Electrical engineering is an exciting field that allows engineers to work with cutting edge companies on brand new emerging technologies. Electrical engineers are responsible for creating, building, and testing electronic equipment, such as motorized vehicles, communications systems, solar power generators, and microprocessor chips. Electrical engineering is an extremely competitive field that requires a great deal of effort.
It's a Highly Rewarding Field
For the truly passionate electrical engineer, however, the rewards are worth the journey. The estimated salary for a new electrical engineer with a Bachelor's degree is over $61,000. The average salary for a Master's degree is $72,000 and the average electrical engineer with a PhD is over $88,000. Jobs for electrical engineers are expected to grow 4% over the next decade.
There's Wide Variety in Daily Tasks
Another benefit of becoming an electrical engineer is the variety in a typical day-to-day routine. Depending on your specialty and industry, you could end up doing vastly different tasks each day. Early on in your electrical engineering career you should try getting hands-on experience with the greatest variety of tasks that you can manage. That way you can better understand exactly what you enjoy doing and where you would like to focus as you move up in your career.
Some engineers may begin by correcting designs and entering the changes into a database. Others may work on the design of products in a project team. Another engineer may work on testing a newly finished product to figure out what changes are needed to make an acceptable product. Other electrical engineers may find themselves doing applied scientific research. It is not uncommon for an electrical engineer to find themselves collaborating with their colleagues on a project and taking part in all of these tasks.
It's a Booming Industry
Becoming an electrical engineer can seem daunting because the variety of fields and tasks. While this can be overwhelming, it also means that an electrical engineering career is full of possibility and potential. You will eventually have many choices and be able to do what you truly enjoy in an interesting field. Electrical engineering constantly offers new challenges and technologies to sink your teeth into. With technology advancing at an alarming rate, there has never been a better time to become an electrical engineer.
