What Is Electrical Engineering?
Electrical engineering is the field of engineering, concerned with the study, designing, and use of appliances and equipment which use any form of electricity. Therefore, it also includes electromagnetism. Electrical engineering was first acknowledged as a profession when commercialization started to gain ground in the 19th century when electricity became widely generated and distributed. However, this branch of engineering spreads over a wide range of subtypes that include telecommunication, computer engineering, electronics, photonics, etc. Although, instrumentation and signal processing, all are considered part of electrical engineering.
Previously, electrical engineering was limited to industrial use only. However, after the invention of the transistor, the manufacturing cost led the electrical revolution to become part of electric home appliances. Therefore, minimizing the cost of electrical appliances. Even so, they could easily become part of almost every household.
What are the Branches of Electrical Engineering?
- Power Engineering
Power engineering, which is also referred to as power system engineering, studies the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power. This field of engineering revolves around transformers, motors, and generators. Power engineers work responsibly to provide seamless operating procedures ensuring safety and avoiding any power disruptions.
- Control Engineering
Also known as Automation Engineering in most parts of Europe, control engineering deals with control systems. This field focuses on the designing of the equipment to fixing and controlling the required results, control engineering encompasses all of this. The basic discipline of this form of engineering is the application of control theory to make systems behave a certain way.
- Electronic engineering
Electronic engineering is a highly demanding field all around the globe. It is a form of engineering that deals with electronic circuits, devices, and electronic supplies. It is positively applicable in the systems where those circuits and devices are planted and assembled.
- Microelectronics
Microelectronics is a sub-type of electronic engineering and a fast-paced field every passing year. As the name implies, it deals with the manufacturing and development of miniature components of electrical designs, primarily semiconductors. In most cases, these gadgets are made on the micrometer scale and are formed from semiconductor materials.
- Signal Processing
Signal processing harnesses its attention on integrating, manipulating, and generating signals that may be sound, images, or scientific measurements. Signal processing is fundamentally used to enhance transmission, efficiency for storage, and the associated quality. It deals with the receiving of a signal and translating them into understandable syntax.
What jobs do Electrical Engineers do?
They are the architects and developers of all sorts of electrical systems. Usually, their job is to develop and verify electrical systems, circuits, devices, and individual components using their knowledge and experiences. They also work with the automation of various production processes.
To put it in the easiest of words, an electrical engineer is he who designs, tests, and manages the development of any form of electrical equipment from a mobile phone to an electric motor. Electrical engineering is a vast field and is rich enough to offer various opportunities, including the development of automated electric cars and smartphones. Hence, electrical engineers are worthwhile assets to many industries.
Usually, electrical engineers work in indoor offices as most of their work requires research and development. However, they also make visits to the worksite to check up on electrical equipment that may require maintenance or improvement.
What Skills do an Electrical Engineer need?
An electrical engineer needs a certain set of skills to be distinguished at their job! Positively, they should be able to have the ability to scrutinize situations from a critical point of view, have the essential technological knowledge required for this field, to have impeccable debugging, improvisation, and visionary thought processes. However, Mathematical and physical backgrounds are also vital to prove oneself a dynamic electrical engineer. They should also have strong organizational and managerial instincts.
What Careers are there in Electrical Engineering?
- Control Engineer
A control engineer designs and develops systems and equipment that help in creating products. Control engineers test their designs, inquire about detected errors and find suitable solutions to correct them!
- Project Engineer
Electrical engineering projects require a supervisor to oversee the entire management of things. They are required to stick to a budget, hire a task force, and accomplish a goal within a timeline. Project engineers are required to keep a close eye on each member’s work and ensure that everyone works as a team to make the project a success!
- Test Engineer
A test engineer performs tests on electrical systems and offers expertise in managing them. They are involved in the test planning, analysis of the results, and research for the perfect solution.
- Design Engineer
With computer-based designing software, design engineers form systems and products. They create designs that are according to particular specifications. Experimentation can be performed, followed by the track of their progress. Design engineers often have to make modifications to systems, so those specific requirements are achieved.
- Communications Engineer
A communications engineer builds communication systems such as satellites and fiber optics. They may also play a role in the installation of such devices to ensure quality results.
How much do Electrical Engineers earn?
The average salary in the United States for someone who is just starting a career as an electrical engineer is $74,423 annually. It may rise to $116,764 per year if promoted to the post of a senior electrical engineer.
How to become an Electrical Engineer?
To become an electrical engineer, one must complete high school 4-years followed by a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. To attain some on-field experience in the actual professional environment, a year or two preferably be spent as a junior engineer. However, it is highly suggested that freshie engineers must enroll in a Master’s program, which would further take from a year to three! If you have a teen who is interested in engineering make sure you check out summer engineering camp where teens can learn hands on experience with the industry. During the electrical engineering module teens will learn work on projects specific to electrical engineering and get to meet with real life engineers working in the field.
Becoming an electrical engineer is no ordinary feat. The persistence, innovation, and patience required for the job are demanding but so is the reward, once you gain hands-on experience and reach the required level of expertise.
Electrical Engineering Links and Resources
- International Society for Optics and Photonics: an international society advancing an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light.
- Association for Computing Machinery: the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society focused on advancing computing as a science and a profession.
- Audio Engineering Society: the only professional society devoted exclusively to audio technology.
- Electric Power Research Institute: a nonprofit professional organization focused on addressing challenges in electricity.
- IEEE: the world’s largest professional association for the advancement of technology.
