Yes, electricians can become electrical engineers. Electricians, of course, have some certain works to do, including getting a Bachelor of Engineering degree, getting trained under the supervision of a professional licensed engineer, and finally getting an engineering license.
Priory being an electrician would give the candidate some advantages in the field, but there are necessary obstacles and challenges that any electrical engineer can’t avoid whatsoever.
Who are electricians and electrical engineers?
Most people when asked think of electricians and electrical engineers as having the same job. They assume that the two groups of people are the ones who fix the electricity grid without knowing what the difference is. However, being an electrician and being an electrical engineer are totally two different things. Let’s talk about that.
Who is an electrician?
To become an electrician, all you need is a high school diploma. To get it, you need to take the GED exam, HiSET, or TASC exam. Electricians are the ones who work in the field, who do most of the installing and solving real problems at the sites.
Electricians usually work under the supervision of an experienced electrician or an electrical engineer. They have exceptional field experience and practical skills, because what they learn is not the theories but how to get the work done.
Who is an electrical engineer?
In contrast to an electrician, electrical engineers don’t usually get their hands on the real work. They prefer the theoretical sides more, and love to solve problems based on the academic experience they have. Skilled electrical engineers might work as managers for a small group of electricians.
Electrical engineers also have to be present at the field, and they’re in charge of reading the design, planning the work, showing electricians what to do, and finally solving problems as they come up.
To become an electrical engineer, a person needs a BE degree, a period of supervised professional training, and an engineering license, so that people can make sure that they really know what they’re doing.
Why would you want to make the switch?
Electrical engineers are like managers: they control things. Therefore, if you’re working as an electrician, you should consider it as a promotion in your job. You’ll get to work with high-level tasks of the job, have people to work under your commands, and you’ll have more impact on the success of the job.
Electrical engineers are also paid more than electricians while not having to work as hard as they do. According to the statistics, electrical engineers are averagely paid for about $77000 a year, while electricians are paid by hour with the average salary of $22 an hour, giving us the estimated total of more than $45000 a year. Putting it into the math, you can be sure that being an engineer would make you an extra 60% of your previously electrician earnings.
The final reason for you to make a decision is that learning is always better: you’ll have another profession, so your CV would stand out among other candidates’, no matter if you’re applying for an electrician or an engineer job. Additionally, because electrical work doesn’t usually require engineers to work on weekends, you can also make some extra income with hourly-paid electrician tasks.
How to go from electricians to electrical engineers
Getting a college degree
The first thing that being an electrical engineer requires is a BE degree, which stands for Bachelor of Engineering. BE ensures that the candidates have enough theoretical training to understand, to design, and to solve the problems smartly and effectively.
In order to get your degree, you’ll need to be admitted into a local college’s engineering faculty. The learning process will take people 4 years on average, but if you’re a smart boy, it is possible for you to complete it sooner than expected.
The downside of this is that there would be some financial problems you’ll have to face. Attending college full-time would cut off your electrician incomes and you’d better have some prior savings to get through.
Although academic subjects are required whether you’re an electrician previously or not, having work experience in the field would be a great advantage for you compared to your classmates.
Getting a PE license
According to the National Society of Professional Engineers, a PE license is a license that is issued by the authority, in order to certify that you have the ability to conduct the electrical missions safely and effectively. A PE license is a signal to your customers, earning you their trust for the job and the money for your account.
Assuming that you have already completed your BE degree, you’ll need another 3 to 4 years of working with another licensed PE-certified engineer, and eventually get their approval for a real certificate.
Getting a job
When you have your license, there will be nothing standing between you and being an electrical engineer. You can now apply for vacancies at electrical companies, for the authority, or being the trainer for another entry-level beginner.
Due to the fact that you were an electrician before, you can now switch back and forth between the two jobs without facing any problems at all. You can also work on the weekends as well if you feel like missing the practical work or making some extra money.
Conclusion
If you are an electrician, you can definitely become an electrical engineer if you want to. Electrical training, together with your work experience, would give you a huge advantage over other competitors in the job interviews. Therefore, if your time and your financial situation allow you to, my advice is that you should take it.
Thank you for staying with me through this. I hope all the answers above helped you in the way of making the right call for your career. Have a nice day and see you in the future articles.
