Electrical Engineering: A Career As An Electrical Engineer

Although there are a plethora of possible careers that I am capable of pursuing, I am particularly interested in a career as either an electrical engineer or a software developer. Electrical engineers fall within the Career Cluster of architecture and engineering. From 2012 to 2022, employment in the field of electrical engineering is projected to grow 4 percent, which is less than the average projected growth rate for all careers. There are no major geographic restrictions to becoming an electrical engineer, however most move to where the companies are located. Travel requirements vary from company to company, but overall the job does not demand much travel. Most electrical engineers work year round, and depending on the firm, there could be some specific peak work periods. Electrical engineers can work 40 hour weeks, or even up to 72 hour weeks, depending on their current projects. There are no major physical demands to the job. The average starting salary for electrical engineers in 2013 was $62,300 per year, and the median salary was $87,920 per year.

Most successful electrical engineers have at least a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from an organization or institution that offers programs that are accredited by the ABET. Some of the key courses that are included in this program are digital systems design, differential equations, and electrical circuit theory. According to US News, in 2013, the top three electrical engineering colleges were Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford, and Berkeley. To complete the electrical engineering program, these institutions would annually cost $43,210, $45,480, and $26,322, respectively. More realistically for me, Purdue had the number 10 ranked electrical engineering...

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... lots of attributes to becoming an electrical engineer that are appealing to me, and the same goes for software development. Some of the aspects that I like most about electrical engineering are the high pay, the opportunity to work with electronics, the stability of the job, and that there are opportunities for travel than software development allows. However, I dislike the possible long work weeks, and that the work would be more hardware focused rather than software focused; I prefer the software side of things. The things that I like most about software development are the even higher pay, the mostly 40 hour work weeks, and the rapidly growing employment. There are some downsides to becoming a software developer. There would not be as many opportunities for travel as electrical engineering, and I think that learning many computer languages could prove difficult.