Electrician to Electrical Engineer

[HarlanKing]

Hi,

I'm a 24 year old Electrician and am thinking of switching career paths. I enjoy working as a sparky, don't mind the pay and feel like there are many opportunities in the field right now, but I believe Engineering is my true calling. For all my technical training i received top marks in class, while putting in minimal effort. I realize EE is a lot different than trade school.

So my question is, how feasible would it be to switch into EE at this time in my life? Would it be worth it?

I feel like i could be mixing up my hobby with my career choices...

Oh, and I'll have a new family to take care of (baby's due Dec. 22). So realistically i'd be ~26 by the time i'd start schooling, 30 at graduation...

Thanks for your advice.

[vk6zgo]

Hi,

I'm a 24 year old Electrician and am thinking of switching career paths. I enjoy working as a sparky, don't mind the pay and feel like there are many opportunities in the field right now, but I believe Engineering is my true calling. For all my technical training i received top marks in class, while putting in minimal effort. I realize EE is a lot different than trade school.

So my question is, how feasible would it be to switch into EE at this time in my life? Would it be worth it?

I feel like i could be mixing up my hobby with my career choices...

Oh, and I'll have a new family to take care of (baby's due Dec. 22). So realistically i'd be ~26 by the time i'd start schooling, 30 at graduation...

Thanks for your advice.

You'll be 30 by then,whether you go to Uni or not!
Some Mature Age Graduates are in their forties,so it can still be done.

The downside is that Electricians make good money,University Students,zilch!
Also,when you graduate,your first few EE jobs may not be very highly paid.

I'm not an Engineer,but sometimes I wish I had taken the risk.
On the other hand,back then Techs were well paid,so it would have been hard to drop back to a Student's income.

[rx8pilot]

I made the switch at 39. No problems, no regrets.

I just dove in, started learning and have not stopped.

[HarlanKing]

I made the switch at 39. No problems, no regrets.

I just dove in, started learning and have not stopped.

How did you find the math after being out of school for so long? Did you take any refresher courses?

These are all very encouraging comments! Really appreciate it.

Sent from my LG-D852 using Tapatalk

[rx8pilot]

The math was not too bad since I came from mechanical engineering and software before that. I was not ridiculously rusty. Khan Academy was enough to get me where I needed to be in a few weeks. Continuing education efforts in math will be necessary for me to move up I think.

In general, I have found that if you are designing circuits that use primarily IC's with pre-determined external parts - the math is largely given to you. If you are designing more discreet circuits you have to do the math yourself. As I was getting my feet wet, everything I did was centered around an IC that has a data sheet explaining all the math needed to make its basic functions work. There are usually app-note schematics to get you going. As time went on and my designs were more sophisticated, I had to create circuits to accomplish a task that an IC could not solve. That is when the need for for math became critical for me. There are also a ton of tools that isolate you from the really tough stuff. SPICE is a good example. I use SPICE sometimes and instead of calculating the solution, I take logical guesses at the design and the values until I get what I want. That is not always an efficient way, but sometimes it is.

Most folks can get rather far without highly developed math skills.

[retrolefty]

Hi,

I'm a 24 year old Electrician and am thinking of switching career paths. I enjoy working as a sparky, don't mind the pay and feel like there are many opportunities in the field right now, but I believe Engineering is my true calling. For all my technical training i received top marks in class, while putting in minimal effort. I realize EE is a lot different than trade school.

So my question is, how feasible would it be to switch into EE at this time in my life? Would it be worth it?


I feel like i could be mixing up my hobby with my career choices...

Oh, and I'll have a new family to take care of (baby's due Dec. 22). So realistically i'd be ~26 by the time i'd start schooling, 30 at graduation...

Thanks for your advice.

You'll be 30 by then,whether you go to Uni or not!
Some Mature Age Graduates are in their forties,so it can still be done.

The downside is that Electricians make good money,University Students,zilch!
Also,when you graduate,your first few EE jobs may not be very highly paid.

I'm not an Engineer,but sometimes I wish I had taken the risk.
On the other hand,back then Techs were well paid,so it would have been hard to drop back to a Student's income.

