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What is the typical day like for an engineer?

I want to be an electrical engineer because I love hands-on experience. However, I don't really know detail on what an engineer's day is like. #engineering #electrical-engineering

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Viraj’s Answer


Electrical engineering in today's world involves working on next generation of devices , new innovations etc.
A daily routine of 9 to 5 involves multiple discussion with other engineers and using one or more programming languages to create models or prototypes of devices/technology which can be manufactured.

Just to summarize Electrical engineering is very challenging and fun. Everyday you will face new challenges.
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Ken’s Answer

Hi Alexis!


Here are some sites that will tell you much about being an electrical engineer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-mbDwo9xzE
http://wie.ieee.org/
https://anengineeringwoman.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/a-day-in-the-work-life-of-an-electrical-engineer/
http://www.engineergirl.org/what_engineers_do/tryonacareer/electrical6071.aspx


To learn more:
- talk to your school counselor about becoming involved in coop, intern, shadowing, and volunteer programs that will allow you to become more aware of what engineers actually do, how they got there, and how you feel about that
- talk to the head of alumni relations at your school to arrange to meet and talk to graduates of your school who are working as engineers to see what they are doing and learn more
- talk to the reference librarian at your local library to locate and attend meeting of professional organizations to which engineers belong so that you can learn more


Here are some tips on getting information and forming helpful relationships
http://www.wikihow.com/Network
https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations


Many electrical engineers get their start at a community college. 83% of those who graduate from a community college earn as much as if not more than someone going to a 4 year school - and save much money and time on the way. Talk to the head of alumni relations at your local community college to make arrangements to talk to graduates of that school who are working in electrical engineering to learn morel


Best of luck! Please keep me posted. I would like to follow your progress!
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Paul’s Answer

The quick answer is no two days are alike! That's one of the exciting aspects of engineering. It's not typically a "punch a clock" or work a shift type of job. It's more than likely a goal oriented job, where you are working toward an ultimate goal with interim milestones you need to achieve along the way. You typically work as part of a team, and you feel some comradery in solving problems and creating something together. You don't start with a clean slate every day. In many cases, you walk into work to resume what you were working on yesterday, although sometimes a colleague in another part of the world has worked on it while you were home for the night. Engineering teams are global in many cases today. It's one of the few jobs where you will look forward to going to work on Monday, because you thought of a new design idea, or solution to a problem, over the weekend.
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Jon’s Answer

Daily routines for Electrical Engineers can differ depending on specific job function, location and the company you are employed by. Typically working hours have some flexibility which is nice, however, larger corporation with design centers in other locations may require early morning or late night meetings to align global teams.
Development engineers might have a mix of emails, meetings and detailed design work depending on the stage of development that they are working on. Later in the project the focus would be on validation of the circuits instead of design work. Based on the type of development the job would change as you move through the development lifecycle of your project. These projects could be small projects lasting weeks, or complex projects that would take many months to complete.
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