We live in a world flush with electrical systems and electronics. Every day you use consumer goods like cell phones or microwaves, and every day you rely on hidden systems like GPS satellites and power grids.
Our lives are so dependent on these goods and systems that it can be easy to take them for granted, but they don’t appear out of thin air. Electrical engineers are responsible for shaping the world around us. They worked on your car, the stoplight on the road, the systems bringing power to that stoplight and the facilities producing that electricity.
Electrical engineers have a role in just about every industry you can imagine: telecommunications, computing, automotive, energy sector, signal processing and so on. Given that widespread need, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that jobs for electrical and electronics engineers will grow around 9% over the next decade.
If you have strong math skills and want to be part of this network of innovators, an electrical engineering degree might be for you.
Let’s take a broader look at the discipline and what opportunities it offers.
Areas of focus within electrical engineering
Electric engineering includes a wide variety of subfields. Here are some major topics you can pursue within the discipline.
- Power engineering
This is what most people imagine when they think of electrical engineering. Power engineers plan, design and maintain electrical power systems across residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Beyond the basics, they’re the ones who troubleshoot issues, make sure systems are in compliance with state and federal regulation and may also develop plans to increase energy efficiency.
- Signal processing
At its most basic, signal processing focuses on creating, transforming and analyzing information transmitted via electronic signals. The most obvious examples of this are radio and television, but signal processing technology is also essential for health care equipment, smartphones and many other consumer products.
- Communication systems
This subfield focuses on the design and performance of communication systems and data networks of all kinds, which are essential for radio, TV, landline telephones and cellular phones.
- Controls systems
Also known as control engineering, this subfield focuses on designing devices that manage or direct the behavior of other technologies and systems. These systems underlie basically all technologies we use every day: think of your car’s cruise control, your air conditioning or your washer and dryer.
- Computer engineering
When we think of careers in computing, the most obvious option is computer science. But as important as software is, coding can’t work without an electronic device to run it. Computer engineers understand, work with and design computer hardware, architecture and network systems.
- Microelectronics
The smart phone in your pocket is more powerful than the computer onboard Apollo 11’s spacecraft when it landed on the moon in 1969. Year after year, our electronics get smaller and more powerful. This is the realm of microelectronics, where engineers use special techniques to design smaller and cheaper transistors, integrated circuits and microchips.
These days, some components of those devices can measure only a few nanometers. For comparison, a strand of human DNA is just 2.5 nanometers in diameter.
- Robotics
Robotics engineering sits at the nexus of electrical and mechanical engineering, and it calls upon several of the fields we’ve already discussed. Computer engineering, control systems and signal processing are just a few specializations needed in robotics. The need for robotics engineers is increasing as more industries, from car companies to hospitals, are finding uses for them.
Electrical engineering vs. computer science
There is considerable overlap between electrical engineering and computer science, so it can be hard to choose a path if you know you want to work with computers.
Here’s a quick way to differentiate between the two: Electrical engineers who learn about computers mostly focus on the hardware and how those systems interact with each other and with the internet. Computer science, on the other hand, deals primarily with software, building programs or improving digital user interaction.
For some jobs, there is a clear delineation between these skill sets. If you want to design computer hardware, for example, you will want to study electrical engineering (or consider computer engineering). On the other hand, you should probably study computer science if you’re fascinated by the possibilities of large language models or generative artificial intelligence.
Jobs for graduates with electrical engineering degrees
Our world is dependent on electrical systems and electronics. Every sphere, from the home to the commercial space to telecommunications infrastructure, relies on some form of electrical engineering. Earning a degree will open doors for you across a wide array of industries.
Broadcast engineer
Broadcast engineers are the people who keep TV and radio transmitting on the airwaves, bringing entertainment, sports, music or news to your devices. They’re responsible for managing, updating and troubleshooting the technologies that these stations depend on every day.
A broadcast engineer in TV news, for example, will handle the hardware that receives media from the field — maybe a journalist’s report or live feed, footage from a helicopter or video from another news agency — and that also broadcasts the actual newscasts.
