted to increase by approximately 25% by 2030. Electrical engineers in the wind energy business are expected to increase by over 52%.

According to the BLS, the median annual pay for electrical engineers was $101,780 in May 2021, with the top ten percent earning more than $159,520. Electric power production, transmission, and distribution are one of the highest-paying sectors for electrical engineers. As a result, salary packages for various levels of experience vary accordingly.

Electrical engineers are not only well compensated, but they will also find numerous enticing benefits packages in today’s work market. Some of the highest-paying jobs in the country are targeted at electrical engineers.

Since it is a candidate’s market, many organizations are increasing their employment incentives in order to compete for and recruit top engineering talent. Relocation helps, and equity and limitless paid time off (PTO) are becoming incredibly common as incentives.

Conclusion

Students and fresh graduates have all recently taken a particular interest in the field of electrical engineering. Not only do they want to know what does an electrical engineer do but also about other relevant details such as job opportunities, industries in which these opportunities arise, and of course, salaries and perks offered.

We hope that through this write-up, you were not only able to understand the different responsibilities and duties that entail the job profile of an electrical engineer but were also able to gain an insight into the description of electrical engineering itself, electrical engineer’s salary and how different industries come to work around these fundamental factors.

Keep checking out our blog and website to learn more about different opportunities and incentives for electrical engineers in today’s market.

Wasim Asghar – P.E, P.ENG, M.ENG

Licensed Professional Engineer in Texas (PE), Florida (PE) and Ontario (P. Eng) with consulting experience in design, commissioning and plant engineering for clients in Energy, Mining and Infrastructure.

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