Being an electrical engineer it unfolds many paths to a career.
During learning the course it gives a vast knowledge about the uses of various electronic components. It covers some basic and crucial topics like signal processing, circuit’s concepts, digital electronics, telecommunications, microprocessor, microelectronics, power systems, manufacturing of different components, fiber-optics.
It mainly focuses on deep and through conceptual understanding.
Electrical engineers must need to know these top 5 skills to clear the recruitment process and get placed in some renowned company.
Electronics industries have seen many innovations and the build out process are growing in coming days; taking challenges and working on it with diverse skills are very much appreciated.
These Skills are often searched by the recruiters among fresher’s
- One of the most fundamental skills required in these fields is knowledge of testing and circuit design. Anyone weak in this area about how to operate a circuit with as many as components in it will hardly able to fix any such circuits or design them.
The task includes creating circuits with resistors and capacitors in it and calculating the frequencies through it and current in each loop through calculations using a loop and nodal analysis. Knowing calculations is very important to evaluate the solutions in case of large electrical components where different simulation programs are carried out.
- OPAMP is the primary building block in any electronic circuits and everyone will have to work with op amp extensively being an electrical engineer.
Knowing its application features and proper functioning, as well as mathematical calculations, is important. Its output and input impedance and the way it acts as an integrator, basic amplifier, active rectifier, selective inversion circuit, voltage follower, a current-to-voltage converter, rectifier and using these how to perform addition, differentiation, integration, feedback control and multiplication are required largely being an electrical engineer.
- Designing and understanding of digital and analog filters are needed. For the manufacturing of electrical devices knowledge of designing passive and active filters are required.
Each analog circuits contains passive elements like inductors, capacitors and resistors which are widely used in loudspeakers, radio receivers, selection of particular frequencies while rejecting others. A small variation of any component can change output signal.
In everyday life, digital filters are widely used in audio and video receivers, cell phones, and radios and knowing the operation of these filters can be very beneficial. It requires some simple mathematical calculations like multiplication, subtraction and addition.
Digital filters can give possibilities of many impossible designs; a better understanding of how digital filters can effectively be used in geophysics, monitoring applications in medical units can be a plus point for any individual. Even anyone knowing all the features of previously designed functions will be ahead one step.
- Anyone should master the knowledge of electrical knowledge to shine further, about how to detect a faulty in a circuit, testing electrical circuits, current flow, the voltage drop at junctions, forming new ones from malfunctioned circuits, repairing the faulty ones.
Observation of Power dissipation in each component, cooling in case of overheating, calculating tolerances, checking of current flow at nodes all are very important for any designers, excessive current flow may result in explosion causing an overall system to collapse, and in big industries where machines run for whole day long, these things can highly impact the economy.
So designers must be aware of reliability, stability, optimization and safety. Ensuring quality standards and knowing specifications of each component may add as an extra skill.
- Organizational skills and communication between people or rather working in groups is indispensable. Proper application of skills is utmost necessary. Anyone must develop Self-confidence, management skills and culture team spirit and know how well anyone can connect well with clients, work on assignments, give presentations and come up with the best solutions for projects. Understanding the firmware, ethical values of the association and should aim at achieving goals even when an engineer is not directly linked with the programming or manufacturing.
Some of the Other Important Skills Include-
- Designing controllers for multiple input-output systems and feedback circuits. Forming feedback circuits by maintaining the system performance for the desired output.
- All electronic and electrical components generate heat and thermal management is needed to ensure safe working without failure. Different cooling techniques are there like forced air systems, heat pipes, thermoelectric coolers, heat sinks.
- Using wireless communication, especially working on radio frequencies used in communications and radar signals. It mainly denotes electrical oscillations; a designer must learn to calculate this rate of oscillations of electromagnetic waves with the help of antennas and transmitters.
- A strong grasp over physics and mathematics is required. Various mathematical calculations are involved like Laplace, Fourier analysis, and differentiation and so on.
- Good command over programming languages is requested. Learning how to code is an interesting skill and very useful in this field. Some programming languages include python, java, C/C++.
- System analysis is essential. Designers often need to break down large components into a smaller one for analysis. Analysis of systems based on input-output signals like, SISO, MISO, MIMO and SIMO is required.
Different Available Professions One Can Find Interesting
After a baccalaureate degree in electrical engineer, anyone takes his profession as an electronics technician, project engineer, programmer analyst, electrical engineer, quality assurance engineer, design engineer, project engineer, software engineer, maintenance engineer, field service technician, hardware engineer, test engineer, manufacturing engineer.
