ENGINEERING
Electrical Engineering
As previously discussed, there is a distinction between electrical engineering as a discipline, and electrical engineering as a profession. We’ve already looked at the branches and functions of electrical engineering as a whole, now let’s look at the duties of an electrical engineer as a profession
Duties
Installs and commissions electrical systems and equipment. Duties may also include the oversight and supervision of commissioning and installations, as well as the provision of technical support to installation specialists
Designs electrical systems for various applications, including power generation, distribution, and transmission systems. Also designs circuitry, control systems, and electronic components
Tests and evaluates the performance and efficiency of electrical systems and their related components
May be involved in the development of technical specifications and standards
Duties may also extend to include the management of projects where electrical engineering is concerned. These duties may encompass various aspects including budgeting, scheduling, and resource allocation
Is required to co-ordinate not only with professionals from other engineering disciplines, but also with other people such as contractors, stakeholders, and upper-level management personnel to ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget
Is responsible for repairing, maintaining (performing both routine and preventive maintenance), and troubleshooting issues with electrical systems
Develops maintenance schedules and procedures for the maintenance and upkeep of electrical systems to ensure their continued reliability and performance
May also perform research and development activities with a view to improving the efficiency and sustainability of electrical technologies.
May conduct feasibility studies, perform risk assessments, and provide recommendations on electrical system upgrades or expansions
May be required to use advanced computer software (such as CAD) when performing their duties
Continuous improvement is an important part an electrical engineer’s role, and they will stay up to date on the latest safety codes and regulations through training and personal development related activities
Ensures work and designs complies with the relevant industrial regulations, safety codes, and quality standards
May also perform consultation duties
£35,993 – £47,330 depending on the employer and years of experience
Power Engineering
While this is regarded as another field of engineering that technically falls under the branch of electrical engineering, it is in actual fact a separate branch of the engineering discipline in its own right, and is concerned with the generation of power on the industrial scale
Power engineering concerns the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power. As such, it is a field that is vital to the economy and to the nation’s infrastructure as a whole. Those involved in this field of engineering conduct their duties by placing safety and compliance at the forefront of everything they do, and as such, perform an expansive range of duties that are primarily centred around the design, maintenance, and repair of electrical systems, as well as being concerned with diagnostics and testing capacity capabilities too. It is a multidisciplinary field, encompassing various aspects of electrical engineering, energy systems, and power generation technology. Power engineers (sometimes also referred to as electrical engineers) are defined as specialists responsible for the distribution, generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical power, and their duties will include the following:
Duties
Designs, operates, and maintains power generation facilities in the form of thermal, hydroelectric, wind, solar, and nuclear energy
Designs and manages electrical transmission systems, and operates distribution systems to deliver electricity to homes
Oversees the operation and management of electrical grids, and monitors power grid performance
Designs and implements grid integration solutions for nuclear, solar, wind, and hydroelectric power generation
Conducts energy audits and risk assessments
Duties may extend to promoting energy efficiency and conservation initiatives, including the recommendation of energy-efficient best practices and technologies
Makes repairs and restores power to electrical infrastructure
Adheres to proper safety regulations, and may be required to perform emergency response duties during power outages, natural disasters, and other emergencies
May conduct research and development related duties to advance power generation technologies
Salary £37,556 – £71,984, depending on the employer and years of experience
Project Engineering
Project engineers are responsible for managing and overseeing projects all the way from inception to completion, and as such, will be usually involved in a project from its inception or early planning stages onwards. In their role as project engineers, they are responsible for ensuring all project goals are adhered to and that projects run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. The overriding role of a project engineer is to ensure that projects get completed on time and within budget. Because of this, their duties tend to be quite expansive, including not only planning various aspects of a project itself, but co-ordinating both with internal departments and external organisations such as contractors and other specialists, as well as delegating tasks and assignments, checking work, and ensuring each group member or team is performing their delegated duties to the best of their abilities, and it’s in this way that they generally oversee an entire project all the way through to its completion