   That was my case. After getting discharged from four years in the Air Force in 1970, I found that experienced electronic techs were in high demand with good pay and benefits, and military electronics training and experiance was an excepted formal path for hiring. I always found it easy to fine jobs until settling in a oil refinery for 28 years. It was more then enough to marry, raise a family, buy a home, and retire comfortably. 

 But it's a different time now, much less component level maintenance is performed anymore so the demand and relative salary level probably sucks these days for non-EE techs. These days I would say go for the EE if you want to help ensure yourself a middle class family life.

[Galenbo]

... i received top marks in class, while putting in minimal effort.

This is bad. You trained bad habits. EE isn't very difficult, it's more like half-difficult, but a whole lot of it.

So my question is, how feasible would it be to switch into EE at this time in my life? Would it be worth it?

Depends on yourself only, on what you personally want.
It sounds like you want to try. So do it. Try.

I feel like i could be mixing up my hobby with my career choices...

Is your hobby: calculating things, searching in databases, getting projects realised, biting the dust and stand up again...
Or: Looking to youtube videos about Arduino and ordering devices on aliexpress.

Oh, and I'll have a new family to take care of (baby's due Dec. 22). So realistically i'd be ~26 by the time i'd start schooling, 30 at graduation...

Do you have enough money, to not need an income for that period?

[steverino]

Hi,

I'm a 24 year old Electrician and am thinking of switching career paths. I enjoy working as a sparky, don't mind the pay and feel like there are many opportunities in the field right now, but I believe Engineering is my true calling. For all my technical training i received top marks in class, while putting in minimal effort. I realize EE is a lot different than trade school.

So my question is, how feasible would it be to switch into EE at this time in my life? Would it be worth it?

I feel like i could be mixing up my hobby with my career choices...

Oh, and I'll have a new family to take care of (baby's due Dec. 22). So realistically i'd be ~26 by the time i'd start schooling, 30 at graduation...

Thanks for your advice.

If it was me and I was your age I'd definitely transition to EE.  I'm a retired sw engineer just dabbling in EE in my elder years.  I've done a fair amount of residential electrical work and it gets boring pretty fast.  How much conduit do you like to bend, panels to be wired, etc.  I guess a large part of it will be determined by your aptitude and enjoyment of the work.

[donmr]

Your path depends on where you are starting from, how much math and science have you already had in school?

My EE program was 2 years of math and science with little EE specific content, then 2 years of EE.
Around here you can get much of the first 2 years classes at a community college.  Those are much more accommodating of part time students and those wanting evening classes, and they cost a less too.

Check what your potential EE programs require and start by taking all you can of the foundation classes.
You will get a good idea if you want to continue to a full degree and have a head start.

[HarlanKing]

Your path depends on where you are starting from, how much math and science have you already had in school?

My EE program was 2 years of math and science with little EE specific content, then 2 years of EE.
Around here you can get much of the first 2 years classes at a community college.  Those are much more accommodating of part time students and those wanting evening classes, and they cost a less too.

Check what your potential EE programs require and start by taking all you can of the foundation classes.
You will get a good idea if you want to continue to a full degree and have a head start.

I took all 3 sciences in high school up to and including grade 12, and have a year of electronic engineering technology completed.

I would probably have to go this route.... Do the first 2 years part time at a college and then transfer to the university. This way i could still make money, save up and work at my own pace while raising a child, then go hard at it for the last 2 years.

Do you think being an electrician will give me an edge on other applicants to future EE jobs? I suspect it would in the field of power distribution, but not so much in circuit design...

[garre]

Hi, I am a retired Electrical Engineer with a Master's degree.  I had my own consulting company and hired a number of engineers to work for me.  We did power, electronics and software design.  In my experience your electrician experience will be helpful with the technical application, but not in the fundamentals of electrical theory and in doing your overall job as an engineer.  In the long run, I would recommend that you go for a BSEE from an accredited University.  The basic communication skills, writing and speech can make a big difference in earning potential.  Just remaining totally technical will limit your advancement.  Good Luck

[ajb]

Do you think being an electrician will give me an edge on other applicants to future EE jobs? I suspect it would in the field of power distribution, but not so much in circuit design...