Broader Scope for Electrical Engineers
Scope for electrical engineers is springing up fast these days not only in core industries but also in broad-based industries like biomedical and nanotechnology. Renewable energies like wind power, solar, hydroelectric are much in demand now amid of rising global warming; experts of power generation are much needed. Some of the well-known recruiters of electrical engineers include Schneider electric, Crompton Greaves Ltd.
Inside the brain of an Electrical Engineer – The skills needed
Engineering is a widely popular branch of science. And it is equally vast too. There are a number of branches within Engineering. They include software, civil, electrical, and environmental and many more forms of engineering.
Most of the students after passing out from their high school are faced with the choice of choosing their major while they are in college. Given the popularity and respect this profession commands, it is not surprising that engineering is the major chosen by a lot of students.
Among the various fields of engineering, there are a few popular ones too. And electrical engineering is one of them. Many college students opt for electrical engineering in college given its popularity. While the other common reasons why they choose this particular field of engineering is:
- It’s easier to get hired as an Electrical Engineer. With the growing demands of the ever increasing population, companies want people with a fresh perspective to cater to the varied and growing needs of the population.
- Having a degree in Electrical Engineering can help you shift base to another country quite easily. Because of the growing demands of the countries they are always on the search for Electrical Engineers.
- As an Electrical Engineer, you can specialize in a number of disciplines like Radio Frequency Engineering, Signal Processing Engineering, Telecommunications and many more.
There are many more reasons why students choose Electrical Engineering over others but these are the most popular ones.
But choosing your major as Electrical Engineering isn’t enough. Because studying for this particular degree would involve a number of years and your consistent hard work. To be capable of studying for this degree you must possess certain qualities. Today we are going to discuss these qualities in detail in order to help you figure out if you are the right person for the job.
Most demanded skills in Electrical Engineering
As a student you are required to have a number of skills to be successful in your respective fields. But to be a successful student in the field of Electrical Engineering there are a number of skills you should possess which are specific to this discipline. Some of these skills are discusses below:
- Thinking critically and having a passion for complex problem solving
Being an Electrical Engineer comes with it fair share of issues and problems. So you must have a critical thinking ability to identify potential problems. You must be able to identify the various strengths and weaknesses of the product at hand. And while you are identifying the issues that are plaguing your product, you must come up with varied solutions, techniques and alternatives to solve your problem.
During the course of your life as an Electrical Engineer you will encounter a number of problems and issues. So in order to be successful you must adopt a complex problem solving attitude. You must have a knack to observe the issue and figure out the ways to solve it. You must be able to come up with a number of solutions to identify the most feasible one from them.
- Deciphering Circuit Designing and Analysis
As an Electrical Engineer you should have thorough knowledge about circuit designing and its analysis. You must be aware of all the components of a circuit while at the same time their functions and uses. You should be aware of the various modes of a circuit and how to design one. Designing a simple resistor circuit should be right up your alley and analyzing the frequency response of multifaceted networks too.
Then there is node and loop analysis, you should be proficient in solving the equations of these problems. To enhance your skills you must engage in various simulation based programs to figure out their solutions.
- Understanding the intricacies of Electrical Instruments
Having a number of electrical instruments lying around is common for an Electrical Engineer. This is because they spend most of their time figuring out the various components that go into making of an instrument. You should also strive to understand how each of these instruments works individually as well as in conjunction with one another.
Another important aspect to learn about is how to form an electrical circuit to ensure that these instruments are working in the right manner. You should also be aware of how you can make these instruments work with the existing ones on the same circuit. These activities require you to have a problem solving attitude and an urge to decipher the instruments in hand. It also requires a thorough knowledge of the circuits because too little electrical charge may not work or too much of it may damage the instrument.
- Active Learning
If you think that you are done with learning once you get your degree, then you are definitely mistaken. This is because the process of learning for an Electrical Engineer doesn’t end at all. With the numerous advances that are taking place in the world, one needs to stay abreast with the news. This will help you stay aware of the various changes and advances taking place in the world and keep yourself updated about new instruments and other electrical components.
- Communication and Organizational Skills
As an Electrical Engineer in an organization, interaction with your peers and clients will be an essential part of your responsibilities. Hence, you need to adept at that. You must be proficient in your interactions with your clients too, so that you can help them solve their problems smoothly. Having great communication and organizational skills helps you to have a better rapport with your teammates and build better instruments and circuits too!
Author Bio:
Nancie L Beckett is a popular with the students at Ohio State University. Having been teaching for the past 10 years, she has co-authored many books, journals and published many papers too. She finished her degree of Masters in Business Administration and went on to work in the corporate world for 6 years before finding her calling in the teaching profession.