Duties
Plays a key role in planning the scope, objectives, deliverables, and goals of the project, as well as in outlining the resources required
Is responsible for creating schedules that set out the sequence of tasks and assignments required to reach the various milestones that will ensure the projects success
Is responsible for delegating tasks and assignments to make best use of the talents and skillsets of those assigned to the project itself. Is also responsible for ensuring all of the projects delegated tasks get completed on time and to the required specifications set forth in the project outline
Is responsible for project budgeting, and as such will monitor expenditures, track costs, and identify opportunities to make savings where possible
Co-ordinates both with internal departments as well as with external organisations such as contractors and other specialists, ensuring the project proceeds smoothly and without incident
Provides regular progress reports to stakeholders and those involved at upper-level management positions
Assesses risks and develops risk mitigation strategies where appropriate
Ensures all compliance and legal obligations are adhered to and followed accordingly
Maintains accurate and up-to-date records on project plans, progress reports, financial information, meeting minutes, and all other relevant documentation
Salary £31,596 – £53,688, depending on the employer and years of experience
Microelectronics
Microelectronics deals with the design and fabrication of miniature electronic components and circuitry. People who work in this field will not only be involved in the design and testing phases of microelectronic component technology, but may also assist directly with the manufacture of it too. The components this field of engineering deals with are on, or around, the micrometre scale, and as such, microelectronics engineers deal heavily with semiconductor technologies such as transistors, resistors, capacitors, diodes, and integrated circuits
Duties
Works on micro and nanoscale level scales designing integrated circuits for use in electronic devices
Uses advanced computer software (CAD) to simulate and analyse the performance of microelectronic components
Optimizes fabrication processes by testing a variety of different methods involving new techniques, new materials, and new processes in the design and function of miniaturized technology
Uses automated equipment to test the performance and integrity of chips and integrated circuits
Conducts failure analyses using techniques such as microscopy, electrical testing, and fault isolation
Collaborates with other professionals such as product designers, project managers, system engineers, and automated integration engineers
Salary £27,816 – £49,118, depending on the employer and years of experience
Test Engineer
Test engineers perform tests on various products and systems for the purposes of ensuring their quality and reliability. Their duties start at the test planning phase and will proceed to include results analysis and research and development related phases too. As such, those who perform in this capacity will collaborate closely with others from a range of various industries and professional spectrums. In this way test engineers help to mitigate risks and enhance product reliability by identifying defects and ensuring that the specified products and systems are good enough to meet customer expectations and regulatory requirements before being released to market
Duties
Develops testing plans to outline objectives, scope, and criteria for product evaluation
Is responsible for developing automated test scripts and frameworks to streamline testing processes and improve efficiency. This includes script languages, automation frameworks, regression, performance, and integration testing…along with other testing tools as well
Is required to perform tests based on functional requirements, design specifications, and user scenarios
Runs test cases, records test results, and analyses test data
Maintains accurate records on all defects, bugs, or issues encountered during testing. Prioritises issues based on severity, and may perform root cause analysis to identify underlying causes and will propose corrective actions accordingly
Salary £27,559 – £50,317, depending on the employer and years of experience
Design Engineer
Design engineers use advanced software to conceive of new and innovative types of systems and products. In this capacity, the duties a design engineer will perform are centred around the design, modelling, and testing of new systems and components. Their duties are also heavily based around system modification and research and development related activities too, and as such, design engineers will always strive to use a thorough application of engineering principles to drive innovation and come up with the best solutions for products and systems possible
Duties
Conceptualizes ideas with stakeholders and project managers to bring designs to life
Makes new and innovative product designs based on client or employer specifications
Is required to perform both engineering analysis and complex calculations, and will also use advanced computer software to perform complex mathematical modelling and detailed simulations, enabling them to assess the feasibility, performance, and safety of design ideas
Uses computer-aided design (CAD) software to create highly accurate 2D and 3D models of systems or components
Will select the most suitable and cost-effective materials for designs, taking into account product requirements, performance specifications, cost considerations, and environmental factors
