Is an electrical engineer major different from an electrician?

Question

I am thinking about being an electrical engineer (or possibly mechanical engineer) but is it the same as an electrician? I don't want to do that.

Answer 1

Seek a career in engineering, but find summer work as an electrician's apprentice or helper. You can find more work as an electrician, but it's hands on hard work. Then, when you start your engineering career, you wont try to stuff 3 #6AWG wires into 1/2" EMT on your drawing.

Electrical engineering has many areas of work where an electrician is mostly industrial or residential wiring.

Answer 2

They are different, Electrical engineer designs the distribution of electricity to the home owner from the utility provider. and he can be in design of electrical componets for large motors etc. An Electrician does the maintenance on equipment and installs the equipment. They wire buildings etc. If you are pursueing the degree program in your associates degree you will have to pick residential or industrial electrical for a degree program. I finished the AAS in industrial electrical technology in 16 months with a 3.94 GPA for the BAS you have to take the coarse in the class room they don't have anything availabe on the internet for classes.

Answer 3

No, an electrician is usually the equivalent of an associates (2 year ) degree, and they tend to work more with their hands, since they are considered technicians, not engineers.

Usually an engineer works more on the theoretical side of things (I.E. : lots of math), but there are no guarantees in life. My first job out of school was repairing circuit boards.

Answer 4

There are three levels:

Electrical Engineering (EE)
Deals with mainly design and theory.
4 year degree.


Electronic Engineering Technology (EET)
A mixture of engineering and technician. Knowledgeable about engineering theory, but also hands on.
4 year degree.

Electronic Technician / Electrician (ET)
Mainly hands on. Doesn't really get into engineering theory, more about the actual circuit and how it works.
2 year degree.


Depends on what you want. If you're up for it, you might as well do EE, but don't be afraid to get your hands dirty with a circuit either - not everything works on paper.

Degrees just get you hired, but when you get on the job it's often times a different story.

Answer 5

No, it's not. An electrical engineer usually works on electronic circuits used in measuring equipment, communications, or consumer electronics.

HTH ☺

Doug