What They Do
Electrical and electronics engineers design, develop, and test electrical and electronic equipment, components, and systems.
Duties
Electrical and electronics engineers typically do the following:
- Design and develop electrical and electronic devices, products, and systems
- Determine product or system requirements
- Use engineering or design software or equipment to create models, diagrams, and layouts
- Inspect and test reliability and safety of electrical and electronic devices, products, and systems
- Supervise the manufacturing or construction of products or systems
- Prepare documentation covering product or system requirements and maintenance
- Evaluate systems and recommend design modifications or equipment repair
Electrical engineers design, develop, test, and supervise the manufacturing of electrical systems and equipment, such as electric motors, radar and navigation systems, communications systems, or power generation equipment. Electrical engineers also design the electrical systems of automobiles and aircraft.
Electronics engineers design and develop the components and circuitry of electronic products. They may supervise the manufacturing and testing of these electronic products, such as audio-visual equipment or radar and sonar systems.
The work of electrical engineers and electronics engineers is often similar, and they frequently work together and with other types of engineers on projects. Some may specialize in a specific area of electrical or electronics engineering, such as electric power, radio communications, or control systems.
Engineers who focus primarily on computers or computer-related equipment are covered in the profile for computer hardware engineers.
Work Environment
Electrical engineers held about 192,000 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of electrical engineers were as follows:
| Engineering services | 21% |
| Electric power generation, transmission and distribution | 11 |
| Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences | 5 |
| Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing | 5 |
| Aerospace product and parts manufacturing | 5 |
Electronics engineers, except computer held about 95,900 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of electronics engineers, except computer were as follows:
| Telecommunications | 16% |
| Federal government, excluding postal service | 15 |
| Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing | 12 |
| Engineering services | 6 |
| Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing | 6 |
Electrical and electronics engineers generally work in an office setting. Travel may be required, such as visiting project sites to observe a problem or a piece of complex equipment.
Work Schedules
Most electrical and electronics engineers work full time.
How to Become One
Electrical and electronics engineers typically need at least a bachelor’s degree in a related engineering field. Employers also value practical experience, such as internships or participation in cooperative engineering programs.
Pay
The median annual wage for electrical engineers was $111,910 in May 2024.
The median annual wage for electronics engineers, except computer was $127,590 in May 2024.
Job Outlook
Overall employment of electrical and electronics engineers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.
About 17,500 openings for electrical and electronics engineers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.