What Does An Electrical Engineer Do Daily?

you reset circuit breakers then call it a day

Any engineer should be able to perform research on almost any subject.

Have you performed any research on the subject?

Talked to any electrical engineers?

What does an Electrical Engineer do? - Sokanu

A Day In The Life Of: An Electrical Engineer - Bayt.com

What Does An Electrical Engineer Do? - Electrical Engineer

You can do a whole lot of different things. It depends on whom you go to work for. Look at job listings to get an idea. What you choose will depend on your aptitude and interests.

Most likely when you start out you will not be in the ideal job you would like, and you may have some tasks that are uninteresting. Do not despair. To get to the position you want, you will have to prove yourself.

Most of the time they walk around reviewing the work electricians did installing the systems they designed and shake their heads and wonder how you guys manage to get and keep your licenses.

Thanks for your replies. I've just started thinking about becoming an engineer. It seems like alot of math. I don't mind learning and I have a passion for creating thing and fixing things. I'm kind of afraid of going back to school. If I was to pick up a book to get an understanding of what to study and what to expect or even a website, which ones would you recommend?

For the degree level course (in general) there is math and it is some of the hardest out there, but it is only a smallish part of the course and if you are motivated (like I was) then you can get through the math and pass it even if you math skills aren't that good (like mine were). I failed all the math courses the first time but still managed to graduate in the top two in class with honours.

If you are interested and motivated don't let a little thing like advanced math stand in your way (most of the math you are taught you will never use anyway).

Depends on the country and industry. My current job is quite varied and different to those of others who would only have the option to specialise in one or two particular areas only. Customer service, design, CAD, build, commissioning, training, project management, quality management, I get to do it all. Certainly keeps things interesting but not all Electrical Engineering jobs are like mine (you could for example be stuck at a desk all day drawing).

The only consistent thing I do every day is drink coffee. That and the other mandatory functions to sustain life.

The only consistent thing I do every day is drink coffee.

But do you do it well?

My beard is still clean, today.

Well,... you still have this afternoon to pick it up a bit. :P

Some get electricuted due to misfortune, bad luck and negligence though. If fortunate, they attract many girls in their life, often.

I can tell you this - with your background you have a good head start on most undergrads in EE. Go for it. When I went into college, the Vietnam War was raging and every EE class I was in had at least one military trained electrical tech in attendance. Those guys had a jump on the rest of us and it showed, at least for the first couple of years.

As far as what we do, that depends on the actual job you have. EE covers a very broad spectrum.

As for myself, I've specialized into control systems for process skids, and my typical day is spent doing CAD of the control panel and wiring system, many of which I've designed from scratch. They average around 50 drawings per set. Takes about 6 weeks to finish, if it is a from scratch project. Occasionally you get a re-do type project where someone else did the first control system, and all you do is up-date the drawings. If you get into too small a company, as I have, you will find your wiring skills being used again. I end up helping wire at least 90% of my projects. It is satisfying to get to help build what you have imagined. At the very least, you will have to inspect what your electricians have wired, correct as necessary, and then do running tests for the end customer. The testing can take up to 2 weeks on big projects. This is fun at first, then a bit annoying as it winds down, as modern testing procedures involve folders filled with required supporting paperwork to fill in. Can you say "writer's cramp"? - so many forms to sign.

I'm not a good social person, so the small company setting is ideal for me, as the design is entirely by myself, with customer input as required.

I've seen drawing sets from larger firms, with teams working on them, so there they have even further specialization and team work to tie it all together. This is more the norm than my situation.

I figured my background would help, being in the field allows me to see the bigger , I'm also not afraid of electricity. Usually people are scared when they first start. I appreciate all your replies. Very motivated to do this and I'm gonna go talk to a counselor next week and see what I need to do. Hopefully I can get grants. The scariest part is having to pay school off. I'm not in position to go to school full time and I'm not sure what kind of help they provide choosing part time classes.

What requirements are needed for me to get thru school without paying much?

Can't answer that. I had a half scholarship, so my tuition was, in inflation corrected dollars, only about $6000/year, plus I lived close to campus and had little room and board costs after the first year. Not so bad as compared to what my daughter just ran up. She got a 4 year degree online while working, and now has $65000 to pay off. Only way to cut this down that I know of, is what she is doing - she works for a government related non-profit organization, so after 10 years, there is loan forgiveness. Catch here is that jobs like that are limited, pay very poorly, and I doubt there is any place for an engineer. Now there are companies that will help pay tuition. Doubt yours will, as it will take you away from your job. My company will pay for education that will make one a better company employee. Can you draft in CAD? Might find an engineering firm that needs someone "on the boards" (obsolete term - isn't it?) and will help pay for a BS. Then you have a catch 22, as this will probably involve a pay cut from what you are doing now, until you get the degree.

Don't let it discourage you - go get that BS - it is worth it in the long term. The Dean of Engineering, when I was in school, assembled all engineering first term students and told us that 75% will not work at what they are getting their education in, but will definitely find work in technical related fields. I might add to that, that one of my better professors told us that EE's are the engineer most likely to be hired to a technically oriented non-EE type function - every company loves EE's and know we're very trainable. I spent 11 years as a gas/oil well analyst on my EE degree - they preferred an EE over a geologist. Six months training and I was on my own in the field running well logs and analyzing them.

Sorts this out.

As for me, i usually test protective relays and energy meters. Protection Engineering is a sub field of Electrical Engineering that is interesting and challenging. During my spare time i usually read and do some calculations depending on the need specially on site.

There's a question took shape in my mind:

Why are you interested in what others here do?

If you want to become an electrical engineer, then go for it,.. Just pick a suitable undergraduate subject from a good university, which matches your experience and interests..

In my opinion, Electrical Engineer is not a clear definition.

There are a lot of different domains.

First of all, there are Power Electricity and Electronics.

Power electricity it could be Machine and Apparatus -design ,technology and engineering of generators, motors, transformers , circuit breakers, cables and so on.

Power Electricity it could be power station and substation design, engineering and exploitation.

Power electricity it could be electrical installation-design and engineering.

Power electricity electrical installation it could be power stations, industrial and commercial or domestic.

There are many other professional domains.

An engineer could be a designer or a supervisor or a staff manager and so on.

I am also think also like this but there is one question in my mind which we can do after done electrical engineering another field.

Thanks,

DMS