Growing up, I didn't know what I wanted to be. I liked math and science, and, as I got older, I realized that I particularly liked physics. I went to study at the University of Kansas and wasn't sure what to declare my major in but decided to go with electrical engineering. I thought it would be a field that would let me use my knowledge and passion for physics to make the world a better place, and I was right! If you're looking for some advice on how to become an electrical engineer, you've come to the right place.
First things first, though, we have to understand that electrical engineering is a broad field. Breaker & Fuse is all about electrical power systems, the large-scale world of electricity that brings power from point A to point B safely, but there's more to electrical engineering than just that. Electrical engineering also covers areas like communications (radio, cellular, etc.), electronic hardware, and computing. Electrical engineers do work in just about every industry and their areas of expertise overlap with other engineering disciplines.
Education - To become an electrical engineer of any sort, the minimum requirement is to get an ABET accredited undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. ABET accredited universities are all over the place, and I don't just recommend it because you'll likely get a better education; In order to become a licensed Professional Engineer, you'll have to.
Undergraduate programs in electrical engineering are broad and thanks to ABET accreditation requirements, they generally have very similar requirements. Here's an example of some typical electrical engineering courses you would be required to take:
DC Circuits
AC Circuits
Electronic Circuits
Digital Electronics and Logic
Programming
Communication Systems
Control Systems
Signal Processing
Electromagnetics
Along with these major-specific courses, there are other courses that are almost universally required to become an engineering graduate:
Calculus (Single Variable and Multi-Variable)
Linear Algebra
Differential Equations
Statistics
Economics
Physics (Classical Mechanics)
The remainder of the classes that you take as an undergraduate are highly dependent on the university you attend and the electives that you choose to take on.
Graduate education in electrical engineering is also common for specialization. The available graduate courses at a college will vary considerably based on the staff who can teach them. At the University of Kansas, I was able to specialize in power systems through graduate coursework. As an example, here are some of the classes I took:
Power Systems Engineering I & II (All about the National Electrical Code and Real-World Design)
Power Systems Analysis (short circuit, load flow, and other power calculations)
Electric Energy Production and Storage (Power generation, renewables, and specialty topics)
Power Electronics (Inverters, Converters, and more)
Motors and Motor Control
Graduate education is not required to become a licensed electrical engineer, but it may be used as qualifying experience towards licensure if it results in a degree and it's usually viewed favorably by employers.
Licensure - Once you've gone through school and got the degree, a job as an electrical engineer is the next step. This is where things start to get a bit confusing, though. While you may be employed as an electrical engineer, there are limits to what you can do. Until you become a Professional Engineer (PE), a licensed and registered practitioner of engineering, you cannot actually stamp and approve your own drawings to be used for construction in a public setting.
There are four things that you have to do, in order, to get that PE license:
You must graduate from an ABET-accredited university with a degree in engineering.
You must pass the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (FE), a test of all the things you must learn in an ABET-accredited program.
You must pass the Professional Engineering Examination in the electrical discipline of your choice (Electrical Power, in the case of those who would usually be reading this article). This test is much more difficult than the FE and will require a detailed understanding of the industry and NEC.
You must have at least four years of qualifying work experience, with recommendations by applicable Professional Engineers, and receive approval from the state licensing board. There are other options here that can lead to licensure as well, but they are more obscure and should be reviewed on a state-by-state basis. In no state can one become a licensed PE without at least four years of work experience following graduation.
Once all of that is done, you will be a fully licensed Professional Electrical Engineer. It's a lot of work, no doubt, but Professional Electrical Engineers have a big responsibility, making sure that the power infrastructure all around us is safe and effective!
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