Career Opportunities

Electrical and computer engineers are needed in both industrial and non-industrial settings, including aerospace, military, government agencies, utility companies, communication industries, medicine, manufacturing and law.

Radio, television, telephones, computers, airplanes, space vehicles, automobiles, refriger­ators and heaters, office machinery and home appliances, life-saving medical equipment and Martian battles fought with joysticks represent a small sampling of the familiar facets of life made possible by engineers, technologists and technicians.  In our age of satellite-transmitted television and transcontinental compu­ter networks, the challenges and oppor­tunities in this profession continue to mushroom.  

The implementation of ideas through new products, systems, and services is the essence of engineering as a socially responsible profession.  The rapid changes in electrical, elec­tronics, and computer tech­nology and the diversity of applications require a broad educa­tional background and a lifelong com­mitment to learning new and specialized information. 

Electrical engineering is a profession that uses science, technology, and problem-solving skills to design, con­struct, and maintain products, services, and information systems.  Electrical engineering is the historical name for what is now called electrical, electronics, and computer engineering, and typically electrical engineers have earned a Bachelor's or Master's degree in engineering in areas that include those areas.  

A junior engineer may spend the first year or two on the job learning the company's products and design procedures before choosing a technical specialty.  Job responsibilities include specification, design, develop­ment, and implementation of products or systems, as well as research to create new ideas.  This  provides a number of challenges ranging from problem identification and the selection of appropriate technical solutions, materials, test equipment, and procedures, to the manufacture and production of safe, economical, high-performance products and services.

An electrical engineer may choose to combine the technical aspects of engineering with management respon­si­bilities.  The technical expertise required for management today is increasing because of the explosion of knowledge in engineering, technology, and science.

A Bachelor's degree in engineering with a specialty in electrical engineering may also serve as a starting point for careers in many other diverse fields, ranging from business to law, medicine, and politics, since the prob­lem-solving skills acquired in an electrical engineering program are extraordinarily valuable.  The same skills will equip you to assume leadership roles in your community and in professional circles outside the workplace.

In addition to the primary fields of electrical, electronics, and computer engineering, a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering serves as an appropriate base for several allied fields.  These include, for example, bio­medical engineering, computer science, and aerospace engineering.

Here are some typical job titles for engineers: 

Adapted from, "Your career in the electrical, electronics, and computer engineering fields," by Gene Cernan.
http://www.ieeeusa.org/careers/yourcareer.html 

·  29-June-2010