Electrical Engineers
Science, Technology, Engineering and MathematicsO*NET 17-2071.00United States
Research, design, develop, test, or supervise the manufacturing and installation of electrical equipment, components, or systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use.
- Median annual earnings
- $120,186
- Projected change
- +10.9%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 203.73K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
81.6% of the workforce
Growing to 225.88K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What electrical engineers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- Prepare technical drawings, specifications of electrical systems, or topographical maps to ensure that installation and operations conform to standards and customer requirements.
- Investigate customer or public complaints to determine the nature and extent of problems.
- Prepare specifications for purchases of materials or equipment.
- Compile data and write reports regarding existing or potential electrical engineering studies or projects.
- Estimate labor, material, or construction costs for budget preparation purposes.
- Plan or implement research methodology or procedures to apply principles of electrical theory to engineering projects.
- Supervise or train project team members, as necessary.
- Assist in developing capital project programs for new equipment or major repairs.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $75,343
- 25th percentile
- $91,938
- 50th percentile
- $120,186
- 75th percentile
- $154,571
- 90th percentile
- $188,122
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $120,186 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+10.9%faster than average
2025203,728 jobs
2035 projected225,884 jobs
22,156 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 81.6%
- Associate degree
- 11%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 7.3%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Electrical Engineers20,230 postings
- 02Controls Engineers3,704 postings
- 03Transmission Line Engineers2,726 postings
- 04Electrical Design Engineers1,971 postings
- 05Substation Engineers1,928 postings
- 06Principal Electrical Engineers1,705 postings
- 07Electrical Project Engineers1,536 postings
- 08Power Systems Engineers1,403 postings
- 09Lead Electrical Engineers1,109 postings
- 10Substation Electrical Engineers1,036 postings
- 11Systems Engineers991 postings
- 12SCADA Engineers984 postings
- 13Design Verification Engineers968 postings
- 14Engineers942 postings
- 15Protection and Control Engineers935 postings
- 16Electrical Controls Engineers918 postings
- 17Electrical Engineering Interns907 postings
- 18Electrical Power Engineers902 postings
- 19Electrical Systems Engineers870 postings
- 20Distribution Engineers726 postings
Top employers
- 01Actalent4,492 postings
- 02Sargent & Lundy1,881 postings
- 03Lockheed Martin1,721 postings
- 04Northrop Grumman1,444 postings
- 05Jacobs Solutions1,403 postings
- 06Leidos1,358 postings
- 07RTX1,218 postings
- 08WSP Global1,095 postings
- 09CDM Smith1,085 postings
- 10Apple992 postings
- 11GPAC877 postings
- 12Constellation Energy801 postings
- 13Boeing775 postings
- 14L3Harris Technologies749 postings
- 15Jobot723 postings
- 16Insight Global683 postings
- 17Black & Veatch595 postings
- 18General Motors543 postings
- 19Amazon542 postings
- 20GE Vernova521 postings
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