May be required to build prototypes to confirm functionality and design viability, and will also use these to assess performance for optimization purposes
Collaborates across a wide range of professions and disciplines, this will include engineers from other vocations, manufacturers, design specialists, and project managers, amongst others
Ensures all work and design blueprints fall within relevant compliance and regulatory standards
Maintains accurate records of technical drawings, specifications, bills of materials (BOMs), and design reports, along with all other relevant documentation for legal and compliance proposes
Salary £27,829 – £44,522, depending on the employer and years of experience
Communications Engineering
Communications engineers are responsible for designing and implementing communication systems and networks. In this capacity, they may perform a wide and diverse range of functions including designing, installing, maintaining, and repairing both the hardware and software related components involved in communications systems. Communications engineering as a whole is a multi-faceted field comprised of numerous specialised areas including Satellite Communication, Fibre Optic Networks, Network Protocols and Standards, Wireless Communication Systems, Digital Communication Systems, Telecommunication Systems, Voice over IP (VoIP) Systems, Data Networking, Network Management Systems (NMS), Signal Processing, Security and Encryption, and Unified Communications (UC), and as such, this means that there are numerous types of roles that those looking for a career in communications engineering are always able to choose from
A generalised description of communications engineering duties has been provided below
Communications Engineering Duties
Designs communications networks based on project requirements
Designs, installs, maintains, and repairs both the hardware and software related components involved in communications systems
Selects appropriate technologies, protocols, and equipment (including hardware such as routers and switches, as well as firewalls and wireless access points) for the specific communications network in question
Will plan, install, and optimise networks as required, taking into account layouts, topologies, and configurations
Performs network capacity planning, identifies bottlenecks, analyses traffic, monitors network performance, and performs the modelling needed for network expansion
Is responsible for installing, configuring, and commissioning network devices and equipment
Performs system testing, validation, and troubleshooting as and when required
Implements security measures and protocols such as intrusion detection systems (IDS), virtual private networks (VPNs) as well as other security measures that protect communication networks against data breaches, cyber threats, and unauthorized access
Diagnoses and troubleshoots network problems, outages, and performance issues
Uses diagnostic tools and log analysis techniques to isolate faults and implement corrective actions
Ensures compatibility and interoperability across a range of different types of network devices and technologies
Salary £33,674 – £57,600, depending on the employer, years of experience, and nature of the role and specialisation
Electric Motor Engineering
Electric motor engineers specialize not only in the design of, but also in the research, development, testing, and maintenance of, electric motor technology. As such, their expertise helps drive the improvements in electric motor technology currently utilised within many industrial, commercial, and consumer applications today. As such, the application of this technology extends to many different types of electronic systems and devices including automotive vehicles, broadcast engineering technology, computer systems, electrical circuitry, electric motors, electronic instrumentation, electric generators, household appliances, optical fibres, optoelectronic devices, and telecommunications equipment, as well many other types of emerging electric motor technology too
A generalised description of electric motor engineering duties has been provided below
Duties
Designs, and may help to implement electric motor technology for a variety of purposes across a multitude of different sectors and product applications
Designs the electromagnetic components of electric motors, such as stators, rotors, windings, and magnets
Designs the mechanical components of electric motors, including housings, bearings, shafts, and cooling systems
Selects suitable materials for motor product components
Uses advanced software to model and simulate various motor designs. May also build functional prototypes for research and development related purposes. (In this capacity duties can extend to testing and analysis with a view to identifying design issues, performance reliability, and product optimization – This may take the form of electromagnetic, thermal, and structural performance testing)
Will attempt to optimize motor design performance before prototypes go into mass production
Provides technical guidance and will assist where troubleshooting manufacturing issues
May be required to implement quality control measures at the production stage in order to maintain the quality and reliability of the end product
Monitors industry trends and regularly updates their technical expertise through additional training and certifications
Conducts compliance assessments, perform safety analyses, and files documentation for compliance and certification approval purposes
Will adhere to all relevant safety and compliance standards
Salary £32,673 – £51,028, depending on the employer, years of experience, and specific nature of the industry