What is electrical engineering? Actually, this is a very common and essential question if you are interested in this field. As a student, before starting the electrical engineering journey, you must get a clear idea of that. At the end of this article, I try to give you an essential and good summary of electrical engineering.
This field basically depends on the following key areas:
- Electronics
- Telecommunication
- Power Engineering
- Control Systems
- Instrumentation
And also get you well knowledge about electrical engineering applications and how to work with electrical transmission from one place to another. When you work in the field, you have huge Key Skills and Responsibilities:
- Testing & Troubleshooting
- Conducting Research & Development
- Project Management
- Designing Electrical Systems
- Maintenance & Support
Electrical engineering is a theoretical and practical engineering field. Anyone can’t do this responsible job. In the future world, electricity consumption will increase rapidly, and it is the job of electrical engineers to find solutions to this.
How much are electrical engineers paid?
Some factors affect the electrical engineer’s salary, like the cost of living, demand for engineers, and economic conditions. Certainly! Look at the chart below for the average salary of electrical engineers in various countries:
| Country | Average Annual Salary |
| Switzerland | $100,000 |
| Denmark | $97,812 |
| United States | $90,000 |
| Norway | $70,000 |
| Germany | 57,000 |
| Belgium | $47,000 |
(Note: Currency exchange rates as of April 2025)
Sources:
- 10 Highest Paying Countries for Electrical Engineers
- Electrical Engineering Salaries Worldwide
- 15 Highest Paying Countries for Engineers
Please note that here information about an electrical engineer’s base salary is country-wise. Some factors affect their salary, like experience, education, industry, and location within each country.
Electrical Engineer career opportunity
Electrical engineers work in a wide range of industries, like power companies, tech companies, etc. Below represents you from the chart clearly:
- Industrial plant
- Construction sites
- Laboratories
- Federal government
- Telecommunication areas
Basically, support for the electricity generation and transmission process. They are creating and testing the system using MATLAB, AutoCAD, Simulink, and PCB design software. Should update day to day, contribute to projects like renewable energy, and eco-friendly power plant systems, consumer electronics or automotive systems.
When working in the industry, they should improve the electricity efficiency and reduce the electricity bill. This process is theoretical. Should improve the performance of motors, sensors, and power generators and troubleshoot the issues in products. To do this, all the operators should have the following skills:
| Technical Skills | Soft skills |
| Circuit design & analysis | Decision-making under pressure |
| Electrical CAD software | Problem-solving & critical thinking |
| Microcontroller/microprocessor knowledge | Team collaboration |
| Embedded systems programming | Adaptability and continuous learning |
| Signal processing | Project management |
Electrical Engineering Degree and Subjects
What subjects are required for electrical engineering? The student should pass HSC or Advanced Level with these subjects: Combined mathematics(Applied and Pure), Physics and Chemistry. If someone does not have these mentioned qualifications, they should do the foundation course before stating the degree. After completing the foundation course, the candidate can start the degree.
Electrical Engineering is a four-year full-time degree program. Here, consider the Bachelor of Science honours in Electrical Engineering degree program(Detailed Electrical Engineering Syllabus):
| Electrical Engineering Subjects- First Year |
| Communication Skills |
| Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation |
| Communications and Computer Technology |
| Electronics I |
| Introduction to Electrical Engineering |
| Software Development for Engineers |
| Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics |
| Introduction to Engineering Design Graphics |
| Engineering Mathematics I |
| Engineering Mathematics II |
| Electrical Engineering Subjects- Second Year |
| Economics and Marketing for Engineers |
| Workshop Practice |
| Circuit Theory and Design |
| Electronics II |
| Electrical Installations |
| Microprocessors and Interfacing |
| Electrical Machines |
| Power Systems I |
| Group Project (Electrical Engineering) |
| Engineering Mathematics III |
| Industrial Training I (Electronics) |
| Industrial Training II (Electrical power) |
| Electrical Engineering Subjects- Third Year |
| Accounting for Engineers |
| High Voltage Engineering |
| Electrical Machines and Drives |
| Digital Electronic Systems |
| Power Systems II |
| Control Systems Engineering |
| Power Electronics |
| Research Methodology and Project Identification (Electrical Engineering) |
| Electrical Engineering Design Group project |
| Engineering Mathematics IV |
| Industrial Training II (Electrical Power – undergraduate) |
| Electrical Engineering Subjects- Fourth Year |
| Management for Engineers |
| Electromagnetism and Wave Propagation |
| Advanced Circuit Design and Analysis |
| Power Systems Planning, Operations and Control |
| Engineering Research Project [Electrical] |
| Embedded Systems |
| Neural Network & Fuzzy Logic Applications |
| Thermal Power Generation |
| Renewable Sources of Energy |
Note- This information is sourced from the Open University.
All above mentioned subjects are compulsory subjects for the Electrical Engineering degree. What are the possible specialisations in Electrical Engineering?
- Power engineering
- Telecommunication Engineering
- Signal Processing Engineering
- Electronic Engineering
What are the career paths end of the degree?
- Power System Engineer
- Telecommunication Engineer
- Renewable Energy Consultant
- Automation Engineer
- Electrical Controls Engineer
- Circuits Engineer
- Telecommunications Engineer
- Research & Development
Electrical Engineering vs Electronic Engineering
Comparing these two engineering fields, there is no big difference between electrical engineering and electronics engineering, but some of the key points differ from each other. Basically, electrical engineering focuses on the large type of power systems, generation and electricity transmission, but electronics engineering focuses on small-scale electronic devices like Microprocessors, integrated circuits and communication systems.
Here, look at the chart for key differences between Electrical Engineering and Electronic Engineering:
| Electronic Engineering (ElEc) | Electrical Engineering (EE) | |
| Focus Area | Small-sized electronic device | Large-sized generator and transformer |
| Tools & Software | MATLAB, SPICE, Multisim, VHDL | MATLAB, PSCAD, ETAP |
| Industries | Electronic, telecom and automation | Utilities, construction and transportation |
| Voltage Levels | Low voltage level | High Voltage level |
| Typical Job Titles | Electronics Engineer, Telecommunication Engineer | Power Engineer, Electrical Design Engineer |
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