I've heard of BSEEs who managed to graduate without learning about the relationship between wire gauge and current capacity, so it could be!

More seriously, having work experience at all should be a help, and via cover letter or interview you can play up the soft skills that being an electrician earned you, particularly any dealings with customers or any supervisory experience you might have.  Really, the actual work you do is only one aspect of what makes for a good employee, all of the other stuff like working with other people, dealing with budgets and schedules, communication, etc, can easily sink even the most brilliant EE in a real workplace.

[garre]

I would have to agree with ajb.  With all my technical courses in college, I would still rate my Technical
Writing course the most valuable.

[calexanian]

I took both EE and electrical classes. I was already working for the family Electronics company but wanted a backup if we ever sold and thought I might want to be an electrical contractor. I completer everything down that pass accept for the years of work experience. At some point I may still want to pursue that course, but for now the knowledge and experience of that has come in handy in our electronics company. As far as age is concerned, I see no problem. There were a number of people mid career and even post career there looking to either gain experience or find a new field to work or play in.

More importantly, as Dave puts it, the biggest factor is that you simply must like electronics. People who also enjoy electronics as a hobby seem to learn faster and find more fulfillment in it.

[HarlanKing]

I took both EE and electrical classes. I was already working for the family Electronics company but wanted a backup if we ever sold and thought I might want to be an electrical contractor. I completer everything down that pass accept for the years of work experience. At some point I may still want to pursue that course, but for now the knowledge and experience of that has come in handy in our electronics company. As far as age is concerned, I see no problem. There were a number of people mid career and even post career there looking to either gain experience or find a new field to work or play in.

More importantly, as Dave puts it, the biggest factor is that you simply must like electronics. People who also enjoy electronics as a hobby seem to learn faster and find more fulfillment in it.

Always good to have a backup plan!

I do enjoy electronics. You could say it is my passion to learn everything I can about electricity.

My biggest regret in life is not finishing my EET diploma. I was young and immature, had other priorities and wasn't fully invested at the time. That was six years ago. Since then, my whole view on life has changed.


After taking into consideration all this advice and hearing stories of success with mature students, I've decided to make a 2 year plan to transition into an EE program.

Thanks for the support!

[sarepairman2]

omg, in my experience some electricians are fucking monkeys!!

at my job I saw a guy standing on a ladder with one leg trying to grab a lamp that was barely out of his reach because he was too lazy to grab another ladder. I was scared to even say anything because I thought he would hurt himself if distracted...

on the other hand I work with a EE that used to be a electrician and he is very intelligent and a very good asset to the company I work for. I think it gives you a very good heads up for the "electromechanical" part of product design, like connectors. He is also very knowledgeable about product safety and he is the defacto go-to guy for any electrical safety questions. Everyone trusts him because he used to be a electrician.

[HarlanKing]

omg, in my experience some electricians are fucking monkeys!!

at my job I saw a guy standing on a ladder with one leg trying to grab a lamp that was barely out of his reach because he was too lazy to grab another ladder. I was scared to even say anything because I thought he would hurt himself if distracted...

on the other hand I work with a EE that used to be a electrician and he is very intelligent and a very good asset to the company I work for. I think it gives you a very good heads up for the "electromechanical" part of product design, like connectors. He is also very knowledgeable about product safety and he is the defacto go-to guy for any electrical safety questions. Everyone trusts him because he used to be a electrician.

  Let Darwin take his course!

It's frustrating having a coworker who has no regard for safety, especially when working with 480V switchgears.

I don't get paid enough to risk getting killed because of someone else's stupidity..

[Medtech1]

I did electrical for many years.. made like just over $50K per year.. quit.. went into Information Technology.. and made double what I did as an electrician. No work outside in the cold or the rain. While I liked working in the field, I love working inside building IT environments (instead of electrical systems).

[HarlanKing]

I did electrical for many years.. made like just over $50K per year.. quit.. went into Information Technology.. and made double what I did as an electrician. No work outside in the cold or the rain. While I liked working in the field, I love working inside building IT environments (instead of electrical systems).

