The world has declared the need for new sources of power, with a constant advancement in microelectronics and new technological innovations happening every year. That said, the need for electric and electronic engineers looks to be steady for some time to come. Electric/Electronic is the third largest of the engineering field with 214,000. Growth in the field should be steady with the Bureau estimating a need for 11% more entrants with engineering degrees over the next decade.
Electric Engineers focus primarily on power generation, such as power plants and transmission infrastructure.
One rapidly growing field is called mechatronics which is a hybrid of mechanical and electronic engineering. Electronics proper, however, is divided into eight main areas: Electronics, microelectronics, power, control, signal, instrumentation, telecommunications, and, what seems to be one of the most quickly growing, computers. Many involved in engineering specialize in just one of these fields, so if there is an interest it can be accommodated.
To start becoming one of these types of engineers, one must start with a Bachelor’s degree. Getting a job from there is usually pretty common, but one really doesn’t become an engineer without certification. To do this one must get in contact with professional organizations (such as the Institute of Electric/Electronic Engineers), who are always on the lookout for new members.
Like most STEM (science, tech, engineering, math) specialties, one should expect to be going back for more seminars and courses for their entire career. Education doesn’t stop with a Bachelor’s and certification. Also, one will need to get a Masters in one capacity or another. This includes a variety of tracks though, among them business management. Many get around this by setting up subscription accounts with online colleges, either to obtain their advanced degrees or for the latest advances in the field.
Scholarships and grants for high school grads are a lot more common than in other occupational tracks. Not only are there basics like the Pell, but also the joint project with the National Science Foundation, the S-STEM scholarships. There are also professional societies like the Institute and private corporations like Apple. For more info, searching online and consulting an online college’s financial aid officer are smart avenues to explore.
According to the Bureau, the lowest 10% of electrical engineers make slightly over $52,000, with electronic engineers upping the ante to over $55,000 and computer hardware engineers nearing $60,000. The top 10% can range from $120,000 to over $150,000. These jobs include some pretty good perks, including life/health insurance, investment/retirement packages, and educational incentives.
No matter what, wherever one sees the latest innovation in green or some sort of computer tech, a small corps of electric and/or electronic engineers have worked on it. All of those engineers started with their civil engineering degree. The future of both electric and electronic engineers looks quite bright indeed and for those entering the fields now with their engineering degree online, the prospects may just be unlimited. If starting a new career as one of the above-mentioned types of engineers sounds exciting to you and more information on your engineering degrees online would be of interest to you, check the internet.
