Electrical Engineers
Research, design, develop, test, or supervise the manufacturing and installation of electrical equipment, components, or systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use.
Most important skills
- Writing
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Complex Problem Solving
- Monitoring
Key knowledge
- Engineering and Technology
- Computers and Electronics
- Design
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
What the work involves
- Confer with engineers, customers, or others to discuss existing or potential engineering projects or products.
- Design, implement, maintain, or improve electrical instruments, equipment, facilities, components, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, or domestic purposes.
- Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform engineering tasks.
- 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.
- Plan or implement research methodology or procedures to apply principles of electrical theory to engineering projects.
- Prepare specifications for purchases of materials or equipment.
- Supervise or train project team members, as necessary.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Investigative, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (81.6% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (30.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (32.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Electrical Engineers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 54% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 63% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Higher on teamwork than 50% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 78% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Higher on time pressure than 55% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 76% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 61% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 53% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 13.79%
- Contact with others most of the time: 38.57%
- Constant contact with others: 47.64%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 9.39%
- Fairly important: 15.09%
- Important: 38.26%
- Very important: 30.39%
- Extremely important: 6.86%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 13.79%
- Very important: 41.98%
- Extremely important: 44.23%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 14.4%
- Some freedom: 24.19%
- A lot of freedom: 61.41%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 34.28%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 39.46%
- Every day: 26.25%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 24.45%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 42.04%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.44%
- Every day: 14.07%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 20.36%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 22.81%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 38.18%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.53%
- Every day: 4.13%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 20.49%
- Fairly serious: 31.87%
- Serious: 2.49%
- Very serious: 14.77%
- Extremely serious: 30.38%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Solar Energy Systems Engineers
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Automotive Engineers
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Geodetic Surveyors
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Telecommunications Engineering Specialists
Closeness 92/100 · job zone -1
- Analyze
Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians
Closeness 92/100 · job zone -1
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 17-2071.00 · SOC 17-2071 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8