Bright Futures Await Those With Electrical Engineering Degrees

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Electric/Electronic is the third largest specialty in the engineering field with 214,000, behind Civil (278,000) and mechanical (238,000). Growth in the field should be steady with the Bureau estimating a need for 11% more between now and 2018. In other words, those with engineering degrees who enter this field should see it follow the national average thanks to retirement, population growth and growth in areas such as micro-electronics and green tech.

While the general public gets the terms mixed up, there is a key difference between Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Electric Engineers focus primarily on power generation, such as power plants and transmission infrastructure. Electronic Engineering concerns itself more with end products ranging from computers to iPods. What the two STEM professions do share in common are very bright futures.

The field then subdivides into eight primary areas: Power, control, electronics, microelectronics, signal, telecommunications, instrumentation and, probably the fastest growing of the areas, computers. There are many who practice more than one of these sub-disciplines, but it's possible to specialize in just one of them and make quite a career out of it. There's also one very popular cross discipline called mechatronics that combines mechanical and electronic engineering.

The first step in becoming either type is a Bachelor's degree. While one can enter the field from there, sooner or later the young engineer is going to need certification. Obtaining this can be done through professional groups such as the Institute of Electric/Electronic Engineers, which can easily be accessed through the Web.

Yet just because one gets their Bachelor's and certification that doesn't mean their education is over. Like most STEM professions, this is a career for those who expect to be learning for the rest of their lives. Sooner or later an electronic or electrical engineer will feel the need to get their Masters in one capacity or another, including possibly management. As such, this type of engineer will eventually hook up with online colleges, either to obtain their masters or for webinars for the latest advances in the field.

On the plus side, financial aid for high school students is a lot more common than in other occupational tracks. Not only are there such basics as the Pell Grant, but a savvy student should look into S-STEM scholarships, as well as funding from such institutes as the Institute or private corporations such as Microsoft. For this, it's always a good idea to not only consult an online college's financial aid officer, but do a little research on such search engines as Google.

According to the Bureau, the lowest 10% of electrical engineers make slightly over $52,000, with electronic engineers upping the ante to over $55,000 and computer hardware engineers nearing $60,000. The top 10% can range from $120,000 to over $150,000. These jobs include some pretty good perks, including life/health insurance, investment/retirement packages and educational incentives.

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Are Online Engineering Degrees Worth Doing?

Civil engineers earn on average about $43,000 per year. For electrical engineers, earnings are almost double that. The chemical, drugs and plastic industries seem to have the highest-paid engineers of all, with a median income of $85,000 for those over 35 years of age.

For these reasons, it is worth while obtaining suitable qualifications which will give you recognition within your chosen speciality. For those already working within the industry but lacking the necessary qualification to advance, an online degree offers you the flexibility of studying time you need.You can also avoid unnecessary travel to campus and study exactly when and where it suits you, even on the road. Trips to the library also become unnecessary, with the downloading of online course material. Finally, prospective employers will know you have the necessary Internet skills to perform well in a modern industry.

But there are so many courses on offer, it is difficult to know where to start. Here are some pointers to help you embark on an online degree course which you will not end up regretting.

The first thing you should check for is that the degree is accredited. Accredited centers include Centenary College of New Jersey, Capella University, University of Phoenix, Walden University and many more. Genuine online degree programs require student involvement in the form of tutorials, or online discussions, as well as other intercommunication with tutors and other students.

The following six accreditative regions have Association Commission on Institutions of Higher Education and will probably be able to tell you all you need to know: the New England , North central, Middle States , Southern, Western and Northwest. In each case you should consult the body in question to see if it covers the state you wish to study in.

By far the biggest accredited institution is the University of Phoenix Online, which has been operating since way back in 1976, and currently offers the highest number of accredited online degree programs. Average studying time until degree completion is two to three years.

Typical studies will include a focus on core studies of higher mathematics, including calculus, algebra and geometry. Other areas of study may include physics and chemistry, depending on your major.

The first level of engineering jobs will require a bachelor's degree. Although there are several such courses online, the majority are at graduate level. Beyond that, there are broad-based degrees and a very wide range of specialist degrees, which are grouped in six main areas of engineering, as follows: chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, material science and mechanical. Further specialisations as a college major range from mining to aerospace engineering.

One major advantage of this kind of course is that no matter how long you take, even if you have to relocate in the middle of the course, your studies will be in no way affected.

There are also many non-academic institutions which offer degrees online for payment. Prospective candidates should ask for accreditation validation from the regional or national accrediting bodies before to signing up . After that, it's up to you - with a couple of years' concentrated study, you could be on the way to a star salary, even if your speciality is not aerospace engineering.

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