That's definitely the worst part of the job... Especially when it's a warm -30C winter day in Alberta.

Luckily the Okanagan doesn't get as cold!

[Medtech1]

I know of some electricians that went on to be electrical engineers... in my opinion those make the best engineers because they know the practical  (hands on)  side as well as the more technical/theory side of things.

Again, I've seen many people apprenticeship into electrical, without ever holding a drill or a screwdriver previously.   I believe those who had an interest before taking it on as a career are much better at what they do.

I had a mixture of electronics/electrical/information tech when I was in High school... and did some "out of the ordinary" things at 20 years old, like building an apple II plus computer almost from scratch (blank pc board, soldering the many IC sockets, and other components).. and I believe my aptitude gained from this experience made me better at my careers (both electical career of 15 years, and IT career of almost 15 years).

 

[calexanian]

I as well have experienced the odd electrician that did not know which end of the screwdriver to hold.

[retrolefty]

I know of some electricians that went on to be electrical engineers... in my opinion those make the best engineers because they know the practical  (hands on)  side as well as the more technical/theory side of things.

 That really depends on the specific electrician job they held. Most at the refinery at worked at just worked on 440 volt and higher stuff. They used meters only after de-energizing something as part of a double safety lock-out/tag-out procedure. They didn't use DMMs, mostly wiggies and other simple but reliable primitive stuff. They did use specialty 'meggers' to test for insulation integrity. But mostly they troubleshoot after de-energizing via eyeballs, smells as high power failures usually leave lots of easy to find evidence. Most didn't 'think in Ohm's law' but the better ones got very good at reading, understanding, and implementing NEC standards. It's a field with little or small changes as their equipment tends to have 40+ year replacement cycles. And mostly they spend their life bending and installing conduit including the sizes that takes power assisted benders to work with. It's a very physical job at a refinery. The technically inclined tended to try and get into the instrumentation technician jobs.

Again, I've seen many people apprenticeship into electrical, without ever holding a drill or a screwdriver previously.   I believe those who had an interest before taking it on as a career are much better at what they do.

 Then they must have had a very poor apprenticeship program. I don't think an apprentice would ever be promoted to electrician without learning to bend and run conduit along with all the other electrical tasks requiring basic hand tools. Most electrician apprenticeships are run/managed by local unions. Electricians have pretty strong union(s) in the USA, IBEW being one of the big ones. I can't believe it's possible to have never held a screwdriver and being an 'official' electrician?

I had a mixture of electronics/electrical/information tech when I was in High school... and did some "out of the ordinary" things at 20 years old, like building an apple II plus computer almost from scratch (blank pc board, soldering the many IC sockets, and other components).. and I believe my aptitude gained from this experience made me better at my careers (both electical career of 15 years, and IT career of almost 15 years).

[Medtech1]

Again, I've seen many people apprenticeship into electrical, without ever holding a drill or a screwdriver previously.   I believe those who had an interest before taking it on as a career are much better at what they do.

 Then they must have had a very poor apprenticeship program. I don't think an apprentice would ever be promoted to electrician without learning to bend and run conduit along with all the other electrical tasks requiring basic hand tools. Most electrician apprenticeships are run/managed by local unions. Electricians have pretty strong union(s) in the USA, IBEW being one of the big ones. I can't believe it's possible to have never held a screwdriver and being an 'official' electrician?
 

Hey Retro, just to clarify what i meant, was that people entered the apprenticeship without being mechanically inclined, perhaps never holding a tool, or drill before entering. I, by no means claimed they made it through the four years (minimum) of apprenticeship, getting their ticket, without gaining the required knowledge and experience.  My point more was some enter the apprenticeship already being good with tools, and even knowing basic electricity, and other electrician skills... others don't have that aptitude.   I apprenticeshiped in Alberta, working about 50% commercial, 40% industrial (Syncrude/Robb/Joffree/Scotsford), and about 10% residential and eventually becoming an electrical estimator/project manager. While working, I met many who didn't make great electricians.. some had very high quality of work.  But I will say Alberta had one of the best Apprenticeship programs for Electricians.