It’s critical that broadcast engineers have a solid understanding of the equipment they work with. They’re the ones keeping an eye on cutting edge technologies and implementing them in their own workplaces. They’re also the ones who diagnose and solve problems when something technical goes wrong. That means they need to handle pressure well, have a solid diagnostic ability and work efficiently.
Circuit design engineer
Circuit boards are an essential component of electronic devices, found in everything from a simple calculator to a relatively complex smart TV. These boards contain wiring that connect and route electricity through components like microchips, transistors and diodes.
Circuit design engineers work as part of a team to develop this fundamental hardware. Once they’re brought into the mix, they’ll use advanced tools to design a circuit board, taking into consideration the production budget, end goal and technical specifications. They’ll then test and refine their prototype until it meets the specifications set at the outset of the project.
Controls engineer
Unlike the others in this section, controls engineer doesn’t refer to a particular job. Instead, it encompasses a whole category of positions found across nearly every technological industry.
A controls engineer may design, implement, optimize or maintain a control system, which is the technology that regulates how other devices or systems behave. A control system you might use quite often is your air conditioning. Using a number you input, air conditioners automatically measure the indoor temperature and then “communicate” with other devices that release cool or hot air.
These systems can get incredibly complex, especially when you move from air conditioning into controls systems for production lines, automotive and aerospace technologies, harnessing clean energy or manufacturing pharmaceuticals. Whatever your interests are, there’s plenty of room to develop as a controls engineer.
Other jobs electrical engineering can prepare you for
- Electrical engineer (may require a master’s degree)
- Electrical technician
- Nano-electronics engineer
- Sound engineer
- Test engineer
- Industrial technician
Studying electrical engineering at Pacific
Whatever field you’re interested in, Pacific’s electrical engineering degree offers you a personalized education with a plethora of hands-on learning opportunities.
The first thing to know is that you’ll mostly be in smaller classes. The university has a 14-to-1 ratio of students to faculty and an average class size of just 24 people. That means you’ll be getting a lot of one-on-one time with your professors to discuss classes, pitch ideas and get support for academic projects.
The personal atmosphere was one of the draws for Rachel Wood ’13, a Pacific alumna who now works as an engineer at Honeywell Process Solutions.
“I enjoyed the small classes, taught by professors rather than graduate students,” Wood said. “And I liked my adviser. She worked with me patiently and practically to make a curriculum plan that fit the goals of my study.”
Students at Pacific also have plenty of opportunities to put their education to use. That means, after you graduate, you don’t need to sweat an entry-level job asking for previous experience. As a student, you’ll be able to use the university’s state-of-the-art labs where you can work with circuits, test equipment and further class projects.
You’ll also be required to undertake a paid electrical engineering internship as part of the Cooperative Education program, also known as a CO-OP. It’s a chance to build your professional resume and network as you work in a full-time, paid internship for six to eight months.
To prepare for the CO-OP, you’ll take a class where you’ll learn how to build a solid resume and improve your ability to interview. From there you’ll apply to positions posted on a job board exclusively for CO-OP students.
In your senior year, you’ll also complete a senior project. As part of a team, you’ll come up with an idea, then develop, implement and refine it over the course of two semesters. This project and the CO-OP can help you show potential employers both your technical and your professional skills.
Finally, there’s Pacific’s Master of Science in Engineering dual-degree program. Juniors and seniors who meet certain qualifications can apply to enter this program, which allows them to start graduate-level coursework while still an undergraduate.
These features set Pacific’s electrical engineering degree apart, giving you the chance to find your passions and make your degree truly your own.
As an engineer at Honeywell, Wood works primarily with battery energy storage systems, her engineering passion. She notes the field is growing, especially when paired with renewable energy or improving business resilience during power outages.
“If you’re fascinated by electricity and you want to use your problem-solving skills to transition to cleaner, safer and more efficient electrical systems, then electrical engineering might be for you,” Wood said. “It has the power to make life better in the future — pun intended.”
Next steps
Electrical engineers play an essential role in today’s world. Not only are they responsible for maintaining the systems vital to our everyday lives, but they’re also at the forefront of designing new and more efficient technology to adapt to our changing world.
If you see yourself as part of that effort, Pacific’s electrical engineering program can help you learn the skills and build the experience needed to join its ranks.