From electric motors and navigation systems to power production equipment and more complex electrical-related advancements, electrical engineers design, develop, test, and oversee the manufacturing of electrical equipment. Being an electrical engineer could be vocational, technical, or educational. It might be in form of education, where you get a bachelor, master’s, or Ph.D. degree, or comes as vocational, where it is being learned practically. The former has a wide range of sections and applications in-between itself. While the latter is basically limited and mostly for home or residential services.
While some who went to college for it might not be good at the practical aspect, it would be quite easier for them as they already know how it works. On the other hand, normal electricians fix house connections or home appliances which might be limited when it comes to industrial or innovation levels. However, there’s a common ground on basic skills which every electrical engineers needs to know, and here are the top 8 important ones.
1. Circuit design and Debugging
Circuit design is the stage of the design cycle that results in the schematics of the integrated circuit. It is positioned between logic design and the physical design of an area’s electric connections while being able to forecast voltages and currents at any location inside the circuit. They are put together by connecting a number of circuit components that each carry out a certain goal-oriented task.
The first stage in creating a printed circuit board (PCB) for an electrical project is to create a full circuit design. A poor circuit design can render your PCBs useless. Although these are covered in electrical engineering courses at school, in order to gain a thorough understanding of the subject, you may need to major in it. Online career training is available to become an expert in it.
2. Chip Design
Chip design, a crucial component of electronics engineering, is the process of creating a chip using fundamental components known as transistors. In order to make a single part that can be attached to a larger circuit board, manufacturers frequently combine amplifiers, transistors, capacitors, resistors, and other components into one unit. Practically done on a silicon wafer, by adding layers of related designs.
The process of designing chips requires an understanding of how circuits are constructed and how their logic works. The responsibility of an IC design engineer is to assist in developing an integrated circuit that satisfies a project’s requirements. After earning a degree in electrical engineering, you can pursue short-term courses or specialize in the field. Along with the understanding of ICs, one needs to be familiar with electronic design automation tools, assembly-level programming, and “C” programming.
3. Embedded systems
A system built on a microcontroller or microprocessor and intended to carry out a certain function is called an embedded system. For instance, automobile engine management systems and central heating systems. household items like dishwashers. There are three parts to an embedded system, including hardware and application software.
Its function is to manage the machine and enable user interaction so that it can carry out a predetermined task. Important for EEE students seeking employment in the IT sector because embedded systems are designed for commercial use. You require a broad knowledge of topics like compilers, computer architecture, operating systems, testing, and development. It is also an understanding of how these topics apply to embedded systems, in order to fully explore this area.
4. Software development
Software development, according to the IBM definition, is a group of computer science tasks devoted to the process of developing, designing, deploying, and maintaining software. The set of instructions or programs that a computer follows are known as software. Electrical engineering and software engineering are two separate fields that depend on one another.
The hardware is utilized by software engineers, who in turn produce computer applications used by electrical engineers and other professionals. This is one of the numerous things that electrical engineers create. Because it will enable them to build hardware that is integrable, electrical engineers must be familiar with the fundamentals of software engineering.
5. Interpersonal skills
Regardless of the department, you work in, having additional talents like interpersonal communication skills might help you be more effective. It helps you form enduring, gratifying bonds with your coworkers and successfully execute group assignments. Empathy, active listening, and emotional intelligence are examples of interpersonal skills.
They are present in every aspect of life and play an equal role in interpersonal relationships, career exchanges, and workplace safety. A few qualities to possess are self-assurance, perseverance, openness to new ideas, and change. The capacity to ignore distractions, time management, resilience, and self-discipline.
6. Power Electronics
Electrical engineering’s field of power electronics deals with the processing of high voltages and currents to provide power for a range of purposes. Power generation has always been and continues to be the foundation of civilization. It can be seen in almost every product we use, from cell phones to residential and commercial buildings.
Power engineers are essential to the production and transfer of power. They deal with equipment that uses high voltages and currents to operate. You should develop skills in schematic capture and PCB layout design for mixed-signal boards (using Cadence, Altium, Eagle, etc.). Additionally, a solid understanding of inter-module communication protocols (I2C, SMBus, SPMI, etc.)
7. Data skills
Data science is a discipline of study that combines subject-matter knowledge, programming abilities, and competence in math and statistics to draw forth important insights from data. Design, collecting, and analysis are its three key facets. Electrical engineers can benefit from data science by better understanding and controlling electrical processes. Also designing and optimizing electrical systems, and predicting and preventing failures. Data science may also assist electrical engineers in lowering the price of electrical energy, increasing the effectiveness of electrical systems.
8. Problem-solving skills
In every field, no matter how good you are at what you do, innovations are always of advantage. Being innovative and creative as an electrical engineer will depend on your wide range of knowledge in your field. When you encounter a new type of problem or electrical issue you need to implore innovations, thoughts and project management skills.
