How much do you need to know to be an Electrical engineer?

Question

How much math do you need to retain when you graduate from college? does Electrical engineers use all the math skills of calculus 1 2 and 3 and trigonometry and physics?
In school they teach you all that but how much of that do you really use in a job? what are the most common math skills EE use in a job.

I'm asking this because i'm studying EE and I'm in college algebra level now, and I'm thinking how i'm going to retain all this information plus the coming math classes and physics. I would probably retain like 50% of what they teach me.
Does EE use every single thing they teach you in math and physics?

Please Help.

Answer 1

It really depends on the specific field of Electrical Engineering you pursue. If your a RF design engineer - all becomes very important. If your a controls engineer, some of it is important. Being an EE for nearly 30 years, I have worked in space physics, alternative energy, medical devices, controls, aviation, alternative fuels, physics and several other fields. Each required a specific knowledge base, all was based in science, physics, math, good solid engineering practice and the desire to learn. As an EE, you can cross so many boundries into so many other fields, I have come to believe that EE's are the best of engineering as a whole - we write software, design integrated circuits, build space ships, EE's do it all or are invloved in just above evey aspect of every industry on the planet.
So cheer up, your going to be a part of one of the most highly respected groups of engineers.

Answer 2

These are all very different fields. I'm not too familiar with Engineering Physics, but I would assume that it's similar to Applied Physics. You'll probably gain general knowledge in all types of engineering, physics, and math. CivE and EE are very different. Are you interested in: Bridges, Structures, Traffic, Piping, Construction ==> CivE Electronics, Computers, Radar, Semiconductors, Wireless Comm. ==>EE You should have some idea of which interests you more. If not, you can always take both intro courses and take it from there. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Well of course a lot of what they are teaching will not be dirrectly needed in your field. As in any trade or accedemic program they teach you much more than you will actually use. However even though you don't need all of the knowledge to be able to do your job, a good portion of the education is to teach you how to proccess information and the actual information is irrelevent. Other thing is sometimes learning a broader spectrum of knoweledge helps to make understanding the core information more easily. Either way though if you want the degree you need to pass "all" the course so what differrence does it make?
lol....Lets

Answer 4

Depending on the specific area of electrical engineering you enter, you will use most or all of the high level math (up to linear algebra, differential equations, and beyond) on a regular basis.

However, alot of the math is now built in to software tools that we use. With good tools, you won't need to hand-solve complex Laplace transforms (for example), but you'd better know about them and have a good idea of what the answer should be, because placing total trust in a software tool to solve problems is not good engineering practice.

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Answer 5

It all depends on what field of EE you go into and what sort of industry, sort of company
Obviously a lot of what is taught will never be used
It is not necessary to remember everything exactly once you get past exams but you need to know what tools you have and where to find the formula, method of calculation etc. in ten, twenty years time
I think it is probably necessary for all engineers to ENJOY mathematics, if you don't then engineering is possibly not for you

Answer 6

u will apply a lot of DE in circuit, electronics, em, signal n sys n dsp. so calculus is essentual in DE. LA is also important. u may see the significant of it in nodal n mesh analysis by now. however, further on u will see that most math prob involving ee can be solve with laplace n z transform esp in control system n dsp. so less math to worried about. but it is really important that u know the fundamental of it. if u cant rmbr, u can alw refer back in the future. my advice is to keep ur lecture notes for every course u take. u dun know when u're gonna need them

Answer 7

You need to know a great deal of mathematics in the theory of electrical engineering and for exams. In practice it comes down to experience in a lot of fault finding cases.

Answer 8

Yes, an EE will need to be able to use all the maths taught to him, and more.