What an electrical engineer really does
You design how power moves through buildings and equipment, prove it with calculations, and track down the cause when it fails.
FieldScience and engineering
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Considerable preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for electrical engineers, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Designing and updating electrical systems such as panels, feeders, and equipment power
- Running detailed calculations for loads, wire and breaker sizes, voltage drop, and fault current
- Writing specifications for equipment purchases and reviewing vendor submittals against them
- Talking with clients, contractors, and other engineers about the project
- Inspecting finished installations and investigating complaints when something trips or fails
- Estimating costs and keeping projects on schedule and budget
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- Accuracy is not optional. A wrong number can start a fire or destroy equipment. Importance of being exact or accurate: 61% extremely important; Consequence of error: 30% extremely serious (O*NET Work Context)
- You get a lot of freedom in how you plan your own work. Determine tasks, priorities and goals: 70% a lot of freedom (O*NET Work Context)
- A lot of the job is phone and email with people, not only design. E-mail: 87% every day; Telephone conversations: 80% every day (O*NET Work Context)
- Long weeks are common. Duration of typical work week: 58% more than 40 hours (O*NET Work Context)
- Many electrical engineers wear safety gear daily, because labs, plants, and job sites are part of the work. Wear common protective or safety equipment: 41% every day (O*NET Work Context)
How people get into it
A bachelor's degree in electrical engineering is the usual entry (82% of O*NET respondents say it is required). In power and building systems work, new engineers pass the FE exam and work under a licensed PE for several years before getting their own PE license. In electronics and product roles a license is less common.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: The trial does not include drawing in AutoCAD or Revit, running a full study in ETAP or SKM, or the hands on side: wearing arc flash gear, taking meter readings in a live electrical room, or witnessing equipment tests. You act as an engineer in training. Only a licensed PE can seal drawings, and nobody in this trial touches energized equipment. The numbers in the trial follow the 2023 NEC as a model code with no state amendments; a real project uses whatever edition the local authority has adopted.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
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Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 17-2071.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.