Unit 8 Competency 2 - Recognize career opportunities within the field of electrical engineering
Suggested Objective a: Discover the different career pathways within electrical engineering
Image retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_engineering Links to an external site.on December 1, 2014
Your Career in the Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Engineering Fields Links to an external site. site provides information leading to modern day's electrical engineering field. Information is provided for what it takes to become an electrical engineer. Typical jobs for electrical engineers is provided as well.
Job titles are equally diverse. To name a few: design, project, software, development, reliability, research, field, system design, test etc. can all prefix the title 'engineer'.
The table below gives some examples of the industry sectors and typical job responsibilities.
| Industrial Sector | Job Responsibility |
| Electrical Power Industry | Generation, Distribution of electrical power. Power distribution in large buildings (Building Services) |
| Computer Industry | Development of hardware/software systems |
| Telecommunications | Development of satellite systems for cell phone networks. |
| Semiconductor Industry | Design of microprocessors and memories. |
| Aerospace & Automotive Industries | Design and test of new electronic systems. |
| Manufacturing | Development of control systems for food/drinks industry, pharmaceuticals, material processing. |
| Energy Industry | Exploration of oil, gas sites. Development of renewable energy systems. Nuclear power generation etc. |
Information copied and retrieved from http://www.ncl.ac.uk/eee/careers/ Links to an external site. on December 1, 2014.
Career Cornerstone Center provides information for electrical engineering. Look at the information copied below. There is a podcast provided also.
Electrical and electronics engineers conduct research, and design, develop, test, and oversee the development of electronic systems and the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment and devices. From the global positioning system that can continuously provide the location of a vehicle to giant electric power generators, electrical and electronics engineers are responsible for a wide range of technologies.
Electrical engineers design, develop, test, and supervise the manufacture of electrical equipment. Some of this equipment includes electric motors; machinery controls, lighting, and wiring in buildings; radar and navigation systems; communications systems; and power generation, control, and transmission devices used by electric utilities. Electrical engineers also design the electrical systems of automobiles and aircraft. Although the terms electrical and electronics engineering often are used interchangeably in academia and industry, electrical engineers traditionally have focused on the generation and supply of power, whereas electronics engineers have worked on applications of electricity to control systems or signal processing. Electrical engineers specialize in areas such as power systems engineering or electrical equipment manufacturing.
Information copied and retrieved from http://www.careercornerstone.org/eleceng/eleceng.htm Links to an external site. on December 1, 2014.
Careers in Electrical Engineering
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The Future of Electrical Engineering
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Suggested Objective b: Discuss the roles that electrical engineers play in society
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Our life would be unthinkable without the use of electrical energy. The growing utilisation of the latter is a decisive prerequisite for a rapid development of industry and agriculture.
A few examples will show the importance of electrical energy. Thus, electrical lighting is indispensable for working during the dark hours of the day. With increasing industrialisation, a growing proportion of electrical energy is used for the lighting of shops, offices, dwellings and for outdoor lighting. Man is relieved from heavy physical labour by the use of electrical devices. The drive of machines, hoisting gear and lifts is enabled in a simple form by the electromotor which in railway transport also has the advantage over internal combustion engines. There are many buildings where an air-conditioning system including heating, cooling and ventilation is installed for the operation of which electrical energy is required. At higher ambient temperatures, foodstuffs can only be kept for a prolonged period of time in refrigerators or cold-storage rooms which usually are also operated with electrical energy.
Without electrical energy, there would be no broadcasting and television systems, no telephone communication or telegraphy. In order to arrange automatic sequences of operation in production, devices of control an regulation engineering are required which, today, are driven almost exclusively by electrical energy. Table 1.1. shows a survey of the two large fields of electrical engineering, power electrical engineering and information electrical engineering.
The consumption of electrical energy by the various branches of economy is quite different. The chemical industry and metallurgy have a particularly high consumption. For the production of the electrical conductor materials electrolytic copper and aluminium, very large amounts of electrical energy are required.
Table 1.1. Sections of Electrical Engineering
|
Power Electrical Engineering |
Information Electrical Engineering |
||
|
Section |
Examples |
Section |
Examples |
|
Generation of electrical energy Transmission of electrical energy |
Power stations Overhead lines, cables |
Communication-engineering |
Broadcasting, television, other telecommunication, telephone, telegraph, telewriter |
|
Conversion of electrical energy |
Motors, light sources, thermal devices, refrigerators, galvanic stations |
Control and regulation engineering |
Control of air-conditioning plants, control and regulation of production processes |
|
Storage of electrical energy |
accumulators |
Electronic computer engineering |
Pocket computers, data processing |
In industrial countries, the consumption of electrical energy increases by 4 % to 7 % per year. For this purpose, considerable amounts of primary energy carriers such as coal, petroleum or natural gas must be provided. All over the world, a reduction of the resources of primary energy carriers takes place. At the same time, their prices have been increased continuously. Water power is not in all countries available to a sufficient degree.
The initial cost for the construction of a hydroelectric power station by far exceed, the initial cost of a thermal power station.
According to the present developmental stage of engineering, nuclear power stations represent not yet a final solution of the problem. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to use electrical energy sparingly. This also means that such devices and installations have to be developed and used which ensure a high net efficiency with as small a consumption of electrical energy as possible.
Finally, mention should be made of the fact that electrical energy can be transported conveniently through large distances at low losses. On the other hand, there is the disadvantage that electrical energy can be stored only in small amounts at high cost. Production and consumption must take place largely at the same time.
Information copied from http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0gtz--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-about---00-0-1-00-0-0-11-1-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&cl=CL2.2&d=HASH016d0f8759f065dba82c6bfa.3 Links to an external site.on December 1, 2014.
Amazing Science - What Does an Electrical Engineer Do?
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Suggested Objective c: Recognize electrical engineering career activities by participating in a real-world workplace scenario
Image retrieved from http://www.bobclintys.com/electrical-engineering Links to an external site. on December 1, 2014
In an upcoming assignment, you will participate in a real-world workplace scenario. Pay careful attention to the information presented and use it to help you successfully complete the project for the neighborhood. Let's get started!