Electrical Engineer

Electrical Engineers usually hold full-time jobs working 40 hours a week. Overtime may be necessary when things fall behind schedule or a deadline gets bumped up. Unexpected problems can also lead to pulling more hours. Workers are typically indoors but may need to travel to conduct site visits. 

Typical Duties

• Explore innovative methods to utilize electricity within products
• Design a wide range of systems and products for different end uses, including commercial sales or governmental application 
• Craft schematics of systems and maps
• Determine the precise specs for a product’s construction, operation, and installation 
• Meet with other engineers to review projects and tasks
• Oversee processes to ensure compliance during all phases of work, from manufacturing and construction to installation, testing, and more
• Use software and computer-assisted technologies

Additional Responsibilities

• Be “on-call” when problems arise; analyze problems and find effective solutions
• Collaborate with production teams to keep things on-time, on-target (and on-budget)
• Ensure compliance with state, federal, and international codes and standards  
• Optimize processes, including teamwork

Soft Skills
 

• Ability to conceptualize 
• Ability to facilitate collaboration between individuals and teams
• Adaptive style
• Strong people and communication skills
• Articulate speaking and clear technical writing
• Listening and reading for detail and deep understanding
• Compliance- and safety-oriented
• Strong security-consciousness 
• Concentration and focus
• Customer service 
• Good record management skills 
• Initiative
• Investigative
• Organized
• Patience and analytical problem-solving
• Realistic

Technical Skills

• Scientific software:
  • Failure mode and effects analysis FMEA software
  • Minitab 
  • Powersim
  • MathWorks 
• Computer-aided design (CAD) tools:
  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Bentley Microstation
  • Dassault Systemes CATIA
  • Zuken E3
• C++, JHDL, Perl, Python
• Operating system software, such as Linux, Windows, Shell script, UNIX
• Development environment tools:
  • Microsoft VBScript
  • LabVIEW 
  • Verilog
  • VHSIC hardware description language

• Engineering services    
• Manufacturing companies
• Military and governmental agencies
• Power plants 
• Research and development organizations; academic institutions

When it comes to designing products and components that work with electric power, many things can go wrong. Calculations must be precise, testing must be very thorough, and compliance with national and international standards is critical. There’s no margin for error in most projects and the consequences for mistakes can cost lives and ruin businesses. Thus, expectations run high. Electrical Engineers may be “on-the-clock” for a 40-hour week, but free time is frequently dedicated to reading, learning, and keeping up with changes in the field. This commitment is one of the largest sacrifices because Electrical Engineers bear an enormous responsibility to their employers as well as the public, whose health and safety are often linked to the performance of finished products. Of course, workers themselves are also exposed to shock hazards and risk of injury, too. 

According to NESCO Resource, “[Electrical] Engineers have their pick of jobs.” Whether that’s entirely true or not, the point is that demand for talent is currently consistent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts it will remain so, at 5% through 2028 (for Electrical Engineers; the average stats for Electrical and Electronics Engineers combined is just 2%). 
 
Specifically, BLS expects growth in “professional, scientific, and technical services firms” as demand for consumer electronics rises. Naturally, such goods are always evolving as technology advances, and it's the Electrical Engineers working hard to facilitate those innovations. In a way, they’re ensuring their own job security! Apart from communications tech, hot markets include solar arrays and semiconductors. Experts are also needed for power grids and continuing automation of processes. 

Engineers are realistic dreamers. They love gadgets and tinkering, exploring ways to turn ideas into realities through the application of scientific principles. Many engineers were heavily influenced by the works of early pioneers who paved the way for today’s breakthroughs. They may see themselves, rightfully, as heirs to a long legacy of inventors and visionaries. 
 
Though they may often work in solitude, they often enjoy participating in groups, seeing their roles as serving a larger goal (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, for example, has over 423,000 members worldwide). Many people who are drawn to this field were avid science fiction buffs growing up, intrigued by futurist technologies and hardware, and how those things can make life better. They aren’t merely interested in whimsical notions of the future, though. They’re able to focus and figure out how to practically achieve the things they envision, through meticulous planning, research, and testing.