Electrical Engineering

Engineering has emerged as one of the most popular career option for majority of population. Electrical Engineering is one such branch of engineering that has emerged as a popular choice. Electrical Engineering is one of the more recent branches of engineering which is about design, study and application of equipments and devices concerned with electrical and electronics. In this article, we will discuss about Electrical Engineering, the fundamentals of Electrical Engineering . We will also discuss some domains under this engineering and the work of an Electrical Engineer. Later in this article , we will discuss the future prospects of this field along with the salary ranges. We will understand the skillset required for different careers in this field and summarize the discussion.

What is Electrical Engineering?

Electrical Engineering as the name suggests is a branch of engineering that deals with study, design, production, application of equipments that deal with electricity or electronics. It involves working on different projects that add value to the study of electricity usually in field of designing, development, testing, deployment .

There has been a marvelous growth in this field since new inventions and designs have come up. Some examples of development in this field are components such as resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc. Electrical Engineers can work on super low power microcontrollers, PCB Design, high power turbines, navigation systems, etc.

Electrical Engineering

Fundamental Principles of Electrical Engineering

Anyone who is or is willing to pursue electrical engineering must be aware of certain fundamental principles of electrical engineering . These are stated below:

• Voltage: It is a fundamental quantity in engineering which is a quantitative expression of the potential difference in charge between two points usually in an Electric Field.
• Current: It is another fundamental quantity in engineering which represents the rate at which electrons flow in a complete electrical circuit.
• Resistance: It is another fundamental quantity in engineering which resists the flow of electric current in a circuit.
• Ohm’s Law: This principle states that Voltage developed across a conductor is directly proportional to current flowing through it. Mathematically, it can be written as

V=IR where I is electric current, V is Voltage , R is resistance.

What are the Branches of Electrical Engineering?

Electrical Engineering is a broad term and can be divided into various branches like:

• Power: This field generally deals with transmission and generation of Power for various transmission lines.
• Electronics: This field generally deals with circuitry and power supplies needed for daily processes. The development of major circuits is done for smooth functioning and transmission.
• Control Systems: This generally studies about systems that control lights, fans, alarms, cameras and devices that require monitoring.
• Signal Processing: This generally deals with signal transmission and reception. The goal is to send message from transmitter to receiver with minimum error using techniques like modulation.
• Telecommunications Engineering : This deals with all the infrastructure and technology necessary for connecting the digital world and ensuring strong communication between them.

What does an Electrical Engineer do?

Electrical Engineers have a huge responsibility over their shoulders. Right from ensuring proper circuits and antenna designs to developing methods for efficient signal processing, they solve multiple problems. Electrical Engineers design, develop, test, install and supervise the manufacture of electrical equipment which will further be used at various places.

They develop circuits for designing of devices like electric motors, radar and navigation systems, communications systems. Sometimes they also have to develop efficient equipments for sufficient power generation. Various automobiles have electric systems designed by the engineers.

Electrical Engineers really need to come up with innovative ideas in their everyday life to ensure efficient semiconductor designs, minimal losses and highly profitable systems.

Jobs And Salaries of Electrical Engineering

Any job will pay you wages depending on your knowledge and experience. In this field the salary of a person increases with his/her experience in the field. It also depends on the number of hours you give to you work, working overtime gives you higher wages depending on your performance.

The average salary of an electrical engineer is ₹5,25,000 per year (approx) in the India with range from ₹ 1.5 Lakhs to ₹ 8.1 Lakhs. The additional bonuses given can range from ₹11,250 – ₹81,000.

The top jobs offered in this domain are by companies namely Wipro Lighting Corporate, Boeing, Bajaj Electricals Ltd, Siemens, Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd., Crompton Greaves, Havells India Limited, KIRLOSKAR Electric Company Limited, Microtek, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.,Tata Electric Companies, PTC India Ltd, Sun Source (India), Neolex Cables, National Wind & Power Corpn., Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd, HBL Power Systems Ltd, Suryachakra Power Corpn. Ltd, DLF Power Limited, Lanco Industries, Kuber Lighting Pvt Ltd, Baliga Lighting, A.K. Electricals, Torque Master Tools Pvt. Ltd, Pran Electronics Pvt. Ltd., Mellcon Engineers, Mehta Engineering Enterprise, India International House Ltd.

