Electrical Engineering

F

FranklinMade

Member
Location
Florida
Occupation
Electrician Apprentice
Hey everyone, I am interested in pursuing electrical engineering as my future career path. Would anyone have any info on educational materials or ways to get your foot in the door? Thanks!
 
FranklinMade said:
Hey everyone, I am interested in pursuing electrical engineering as my future career path. Would anyone have any info on educational materials or ways to get your foot in the door? Thanks!
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Find a school accredited by abet or whatever accreditation agency is acceptable to your states p.e. board.

Get bs degree in desired eng curriculum.

Take fe test and pass.

Get job working someplace where there is a p.e. willing to supervise your work.

Work for four years.

Take p.e. test and pass

Pay fee.
 
There is no "foot in the door" option. A career in electrical engineering does require a BSEE degree. Engineering is essentially the practical applcation of math and science, so you will need to be comfortable with both. If jumping right into a 4-year program is not an immediate option, you can fulfill some of the degree requirements at a community or junior college. IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't do this without first working with your intended 4-year college, as they will decide which, if any, of your junior college credits they will accept.

In the meantime, stay with this forum. I have participated for over 20 years, and it has served me very well in my engineering career.
 
FranklinMade said:
Hey everyone, I am interested in pursuing electrical engineering as my future career path. Would anyone have any info on educational materials or ways to get your foot in the door? Thanks!
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As others have said, the only way to be recognized as an engineer by your state licensing board is to start with an engineering degree from an accredited college or university. There are positions with some companies where you can earn the internal title of "engineer" without having a degree, but it isn't transferable.
 
charlie b said:
There is no "foot in the door" option. A career in electrical engineering does require a BSEE degree. Engineering is essentially the practical applcation of math and science, so you will need to be comfortable with both. If jumping right into a 4-year program is not an immediate option, you can fulfill some of the degree requirements at a community or junior college. IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't do this without first working with your intended 4-year college, as they will decide which, if any, of your junior college credits they will accept.

In the meantime, stay with this forum. I have participated for over 20 years, and it has served me very well in my engineering career.
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If I can add here Charlie...
Assuming you are in the building trades already, you already have a "foot in the door". Try and find an engineering firm where you can work some hours as the classes tick by.
If you already have some familiarity with plans you already have a leg up. If you are currently working for an EC, start hanging around the office and try picking the brain of your estimators and job supers. Even hang in the warehouse and get familiar with as much material options as you can. Look over plans from as many different project types as possible.

Knowledge is cumulative, never stop adding to it and good luck.
 
I agree with MyCleveland, and I will take that comment one step further. I have had the rare but gratifying experience of working with junior EEs that started their careers as electricians. What they brought to the design process was remarkable. The engineer designs; the electrician builds. Knowing what the builder needs in order to accomplish their work makes the designer's work so much easier and better.

One more thing: a person can complete a 4-year college program in electrical engineering and be awarded a BSEE degree, never having even become aware of the existence of the National Electrical Code. You would start your engineering career with a huge advantage.
 
EEs can do many different things. Only some require a Professional Engineering (PE) credential. Do you know what sub faction of EE you want to do? Power systems? RF, radar, microwave? Digital systems? Analog circuit design? The power systems would typically want a PE. Design military microwave weapons and you probably don't need it.

Before you start, you need to take as much math and physics as you can in high school. Then you'll get it again in the college curriculum.
 
I am one of those mentioned above who started out as an electrician and transitioned to being an Engineer. I feel that my experience in the field, especially because I was mostly industrial, has served me well as an EE. I have always been able to sense how my decisions will affect those in the field, and try (when allowed) to ensure I’m not asking the impossible from the people having to implement it.

Side note: I do not have a PE license, which means I cannot sign off on plans and specs on my own, I have always had to work with / for someone else. I have nonetheless had what I consider to be a successful career. In retrospect I probably should have pursued it (PE license) harder, but I had hungry mouths to feed and the need for large-company medical insurance plans, so I stayed the path or being a corporate guy.
 
charlie b said:
There is no "foot in the door" option. A career in electrical engineering does require a BSEE degree. Engineering is essentially the practical applcation of math and science, so you will need to be comfortable with both. If jumping right into a 4-year program is not an immediate option, you can fulfill some of the degree requirements at a community or junior college. IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't do this without first working with your intended 4-year college, as they will decide which, if any, of your junior college credits they will accept.

In the meantime, stay with this forum. I have participated for over 20 years, and it has served me very well in my engineering career.
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Thanks
 
Jraef said:
I am one of those mentioned above who started out as an electrician and transitioned to being an Engineer. I feel that my experience in the field, especially because I was mostly industrial, has served me well as an EE. I have always been able to sense how my decisions will affect those in the field, and try (when allowed) to ensure I’m not asking the impossible from the people having to implement it.

Side note: I do not have a PE license, which means I cannot sign off on plans and specs on my own, I have always had to work with / for someone else. I have nonetheless had what I consider to be a successful career. In retrospect I probably should have pursued it (PE license) harder, but I had hungry mouths to feed and the need for large-company medical insurance plans, so I stayed the path or being a corporate guy.
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Thanks
 
BSEE and EIT 1967, TV repair since 1953.
Some of the students in college in EE classes never had held a pliers or dikes. Decided dis-advantange and some even afraid of electricity, so you DO 'have a leg up". All the better/best engineers I have known in the last many decades in the field were in the 'used tools since a kid' category.

Have worked for poco or aerospace entire career so never bothered with PE as considered state fees excessive, and never needed a PE.
BTW, airplanes or satellites could never get off the ground with any type payload if governed by NEC. :rolleyes:

The college I went to (Valparaiso) had intro classes in ME (thermodynamics, machines) and CE (e.g structures) also. Those were very helpful in aerospace career.

Community college a good suggestion; however, be VERY attentive to the suggestion to be sure any CC classes you take will count for a degree wherever you elect to pursue degree. Most 4 year degrees include some humanities (english lit, foreign language, humanities, etc) so CC a good way to have those accommodated for first, but again, VERY important to make sure CC credits are acceptable of university credits. MOST ARE NOT.
 
An engineer gave me a helpful book a few years ago. I wish I had it before I went to engineering school, but it probably would still be helpful for me to read it now.

Engineer Your Own Success
by Anthony Fasano, P.E.
 
I just made the transition in the other direction... from EE to Master Electrician. The EE degree programs will be much broader in scope
than the practical implementation disciplines of the Electrical trades. There is now a LOT of computer science in the EE world and a lot more modeling without clearly published standards. One recommendation I might offer is to evaluate how strongly the EE program you're considering understands and incorporates the concepts of design constraints. In my multi-decade engineering career, I often would interview candidates from big name universities who were academically fit, but never had to build something small, or inexpensive, or lightweight, or low power, or pick-your-favorite constraint. Often it was the 2nd tier programs that emphasized this dynamic really well.

In my reverse transition, from EE to Master Electrician, I found the most frustrating thing was the labyrinth of exceptions in the code. It often feels like exceptions on top of exceptions and navigating that twisted path was the hardest part for me. I imagine that the opposite disorientation my be your experience going the other way. You will have best practices and theory as key tools, but you are free to break the rules often as you innovate, and then reapply constraints as prototypes become products.
 
paullmullen said:
2nd tier programs
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The university I attended had two departments: Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE); and Electrical Engineering Technology (EET). The first one emphasized theory and a lot of math - it would be better if you're going for an advanced degree or want to spend your career working on and advancing highly abstract mathematical theories, perhaps coming up with control algorithms. The second one has much more emphasis on building things.
 
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