12 ee evolution

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EE Evolution

The path to becoming an electrical engineering student isn’t exactly what it used to be.Obviously, technology has drastically changed the face of education and training forelectrical engineers over the years, but what else has changed? This special reportdemonstrates what it takes to become an electrical engineer today vs. yesterday, explores

the types and traits of individuals being drawn into the profession, and examines the growthof electrical engineering as compared to other disciplines. Tapping into industry experts suchas professors at colleges and universities, hiring and recruiting company leaders andprofessional engineers, this article looks at the employment pipeline for electricalengineering graduates, what type of technical skills they possess, and how they’re achievingsuccess in the industry.

EE EvolutionNov 18, 2014Tom Zind | Electrical Construction and Maintenance

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COMMENTS 0 What is in this article?:

• EE Evolution

• SIDEBAR: EE Degrees by the Numbers

As college students surge into electrical engineering degree programs, educators are pressured tofnd the best methods o teaching an evolving body o !no"ledge# !dvertisement

A decade ago, Erhan Kudeki, Ph.D, then a 20-year member of the electrical

engineering (EE) faculty at the ni!er"ity of #llinoi", looked on a" "tudent intere"t in

one of the nation$" %remier EE %rogram" "oftened.

n 200', 200, and 200, our enrollment" *ere hurting,+ "ay" Kudeki, %rofe""or of

electrical and com%uter engineering and no* the de%artment$" a""ociate head for

undergraduate affair". &a"ically, there *a" a "care of out"ourcing in the mind" of

%arent". om%uter "cience and electricalcom%uter engineering *ere not all that

%o%ular. Parent" *ere "ending their kid" into thing" like mechanical and aero"%ace.+

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Lab work is a crucial training component that hammers home the practical side of electrical theory (Lisa F. Youngi!tockThinkstock".

/ho"e fear" of EE ob" migrating o!er"ea" %ro!ed ba"ele"", and by 2001, EE

enrollment *a" heading back u%. /oday, the %rogram i" flouri"hing.

&/here$" a huge demand no* on anything related to com%uting and electrical

engineering,+ Kudeki "ay". &/he number" *e ha!e no* are larger than e!er. #t$" a

terrific %roblem to ha!e.+

/he cam%u" at ham%aign-rbana i"n$t alone. tudent" are "urging into other EE

%rogram" acro"" the country, lured by the %ro"%ect of a big %ayoff in good ob" and

the chance to be in one of engineering$" mo"t dynamic and !er"atile "%ecialtie".

#n 2034, full-time undergraduate enrollment in EE "urged by almo"t ,000 o!er the

%re!iou" year, hitting 53,44, according to "tati"tic" from the American ociety forEngineering Education (AEE). /hat marked the large"t number of enrollee" "ince

200' 6 and 27 more than the 2001 lo*-*ater mark.

RELATED

/raining 8 ontinuing Education /rend" in the Electrical #ndu"try

A 9e"urgence of #ntere"t in Electrical Engineering

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:ore EE degree" are al"o being a*arded. AEE data "ho* 30,2 undergraduate EE

degree" *ere earned in 2034. /hat$" the highe"t number in 30 year" and 7 more

than in 2032. Another 2,3; degree" cla""ified a" electricalcom%uter engineering

(EE) *ere a*arded a" *ell.


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&?e ha!e to be more efficient in teaching electrical engineering becau"e there$" "o

much more to teach,+ he "ay". t$" a @ue"tion of ho* *e be"t deli!er the larger

amount of kno*ledge *e ha!e.+

/he #llinoi" %rogram key" on early undergraduate e%o"ure to core EE cla""e" andfleibility in cour"e "election and "%eciali=ation in the unior and "enior year".

#ncor%orating eten"i!e lab com%onent" and cour"e*ork that i" both broad and

dee%, %rogram de"ign aim" to both *eed out *eak %ro"%ect" early on and kee%

"ur!i!or" engaged and challenged.


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#f the $%& schools reporting in an 'merican !ociety for Engineering Education survey these institutionsawarded the most bachelor)s degrees in electrical engineering between $*+$,+-.

onnecting de!ice" like Digilent, #nc.$" Analog Di"co!ery and >ational #n"trument"$

:yDAF *ith a la%to%, erri "ay", "tudent" interact *ith o"cillo"co%e", functiongenerator", dynamic "%ectrum analy=er", embedded microcontroller", logic

analy=er", and a ho"t of other tool" that animate EE conce%t". #ntegral to the learning

%roce"", their beauty lie" in any*hereanytime acce""ibility, "he "ay".

uch tool" hel% form the "%ear of effort" to "hake u% the !ery nature of the EE

in"tructional %roce"". erri and other EE educator" note the emerging trend of

&fli%%ing cla""e",+ *hereby in"tructor" ha!e "tudent" !ie* lecture" digitally, o%ening

u% %reciou" cla""room time for higher-!alue engagement.