Future of Electrical Engineering

Electrical Engineering is a branch full of potential. Using innovation to channelize the potential in this field can be really beneficial for future projects and for improving the economy of nation. Considering the current development in this field it is believed that there will be a growth of this field in sectors like automobile industry, robotics industry and even in consumer electronics.

• Sales of all manufactured electronics good is expected to grow 10% or more a year over the coming decade.
• It has been predicted that there will be a 6% rise in the jobs and projects in this field. This is due to the increased demand of smartphones and the advent of automation technology.
• Based on surveys conducted by the publication Electronic Design ,76% of recruiters have seen trouble finding engineers for open positions due to declining numbers of electrical engineering students.
• More jobs will be created by government through some screams The Government of India (GOI) has allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Power Sector. This deposit will lead to enhancement in electrification process with better infrastructure and will lead to increased employment in the power sector.

Skills Required for Electrical Engineering

The minimal requirement for being an electrical engineer is a bachelor’s degree in engineering or technology i.e. either a BTech or BE degree. These are usually 4-year programs but certain institutes offer a dual degree( BTech+ MTech) which takes around 5 years for completion.

In order to join a prestigious institute for he degree, every aspirant must score in top percentile in exams like JEE Mains, JEE Advanced and BITSAT. Doing so will land them in prestigious colleges like IITs, NITs and BITs in India.

The university will teach you some basic principles and concepts of electronics and electrical engineering. Once you have a degree you will have covered up most important aspects required for an electrical engineer. You may specialize in any additional subject by choosing a major or minor along with your subjects. After earning a degree, you can also seek licensure and certification as a professional engineer (P.E.).

Now that you have enough circuital knowledge and detailed knowledge of your subject, you can further pursue a study at postgraduate level to gain a Master of Engineering/Master of Science (MEng/MSc), a Master of Engineering Management, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Engineering, an Engineering Doctorate (EngD), or an Engineer’s degree. You also join great companies like Texas, Nvidia.

Career in Electrical Engineering

Electrical Engineers are open to vast number of career options giving them a multitude of career options each requiring a certain skillset. Here are a list of career options where this degree might be useful:

• Acoustic consultant
• Aerospace engineer
• Broadcast engineer
• CAD technician
• Control and Instrumentation engineer
• Design engineer
• Electrical engineer, Electronics engineer, Nuclear engineer, Sound engineer
• A Special Effects Technician.

Apart from these domains, the degree is useful in certain other jobs like clinical technologists, land-based engineers, machine learning engineers, management consultants, project managers, software engineer, technical authors, and technical sales engineers, among other roles.

Conclusion

From the article, it is evident that Electrical Engineering has great potential with vast multitude of domains to explore. The field is full of prospects and provides a great salary range if you have a command in your subject. Pursuing this field as a career can land you in great companies and research projects. Being one of the oldest branch , this field as a lot explored and a lot is yet to be explored. A genuine interest and the right guidance can definitely land you in a great position.

FAQs on Electrical Engineering

Which colleges provide programs in electrical engineering?

Some world-class institutes providing courses in electrical engineering are Boston, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) , Yale, IITs and NITs

Which branch is better among Electronics and Electrical Engineering?

Considering the opening and closing ranks for both the branches and average salary, Electronics Engineering is a better option. Electrical Engineering is a broader term.

What is the Gender Ration in this field?

The workforce of Electrical & electronics engineers in 2023 was around 9.55% woman, and 90.5% men.

Is Electrical Engineering expected to get automated in future?

One major task in this field is to design some problems and solve them. This requires human knowledge hence this field can never be fully automated. However, automation will be used in various sectors like manufacturing and designing.