Quesitions concerning the field of electrical engineering.

Edwards Finance > Electrical Engineering

Q. 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 electrical engineer do? 2. What are the most interesting aspects of this career? 3. What kinds of problems or challenges do electrical engineers usuallly find in their job? 4. Besides dealing with electrical engineers, what other fields of people do you usually work with? 5. What specific skills are important in order to be superior than other job seekers? 6. Has the demand of electrical engineers increased or decreased in recent years? Do you think the demand is going to change in the next decade? 7. What is the starting salary of an electrical engieer? ( in Canadian dolloars) 8. As an electrical engineer, i am sure you have some knowledge of other branches of electrical engineering, such as the developments of telecommunications, electronics, and computers? Can you briefly explian what do engineers do in these fields? 9. Among these three branches (telecommunications, electronics and computer engineering), which specialization has the greatest potential? 10. How does electrical engineering relate to computer engineering? 11. How do you update your knowledge continously? Do you take any courses? 12. How do engineers with master degrees superior than engineers with just bachelor? 13. How important is electrical engineering to the world? 14. Finally, can you give me some general advice?

A. >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 electrical engineer do? The question it rather broad. Generally, he or she designs electrical or electronic equipment. >2. What are the most interesting aspects of this career? The same as any job you like doing; the answer is that one gets to work with a subject that one has a deep interest in. >3. What kinds of problems or challenges do electrical engineers usuallly >find in their job? Fighting brain dead management that has no technical competence :) READ DILBERT!! >4. Besides dealing with electrical engineers, what other fields of people >do you usually work with? Totally depends on the specific job. Queation is far too broad. The usual answer is dealing with the above mentioned management, and with marketing people with no technical competence. >5. What specific skills are important in order to be superior than other job >seekers? This is an important question. The answer is that you must have a REAL interest, and a NATURAL SKILL at the subject. It further helps if you have spent a good part of your childhood tinkering with electrical or electronic stuff. You MUST also have an extensive, PRACTICAL background, and be good with your hands. After all, who do you think will be building the prototypes you design? Being a computer CAD Jockey is not much of a help. There are FAR too many "engineers" who just sit all day creating cost-ineffective designs at a computer, and have little practical understanding of their job. Computers are useful, but not the be-all and end-all they are just another tool to do the job with. You cannot use a computer to substitute for lack of basic skill. >6. Has the demand of electrical engineers increased or decreased in recent >years? Do you think the demand is going to change in the next >decade? All I can say is that there are more electrical engineers out of work now than at any time in the past. >7. What is the starting salary of an electrical engieer? ( in Canadian >dolloars) In Vancouver, the starting salary for a green engineer with no previous experience is around $40K. >8. As an electrical engineer, i am sure you have some knowledge of other >branches of electrical engineering, such as the developments of >telecommunications, electronics, and computers? Can you briefly explian >what do engineers do in these fields? Not briefly. The answer is obvious to anyone with some basic understanding of the subject, and would take far too much time to explain fully to someone who does not. >9. Among these three branches (telecommunications, electronics and computer >engineering), which specialization has the greatest potential? You misunderstand. Telecommunications IS electronics. What is "computer engineering"? >10. How does electrical engineering relate to computer engineering? If you mean "software engineering", the answer is that it has nothing whatsoever to do with electrical engineering. >11. How do you update your knowledge continously? Do you take any courses? Yes, sometimes, but mostly learning through on-the-job innovation and experience. What you learn in university is just a primer. Once you get a job, then the REAL learning starts. >12. How do engineers with master degrees superior than engineers with just >bachelor? They are more impractical and are able to design more unmanufacturable equipment :) More seriously, the answer should be patently obvious. Someone with more theoretical background is capable of doing more theoretical-level work. >13. How important is electrical engineering to the world? Surely you jest! What are you typing this on? A mechanical typewriter? >14. Finally, can you give me some general advice? If you are interested in this field, then start getting your hands "dirty". I have NEVER worked with ANY decent engineer that did not live and breathe electronics. Every single electrical engineer that I have ever worked with that did not have "electronics" as a hobby was a hopeless case, professionally. Build up hobbyist-level circuits. Begin to get a gut-level understanding of electronics. TAKE THINGS APART AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY WORK, AND HOW THEY ARE ASSEMBLED COST EFFECTIVELY! Get up to your armpits in the subject! Above all, if you are not particularly interested in the subject, and just think it would be a good "career move", THEN SAVE YOURSELF A LOT OF GRIEF and forget about it now! If, however, you ARE truly interested, then read the above paragraph again.

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