#n a traditional lecture format, "he e%lain", &la"" time kind of run" out *hen

they$re getting to the more intere"ting thing", lea!ing "tudent" to deal *ith

a%%lication" or difficult %roblem" on their o*n after cla"".+ ut in a fli%%ed cla"",

"tudent" come in more %re%ared to tackle them. &E!ery riday in my circuit" cla"",

*e ha!e Gbring your de!ice",$ and *e de!ote that time to *orking *ith them.+


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Showing the big picture

?hile the &ho*+ of teaching EE i" e!ol!ing, "o i" the &*hat.+ E%o"ure to the core

fundamental" i" a gi!en, although there$" more focu" on timing and "e@uencing to

en"ure ade@uate retention and timely de%loyment of key conce%t". ut a" EE$" "co%e

e%and", %rogram" are offering more o%tion" on cla""e" and area" of em%ha"i".

A 2034 graduate of the Ceorgia /ech %rogram, Hayla :ar"hall *a" dra*n to the

"tudy of EE becau"e of it" !er"atility. he =eroed in on control "y"tem" and audio

engineering in her "tudie", and no* *ork" a" a contract hard*are engineer for

iemen" #ndu"try, #nc., in Iohn"on ity, /enn. :ar"hall remain" attracted to the

audioacou"tic" field and i" mulling a ma"ter$" le!el "tudy of that or mechanical

engineering.

ased on data from the 'merican !ociety for Engineering Education electrical degrees are still one of themost sought after in the entire field of engineering.

"truggled at fir"t to %ick a maor, but the more # learned about electrical

engineering and ho* broad it i" 6 and the number of area" you can %ur"ue *ith a

degree 6 the more # *a" dra*n to it,+ "he "ay".


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/he EE %rogram at /uft" ni!er"ity in :edford, :a""., i" "tructured around that

%erce%tion. Dr. Karen Panetta, a""ociate dean for undergraduate affair" and

%rofe""or of electrical and com%uter engineering, "ay" "tudent" "hould be able to

under"tand EE$" many %ractical a%%lication" and clo"e relation"hi% to other

engineering "%ecialtie" 6 from mechanical to de"ign to biomedical.

&Program" are introducing "tudent" to a !ariety of *hat #$ll call Ginterdi"ci%linary

a%%lication"$ of electrical engineering,+ "he "ay". &?e recogni=e no* that there$" no

"uch thing a" a %ure electrical engineer in a "en"e.+

Another 2034 Ceorgia /ech EE graduate, Adam Kitain, offer" %roof. After

graduation, Kitain found hi" *ay into a ob a" an analytic" and databa"e "trategy

con"ultant for #:. An intern"hi% *ith no*-defunct 9e"earch #n :otion (9#:)

con!inced him that hi" intere"t" lay more in the bu"ine"" de!elo%ment "ide oftechnology than the technology it"elf. ?hile com%leting hi" EE degree, he took

cla""e" in the Ceorgia /ech bu"ine"" "chool and earned a certificate in finance.

t *a" more intere"ting to me to under"tand *hy 9#: *a" lo"ing market "hare than

Gho* can # hel% de!elo% a more efficient 9 antennaJ$+ he "ay".

Real-world emphasis

/omorro*$" EE" are al"o learning the %ractical "kill" they$ll need to %erform their

ob".


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&/*o decade" ago, it *a"n$t until "enior year that you really got to "tart %utting

thing" you learned together and focu" on team*ork,+ "ay" Hayman, an a""ociate !ice

%re"ident at D9, #nc.,


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/he interdi"ci%linary curriculum focu" at /uft" i" ha!ing the effect of %roducing more

com%lete graduate", Panetta "ay". ?hen they under"tand that EE i" not %racticed in

i"olation, they$re honing the %eo%le "kill" needed in today$" engineering *ork%lace.

A reali"tic "cenario today, Panetta "ay", i" one *here a %ro"%ecti!e em%loyer "ay",t$" great you$!e got thi" kid *ho can do all the circuit theory, but # really need

"omeone *ho$" going to be able to go out to my client" *ho ha!e no technical

e%erti"e, be able to redact eactly *hat they need, and communicate it back to them

*ithout them being "cared off by it.+

Degree as door-opener

till, com%anie" hiring ne*ly minted EE" kno* a" they al*ay" ha!e that an EE

degree i" an e""ential "tarting %oint. E!en a" more %rogram" "tre"" the "ofter "kill",

graduate"$ gra"% of ba"ic technical kno*ledge of the field i" a gi!en. E!en in a

com%le and ra%idly changing field, that$" a "ufficient "%ringboard to begin *hat

amount" to the net %ha"e of the educational %roce""L on-the-ob training.

9ecruiter" at Peter a""o A""ociate", #nc., a /roy, :ich., con"ulting engineering and

building de"ign firm, are finding today$" EE graduate" generally *ell-%re%ared to

"te% into ob" that demand a firm gra"% of both core engineering %rinci%le" and

"trong inter%er"onal communication "kill". rom there, "ay" one of the firm$"

%rinci%al", /erry lei", it$" about ac@uainting ne* hire" *ith a""o$" culture.

