Career Paths in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
In the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering we believe that the title Engineer means a professional or chartered engineer, which is a graduate level occupation requiring substantial training and experience.
So what do 'engineers' really do? - in broad terms they apply the scientific and mathematical principles to develop cost effective solutions to a wide range of technical problems. In essence they are the link between scientific discoveries and commercial applications that address societal and commercial needs.
Job responsibilities of an engineer are quite diverse covering the specification, design, development and implementation of products and systems, they may also be involved in research creating ideas for a new range of applications.
Job titles are equally diverse. To name a few: design, project, software, development, reliability, research, field, system design, test etc. can all prefix the title 'engineer'.
The table below gives some examples of the industry sectors and typical job responsibilities.
| Industrial Sector | Job Responsibility |
| Electrical Power Industry | Generation, Distribution of electrical power. Power distribution in large buildings (Building Services) |
| Computer Industry | Development of hardware/software systems |
| Telecommunications | Development of satellite systems for cell phone networks. |
| Semiconductor Industry | Design of microprocessors and memories. |
| Aerospace & Automotive Industries | Design and test of new electronic systems. |
| Manufacturing | Development of control systems for food/drinks industry, pharmaceuticals, material processing. |
| Energy Industry | Exploration of oil, gas sites. Development of renewable energy systems. Nuclear power generation etc. |
Furthermore the numeracy and problem solving skills acquired during your Undergraduate Programmes will provide you with extraordinarily valuable assets permitting you to take up positions in non-engineering sectors, for example extremely lucrative financial industry.
As an aid to choosing your options for Stages III and IV of your course, the list below gives typical career paths for the main areas of specialism from which you should select module choices.
Machines & Drives & Control
- Control Systems Engineer
- Power Systems Engineer
- Electrical Engineer
- Robotics Engineer
Communications & Signal Processing
- Broadcast Engineer
- Communications Engineer
- Instrumentation Engineer
- Telecommunications Engineer
- Microwave/Radio Engineer
Semiconductor Technology & IC Design.
- Digital Systems Engineer
- Electronic Engineer
- Integrated Circuit Design Engineer
- Semiconductor Process Engineer
Computer & Software Engineering
- Software Engineer
- Embedded Systems Engineer
General Careers
- Management
- Sales
- Finance
- Technical Writing
