Electrical & Electronic Engineering

• Studying: 13%
• Employed in graduate job: 51%
• Employed in non-graduate job: 18%
• Unemployed: 13%

• Average graduate salary: £23,132
• Average non-graduate salary: £15,183

In the course of your degree you develop a wide range of subject-specific and technical skills as well as transferable core skills. You also develop valuable skills from other activities and interests. Electrical and electronic engineering graduates are expected to hit the ground running in a new role. They are expected to make a quick and useful contribution in work. Consider the skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile. 

 View the best universities for electrical & electronic engineering degrees.

Prospects

Electrical and electronic engineers are in demand with employers within the UK and overseas. In 2010, just under 60% of electrical and electronic engineering graduates had found work after completing their degree. Just over a quarter of these started work as engineering professionals while 19% entered a related field as IT professionals. Other popular areas included commercial, industrial and public sector management.

Where are the jobs?

Electronic and electrical engineers are employed in many industries with the main areas being in electronics, IT, manufacturing, power, transport, construction and building services. Opportunities are also found in telecommunications, research and development and petro-chemicals.

Whilst the UK no longer leads in manufacturing, many global electronics organisations maintain research and development facilities within the UK and Europe. Engineers normally based in the UK can be posted overseas to work on projects. A willingness to travel is therefore important.

Jobs directly related to your degree

The technical skills you gain from studying electrical and electronic engineering can equip you for positions including:

• Electrical engineer
• Electronics engineer
• Broadcast engineer
• Chemical engineer
• Control and instrumentation engineer

Jobs where your degree would be useful

Skills from your electrical and electronic engineering degree can be useful in a wide range of jobs and industries, such as:

• Quality manager
• Sales executive
• Chartered management accountant
• Management consultant
• Systems development

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Included with the permission of AGCAS and Graduate Prospects. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk. We would welcome your comments on this section of The Complete University Guide. Please email us at admin@thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.