Electrical engineers work with systems. These systems generate, transmit, distribute, store, control, or use electromagnetic energy or electrically coded information. Engineers may be involved in developing, manufacturing, or applying electrical and electronic devices, circuits, systems, products, and equipment. They produce single-line diagrams (SLD), schematics, wiring diagrams, cable tray layouts, junction box layouts, and so on. They must comply with safety codes and industry standards. They may be involved in developing those standards.
Electrical engineers may specialize in:
- Biomedical engineering (to learn more, see the Biomedical Engineer occupational profile)
- Communications engineering (for example, compressing, transmitting, routing, and receiving multimedia or digital data on the internet or mobile phones)
- Computer engineering (to learn more, see the Computer Engineer and Software Engineer occupational profiles)
- Control systems engineering (for instance, controlling chemical processes like those used in petroleum extraction, refining, and delivery)
- Digital systems engineering (such as developing hardware systems for communications, process control, computers, and signal processors)
- Electronic materials and nanotechnology (for instance, integrating semiconductor devices and nanoscale sensors)
- Electronics engineering (such as designing integrated circuits for the electronic equipment used in communication or automotive systems)
- Electromagnetics and photonics (such as radio frequency antennae and laser applications)
- Power systems engineering (for example, generating, transmitting, and distributing electrical energy)
- Embedded systems engineering (such as designing a device or part of a device to do specific tasks using little computer memory or hardware)
- Electrical systems for buildings (such as lighting, power distribution, fire alarm and security systems, and information technology distribution systems)
- Design of electrical and communications infrastructure supporting the development of new communities
In each of these fields, electrical engineers may further specialize in areas such as:
- Maintaining and solving problems with existing systems
- Conducting research
- Specifying, designing, simulating / studying, implementing, and testing products and systems
- Designing and simulating electronic product prototypes (working models)
- Designing manufacturing processes
- Developing test and quality control procedures to ensure products meet quality specifications and safety standards
As well as their technical duties, electrical engineers often:
- Study design proposals, write reports, and make suggestions on the specifications, design, development, manufacture, testing, or application of products and systems
- Prepare contract documents such as drawings and specifications for project construction
- Supervise and coordinate the work of others
