Electrical & Electronic Engineering

Most of us treat electricity like water and give little thought to where it comes from. Thankfully however, some people do, more specifically, electrical and electronic engineers who design and develop products that involve the generation, transmission and use of electrical energy.

There is much overlap between the disciplines but the differences might be summarised thus: electrical engineering involves large scale systems (e.g. power generation) and using electricity to transmit energy, while electronic engineers are usually concerned with smaller electronic devices such as computers, and using electricity to transmit information.

Different fields of specialisation include telecommunications (satellites), manufacturing (washing machines), generation (power stations), microelectronics (iPods), biomedicine (pacemakers), and transport (LUAS). Students with an interest in maths, physics and computers and an inquiring mind would enjoy a course in Electrical or Electronic Engineering.

Education

Students interested in taking a course in Electrical or Electronic Engineering are spoilt for choice. Higher certificates and degrees (at levels five, six, seven and eight) are available at most Institutes of Technology and universities, and at many smaller and private colleges.

You can decide to take a broad Engineering course and specialise in electronics or electrical subjects, or take dedicated courses in Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Electrical & Control Systems, Electronic Technology, Electronics & Computer Engineering, Electronics & Telecommunications Systems, Engineering (Applied), or Communications Engineering, to name but a few.

The subjects you will study depend on the course you choose, but most will feature introductory subjects such as Mathematics, Mechanics, Electronic Circuits, Computer Science and Physics, before allowing you to specialise in areas such as Digital Electronics, Computer Engineering, Circuit Theory, Signal Processing, Electromagnetic Waves, Power Systems, Control Engineering and Field Theory.

Students are usually offered the opportunity to complete a work placement, and laboratory exercises and projects should form a major part of any course.

The Work

Electrical and Electronic Engineering graduates have a range of options. Many of the world’s largest manufacturers of electronic equipment have operations in Ireland. Graduates are also in high demand in the manufacturing, IT, aerospace, energy generation, telecommunications, multimedia and general business sectors.

Electronic engineers work in many industries. In telecommunications they design, install, and maintain transmitters, satellite equipment, and the ever-expanding range of IT devices. The installation, upkeep and improvement of manufacturing equipment and systems also require the services of an electronic engineer.

Electronic engineers also play a key role in the design of new products – everything from mobile phones to aeroplanes. They use Computer-Aided Design (CAD) to produce models of the product. This is then tested to ensure it works properly, and to allow the engineer to smooth out any problems in the design. The final step can then be to oversee the production of the new product on a large scale.

Other tasks can include leading a team of researchers or engineers, liaising with managers, clients or marketing experts to ensure the product they are working on will be profitable, ensuring safety standards are met, and writing reports and feasibility studies for new and existing projects.

Electrical engineers are employed in the generation and supply of electricity. They design the equipment that makes this possible, and oversee maintenance, safety and upgrades.

A propensity for problem solving is highly useful for electrical and electronic engineers. Technical ability, creativity, experience in using computers, an interest in maths and physics are other characteristics that are often sought. An inquiring disposition coupled with a desire to initiate improvements is of benefit. Good teamwork and communication skills are also important.

Did you know?

The ‘Baghdad Battery’ was a major discovery in the 1930s. Over 2,000 years-old, it is believed to have been used for electroplating gold onto silver objects.

Further Resources

• Engineers’ Week: www.engineersweek.ie
• Electricity Supply Board (ESB): www.esb.ie
• Electronic.ie – promoting careers in electronics: www.electronic.ie