Engineering and architecture
Electrical engineer
Research, design, develop, test, or supervise the manufacturing and installation of electrical equipment, components, or systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use.
Median pay
$120,630
Growth to 2035
+10%
faster than average
Openings a year
11,400
Time to qualify*
Minimal
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Electrical engineer
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Electrical engineer: 58% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Design, implement, maintain, or improve electrical instruments, equipment, facilities, components, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, or domestic purposes.
- Oversee project production efforts to assure projects are completed on time and within budget.
- Direct or coordinate manufacturing, construction, installation, maintenance, support, documentation, or testing activities to ensure compliance with specifications, codes, or customer requirements.
- Perform detailed calculations to compute and establish manufacturing, construction, or installation standards or specifications.
- Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform engineering tasks.
- Confer with engineers, customers, or others to discuss existing or potential engineering projects or products.
- Investigate or test vendors' or competitors' products.
- Inspect completed installations and observe operations to ensure conformance to design and equipment specifications and compliance with operational, safety, or environmental standards.
Also called: Circuits Engineer · Design Engineer · Electrical Controls Engineer · Electrical Design Engineer · Electrical Engineer · Electrical Project Engineer · Engineer · Instrumentation and Electrical Reliability Engineer (I&E Reliability Engineer)
Outlook and AI
Electrical engineers held 199,700 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 219,500 by 2035 (+10%, faster than average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Demand change - share increases as electrical infrastructure is updated and new electrical systems and technology are developed.
Compare with
- Electrical engineer vs. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Electrical engineer vs. Electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians
- Electrical engineer vs. Mechanical engineer
- Electrical engineer vs. Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment
- Electrical engineer vs. Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians
- Electrical engineer vs. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay
- Electrical engineer vs. Engineers, all other
- Electrical engineer vs. Industrial engineer