Electrical engineering is a broad and creative profession concerned with the design, development, planning and management of systems and devices which underpin modern economics and contribute to the quality of life.
An electrical engineer may be responsible for the research, design, development, manufacturing and management of complex hardware and software systems and reliable, cost effective devices, often through the use of new information and computer intensive technologies.
These include:
- Computer systems, data and telecommunication networks including the internet
- Mobile telecommunications and wireless networks
- Optical and microwave communications
- Integrated electronic systems
- Advanced robotics and intelligent machines
- Video and image processing systems
- Quantum devices and quantum computing
- Generation and transmission of electrical power
- Renewable energy systems and solar energy conversion
- Biomedical instruments and applications, such as medical imaging scanners, the cochlear implant (bionic ear), pacemakers and hearing aids
Career opportunities
There are several organisations which hire electrical engineers through dedicated graduate programs. These include Arup, BAE Systems, Honeywell, Cochlear and those in the public service.
While the number of people working as electrical engineers fell in the last five years to 2019, research shows electrical engineers find better-paying jobs faster than other graduates, with 78% securing a full-time job within four months of graduating.
Potential employers include service industries such as Energy Australia, Eraring Energy or Waubra Wind Farm, large private industrial groups, such as Alstom, BHP, Boeing Australia, Downer EDI, Honeywell, Google, Canon, Transfield and Alcatel, and small innovative private firms specialising in the application of new technologies to new products and services such as Cochlear.