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Electrical Engineers

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeModerate pressure Bright Outlook

What they do

Research, design, develop, test, or supervise the manufacturing and installation of electrical equipment, components, or systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use.

Kinds of work

  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Investigative: Science, research, figuring out how things work and solving complex problems.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

Moderate pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $120,630 Median per year · $58.00/hr Most earn $76,550–$184,300

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Inspect completed installations and observe operations to ensure conformance to design and equipment specifications and compliance with operational, safety, or environmental standards.
  • Investigate customer or public complaints to determine the nature and extent of problems.
  • Estimate labor, material, or construction costs for budget preparation purposes.
  • Develop systems that produce electricity with renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, or biofuels.
  • Develop software to control electrical systems.
  • Design electrical systems or components that minimize electric energy requirements, such as lighting systems designed to account for natural lighting.

Job outlook

Bright Outlook Rapid Growth

United States
10% more jobs by 2035, much faster than average · about 11,400 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Engineering services22.3%
  • Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences5.4%
  • Management of companies and enterprises4.8%
  • Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing4.7%
  • Aerospace product and parts manufacturing4.5%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Some remote workExperience before this job: 4 to 6 years

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeExperience before this job: 4 to 6 years

Electrical engineering is not usually a job you start straight out of school. Most people earn a bachelor's degree first, then work as a junior or associate engineer for several years before moving up to the full title, so the whole path often takes about 8 to 10 years after high school.

  1. Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering

    4 years

    You learn circuits, electronics, power systems, and math, and you usually complete lab projects and an internship that show employers what you can do.

  2. Junior Electrical Engineer

    4-6 years

    You work under senior engineers on designing, testing, and fixing real equipment or systems, and you build the experience and licensing steps (such as working toward a Professional Engineer license) that employers expect.

  3. Electrical Engineer

    You take on full responsibility for designing, researching, testing, or supervising the installation of electrical equipment and systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use.

Where it can lead

  1. Senior Electrical Engineer

    3-5 years of experience first

    You lead bigger projects, mentor newer engineers, and make more of the design decisions yourself, which usually requires a strong track record and often a Professional Engineer license.

  2. Engineering Manager

    5+ years of experience first

    You shift from mostly hands-on design toward leading a team, planning budgets and schedules, and making sure projects get delivered, which takes both technical skill and people skills.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take physics, calculus, and any electronics or robotics classesThese build the math and problem-solving skills that electrical engineering degrees rely on.
  • Join a robotics, science, or engineering clubBuilding and troubleshooting real projects gives you practice with circuits and teamwork.
  • Enter science or engineering fair competitionsDesigning a project and presenting it shows you enjoy the process of engineering, and it looks good on college applications.
  • Get a starter job or volunteer with a local electrician or repair shopSeeing how electrical systems are installed and maintained gives you real-world context for what engineers design.
  • Learn basic codingMany electrical engineers write code for testing, automation, or controls, so early coding practice helps.

In college

  • Major in electrical engineering or a closely related fieldA bachelor's degree is the typical entry requirement for this career, and an accredited program is the standard path.
  • Apply for internships or co-op placementsHands-on work at a company builds practical skills and often leads to a first job offer.
  • Join a student engineering club or design teamTeams that build vehicles, robots, or circuits give you project experience you can talk about in interviews.
  • Get a campus job as a lab or tutoring assistantHelping others with circuits and lab equipment strengthens your own understanding and shows teaching and communication skills.
  • Start preparing for the Fundamentals of Engineering examPassing this exam is usually the first step toward a Professional Engineer license, which is often needed for senior roles.

Tips for getting started

  • Take the hardest math and physics classes you can in high school, since they are the foundation for every engineering degree.
  • Get hands-on experience early. Internships, co-ops, and project work show employers you can apply what you learned, and many engineering programs expect them.
  • Look into an engineering technician route too. Some people start with a certificate or associate degree, work as technicians, and later finish a bachelor's degree while working.

Related jobs that often lead here

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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