Electrical engineering is a very rewarding career that is filled with opportunities. In addition to this, an electrical engineer salary is one of the highest of any engineering discipline. Electrical engineers focus on the study and application of power electronics, biomedical technology, power generation and wireless communications. The telecommunications industry is the fastest growing of all of these fields and includes developing communication networks for cell phones, the internet and the military. These services are always in high demand so there will always be an expanding job market for electrical engineers. The following is an introduction to the career and what you can expect in terms of salary.
Employment Outlook
There should be an increasing number job opportunities for electrical engineers for the next several years. These openings are a result of major growth in the telecommunications industry and the need to replace the aging engineers who are either retiring or being promoted to management positions. This demand is enhanced by the fact that the number of electrical engineering graduates per year has been decreasing since 2003. The overall growth in this field is estimated to be a little bit higher than average for the entire job market.
Required Education
In order to become an electrical engineer (or any type of professional engineer for that matter) you must first acquire a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Sciences, depending on what school you attend. This is a 4 year long program in both the United States and Canada and is all that is required to become a professional electrical engineer. However, to become a licensed professional engineer it is usually required that you complete additional exams and some supervised training. A Master’s degree in the same area of study requires 2 or 3 more years of study depending on the university but is not required to become an electrical engineer. Becoming a Doctor of Engineering requires further study and completing original research papers.
An electrical engineer putting the finishing touches on a new array of solar panels
Possible Careers
Electrical engineers usually follow a career path that takes them across a variety of disciplines and industries. They usually start out working in a field related to their degree specialization, (telecommunications, power, biomedical, microelectronics, etc.) but soon after change directions entirely and find themselves working in a position that is better suited to them and fits their interests. These positions could be another field of specialization, or another type of engineering entirely such as environmental engineering or software engineering. An engineering career can sometimes even lead to working for a company in the finance, information technology or marketing departments. Later in their careers, engineers will move up into management positions because they have great technical skills, strong leadership and are able work in groups and deal with people.
Electrical Engineer Salary Guide
The average salary for an electrical engineer working in the United States was $86,000 according to a study conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2009. The salaries recorded ranged from $53,510 to $126,810. The top three highest paying industries were (in order):
Oil and gas extraction –$120,140 per year
Movie and Video – $109,960 per year
Mining and Mining Support – $108,250 per year
Engineers who have their Master of Science (MSEE) do have a higher salary range than those who only have their Bachelor of Science (BSEE) as seen by these statistics:
Only Bachelor of Science Degree – $55,328 – $73,550
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Master of Science – $60,350 – $86,607
Electrical Engineer Salary by Years Experience (United States)
According to payscale.com, an average electrical engineer salary ranges from $55,000 to $80,000 (including yearly bonuses and profit sharing). These statistics were gathered from 5,996 licensed electrical engineers as of May 3, 2012, the majority of whom had 1-5 years of experience. The average electrical engineering salary is around $53,000.
Electrical engineering has one of the safest job markets in the world. The job market is constantly expanding and the world will always rely on electricity and electric devices. You will never have too much trouble finding a job if you have a bachelor’s degree in engineering. It’s worth the time and effort and it is definitely something you can be proud of.