Career in Electricals and electronics

Electrical and electronic engineering - Career Path

An electrical and electronic engineering degree prepares you to work in the vast range of engineering sectors, including aerospace, automotive, energy, information technology and telecommunications

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Engineering managers
• Aerospace engineers
• Electronics engineers, except computer
• Marine architects
• Mechanical engineers
• Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers
• Nuclear engineers
• Electricians

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

Work experience is a perfect way of getting a hands-on, practical understanding of engineering systems and specialised industries. Some courses offer a year out in industry, providing further opportunities to broaden your skill set and establish a network of contacts. You may also want to look into setting one up yourself during the summer months. Check the careers sections of company websites for any work experience or advertised internships.
Whether or not you decide to continue in the electrical or electronic field, a period spent gaining work experience or shadowing can help you make decisions about your future career. Practical experience can give you a fantastic insight into what direction you want to take your career or further studies.

Employers

Electronic and electrical engineers are employed in many industries, with the main areas being in electronics, IT, manufacturing, power, transport, construction and building services. Opportunities are also found in telecommunications, research and development, and petrochemicals.
While the UK no longer leads in manufacturing, many global electronics organisations maintain research and development facilities within the UK and Europe. Engineers normally based in the UK can be posted overseas to work on projects, and willingness to travel is therefore important.

Skills you drive

In the course of your degree, you develop a wide range of subject-specific skills in addition to technical and transferable core skills. You also develop valuable skills from other activities and interests. These include:

• the ability to use specialist knowledge creatively and innovatively to solve problems;
• pragmatism and practicality to turn a concept into reality;
• effective communication (spoken and written);
• good team-working;
• project and time management;
• a professional approach and ability to work to an ethical code of conduct.

Electrical and electronic engineers are highly employable in a wide range of areas beyond engineering such as IT, finance and management. Skills such as numeracy, problem-solving and IT, developed on electrical and electronic degree courses, are essential to many employers.

Further study

A possible course of action for some graduates is to pursue further study in a specialist field or in research. Courses include an MSc or PhD, in areas such as internet engineering, nanotechnology, wireless and optical communications and telecommunications. A major source of funding for postgraduate studies in engineering is the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) .
An EngD is essentially an industry-based PhD, combining Doctoral-level research with training in practical skills, and is intended for graduates who wish to progress to leading roles in industry.
Chartership (CEng) is also a possibility once you are working and have gained experience.

Other Qualifications

Engineers should be creative, inquisitive, analytical, and detail oriented. They should be able to work as part of a team and to communicate well, both orally and in writing. Communication abilities are becoming increasingly important as engineers frequently interact with specialists in a wide range of fields outside of engineering.

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