&/he !alue of an engineering degree i" the "ame a" it$" al*ay" been 6 it ba"ically

teache" you ho* to think and ho* to logically %lod your *ay through %roblem",+ he

"ay". t$" a %roce"" of finding %eo%le *ho ha!e the ba"ic "kill "et and an eagerne"" to

learn. #ntelligent %eo%le i" *hat *e *ant.+

Hike*i"e, %arling, a con"ulting and electrical engineering firm in Hynn*ood, ?a"h.,

court" graduate" *ith not only the re@ui"ite technical grounding, but al"o a comfort

le!el *ith *orking collaborati!ely. Degreed EE" are a natural fit, gi!en %arling$"

broad menu of electrical "er!ice" for the built en!ironment. ut %arling al"o

con"ider" com%uter, mechanical, de"ign, and audio engineering maor" 6 e!en

%hy"ic" maor" 6 becau"e it" *ork i" hard to %igeonhole.

&?e$re not engineer" in cubicle" here,+ "ay" Karl Pihl, a com%any %rinci%al. &?ritten

and !erbal communication" "kill" are !ery im%ortant "ince *e$re *orking *ith


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architect", o*ner", and other engineer". ?e need to be able to "%eak in layman and

technical term" at the right time for the right audience.+

Hacking tho"e "kill", %arling ha" found, e!en to%-notch candidate" can *a"h out. A

recent ne*-grad hire came in fla"hing a 4.5 CPA and letter" of recommendation from%rofe""or". /hat *a"n$t enough.

&?e took all of that information at face !alue, but *e found out real @uick that "ome

of the Gmeat$ in term" of *orking in grou%" and on %roect" *a" !ery much mi""ing

from thi" indi!idual$" %ortfolio,+ "ay" another Princi%al :ichael >e*bury.

Vetting grads

/hat e%erience led to "ome change" in ho* %arling e!aluate" ne* graduate". >o*,

Pihl "ay", they$re challenging candidate" more in inter!ie*" to demon"trate ateam*ork mentality and re!eal ho* they think. /he a%%licant$" degree, from a

uni!er"ity$" "atellite %rogram, al"o demon"trated that not all EE degree" are e@ual.

&:aybe it$" a matter of faculty, "taff, re"earch re"ource", and facilitie", but it "eem" to

u" like there$" "ome *ork to do to get tho"e "atellite %rogram" u% to "nuff relati!e to

their main cam%u"e",+ Pihl "ay".

#ntern"hi% and co-o% %rogram" hel% reduce "uch hiring mi"fire", and that common

indu"try %ractice ha" continued to gro*. A tighter labor market, more graduate",engineering "%eciali=ation, and cutthroat com%etition for bu"ine"" ha!e likely

boo"ted reliance on &te"t dri!e"+ to !et %ro"%ecti!e talent.

a""o routinely ha" co-o% "tudent" on "taff 6 about half of *hom come onboard,

lei" "ay". %arling @uickly in"ert" mo"t of it" intern" into &real %aying %roect" *ith

real deadline",+ Pihl "ay", a" a *ay to "i=e them u% and e%o"e them to the nuance" of

the *ork they$d be %erforming.

/hat$" al"o an im%ortant con"ideration for -E-A, Htd., a olumbu",


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Pre%aration for a *orld in *hich ne* technological frontier" are con"tantly o%ening

and communication and collaboration are e""ential *ill be academia$" call to action

in educating tomorro*$" electrical engineer". A" more "tudent" %ur"ue EE degree",

curricula *ill ha!e to continue ada%ting to en"ure that candidate" are getting both

the fundamental and "%eciali=ed kno*ledge and ba"ic "kill" that *ill tran"late to the

market%lace. Engineering educator" may be uni@uely @ualified to do that.

&A" engineer" *e$re inno!ator",+ erri "ay". &?e like to think of our"el!e" in EE or

E a" Gthe magic maker".$ ?e ha!e to think of ne* idea" and better *ay" of doing

thing".+

Zind is a freelance writer based in Lee’s Summit, Mo. He can be reached

at [email protected] .

EE EvolutionNov 18, 2014Tom Zind | Electrical Construction and Maintenance

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O E!"#

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COMMENTS 0 What is in this article?:

• EE Evolution

• SIDEBAR: EE Degrees by the Numbers

As college students surge into electrical engineering degree programs, educators are pressured tofnd the best methods o teaching an evolving body o !no"ledge# !dvertisement

SIDEBAR: EE Degrees by the Numbers

Engineering i" ha!ing it" day in the "un on college cam%u"e", and electrical

engineering (EE) i" "hining brightly. ut *hile it remain" a to% "%ecialty, other

engineering di"ci%line" are ca"ting an e!er larger "hado*.

Par"ing "tati"tic" com%iled by the American ociety for Engineering Education

(AEE) re!eal" that the 30,2 EE bachelor$" degree" i""ued in 2034 accounted for

33.7 of the total 54,40 engineering degree" i""ued 6 a number that it"elf i" 2;7

higher than 30 year" ago and 7 higher than 2032. Ha"t year marked the 30 th"traight

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in *hich EE degree" a" a %ercentage of the total ha!e fallenB EE degree" *ere 317 of

the 200' total of 12,;54.

till, EE degree" are one of the mo"t "ought after in the field.

12 ee evolution

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