Careers in electrical engineering

Edwards Finance > Electrical Engineering

Q. I'm a high school Junior trying to decide what I want to major in in college. One of the majors I was considering was electrical engineering, because I like to know how things work. Anyways, I was wondering exactly what kind of jobs are availabe to people with a degree in electrical engineering. I would appreciate it if any engineers out there would tell me about their jobs and what they do on a day-to-day basis.

A. My experience has been rather eclectic. I have 20+ years of experience and hold BSEE and MSEE degrees and am a licensed professional engineer. I am currently a systems engineer. In this capacity I determine the functions, modules, certain components, and algorithms required to implement a system. This is accomplished with a combination of the insight provided by my education and experience and by mathematical analyses and computer simulations. However, in the past I first concentrated in digital design and then in analog design. This work concentrated mainly in designing modules that were part of a larger system. Part of this design effort encompassed circuit design, selection of components, circuit analysis, worst-case analysis (i.e., how badly can the component characteristics be combined so as to affect the circuit in the worst possible way?), testing and verifying the circuit or module, overseeing the board layout, checking and signing off the drawings produced by the design department (the department that lays out the printed circuit board and formalizes the schematic and parts list). The activities I've described here are supplemented by written reports, propopsals to potential customers (this is how new work/contracts for the company are obtained), and stand-up presentations, both to company senior management and to customer representatives. As to the type of work available to people with electrical engineering degrees, I'll outline a few generalizations. They are offered in no particular order. All comments are, of course, my personal opinions: CIRCUIT/SYSTEM DESIGN: This can be a very challenging and rewarding area of engineering. I must tell you that there is both good and bad. There have been times when I couldn't wait to get to work the next morning to continue work on an interesting problem. On the other hand, there have been times when I laid awake at night trying to figure out how to overcome a very difficult problem. Let me say that the good experiences far outweigh the bad and I've been very happy for a long time in this profession. Add to this that it's very rewarding to point to an item the company advertises and say with pride, "_I_ designed that!" SALES: This is an area where a knowledge of electrical engineering is needed in order to makes sales of components, modules, test equipment, etc. to engineers and engineering companies. It's a waste of an engineering education. RESEARCH: This is an area that tends to attract the very brightest people. (Don't get me wrong. There are some duds here, too.) But if you are not a Ph.D., or are not an extremely sharp designer and/or analyst, you can expect to take a back seat to those who are. MANAGEMENT: Depending on your temperament, this can be a good or bad branch of "engineering" to enter. If you do become an electrical engineer, and you're very sharp, don't allow yourself to be seduced into a quick (i.e., a year or two after leaving school) transition to a management assignment just because you perceive that path to offer the most money, power, or prestige. Get a good amount of experience under your belt before going into management. People with little practical experience make lousy managers. But the guy (or gal) who can fully understand and/or appreciate what his staff is working on, and the types of problems they're facing, can make both his staff and himself look good by ensuring that the proper people are assigned to a particular job, the best use is being made of the available equipment and facilities, and upper management interferes as little as possible with the work being accomplished. Electrical engineering can be a very rewarding career. Seriously consider it. Since you are a person who likes to know how things work, it sounds like engineering is the field for you. Imagine the possibilities when you've learned how to _make_ things work!

Ask Edwards a Finance Question

Other Questions:

Looking for IEEE logo (electronic)

I'm looking for an electronic version of both IEEE's logo and IEEE-CS's (Computer Society) logo. Any pointers to their location would be greatly appreciated.-ftp to ftp.atri.curtin.edu.au and get /pub/documents/IEEE/ieee_logo.ps.Z -There is ...

I am a high school student. Recently, i am doing a project about the career of electrical engineering. i need some information from people working in this career. Can anybody please help me with the following questions? 1. What does an el...

Everybody either loves or hate college rankings. Some like me can't do with them as a guide for comparing colleges. I went to the http://www.studentsreview.com/ website and feeling bored, happened to stumble upon its SR Rankins facility. I ...

I know you have seen this question and answered it so please forgive me for asking again. Try your best to filter the bias and tell us, what are the best Electrical Engineering schools in the US? Both Undergrad and Graduate but especially...

I am new to this group and I am planning on attending school this september for a Bachelor's in Electronics Engineering. I plan on attending Devry in Irving, TX and I have been scouring the internet looking for opinions on the school and/or fu...

Edwards Finance Menu

Ask a Question
About Us / Me
Contact Me
Privacy Policy

Sitemap

My Favorite Sites

PFBlog
Google Finance
Yahoo Finance
Motley Fool
Nveille's Financial Blog
AllFinanceMatters
Free Money Finance
2MillionBlog
The Terror Finance blog

Q&A Subjects