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Job outlook for electrical design technicians in the United States
Are electrical design technician jobs in demand?
Electrical design technician job and salary trends over time
Electrical design technician jobs over time
Electrical design technician job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 152 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 173 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 184 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 190 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 192 | 0.00% |
Average electrical design technician salary over time
Electrical design technician salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $51,226 | $24.63 | +3.5% |
| 2024 | $49,489 | $23.79 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | $48,784 | $23.45 | +1.1% |
| 2022 | $48,276 | $23.21 | +2.4% |
| 2021 | $47,161 | $22.67 | +1.7% |
Electrical design technician jobs by state
Most common states for electrical design technicians
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 170 | 24% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,519 | 22% |
| 3 | Vermont | 623,657 | 128 | 21% |
| 4 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 267 | 20% |
| 5 | Alaska | 739,795 | 146 | 20% |
| 6 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 562 | 18% |
| 7 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,430 | 17% |
| 8 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 961 | 17% |
| 9 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 950 | 17% |
| 10 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 533 | 17% |
| 11 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 227 | 17% |
| 12 | Delaware | 961,939 | 160 | 17% |
| 13 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 659 | 16% |
| 14 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 122 | 16% |
| 15 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 914 | 15% |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 875 | 15% |
| 17 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 985 | 14% |
| 18 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 513 | 14% |
| 19 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 262 | 14% |
| 20 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 83 | 14% |
Most common cities for electrical design technicians
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Centennial | 2 | 2% | $48,846 |
| 2 | Chesterfield | 1 | 2% | $40,289 |
| 3 | Springfield | 2 | 1% | $38,050 |
| 4 | College Station | 1 | 1% | $49,186 |
| 5 | Overland Park | 1 | 1% | $46,393 |
| 6 | Minneapolis | 2 | 0% | $42,164 |
| 7 | Phoenix | 2 | 0% | $45,981 |
| 8 | Chicago | 1 | 0% | $47,349 |
| 9 | Colorado Springs | 1 | 0% | $49,180 |
| 10 | Dallas | 1 | 0% | $50,719 |
| 11 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $48,792 |
| 12 | Houston | 1 | 0% | $47,846 |
| 13 | Kansas City | 1 | 0% | $40,129 |
Electrical Design Technician job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of electrical design technician experts
Gonzaga University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Michigan Technological University
University of Alabama at Birmingham
San Diego State University
University of Utah
Old Dominion University
University of Central Florida
Michigan Technological University
University of Mississippi
Kennesaw State University
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Wright State University
What Electrical Design Technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Steven Schennum Ph.D. P.E.: The most important skill is the ability to learn new things, and especially to unlearn things you “know” after evidence demonstrates that these things are not true. Learn how to analyze information. Your intuition, simulations, and results should all be in alignment. If they are not, then dig deeper. Learn the terminology and jargon specific to your company and your projects. Spend time reading. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be intimidated by new software.
What Electrical Design Technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Min Song: Communication skills and innovative thinking skills. As emerging technologies continue to be complex and multidisciplinary, it’s important to be able to communicate with professionals in diverse disciplines. Taking robotics, for example, the electrical engineer must be able to work with mechanical and biomechanical engineers, computer engineers, software engineers, artificial intelligence experts, cognitive scientists, system engineers, etc. A person will be able to generate innovative ideas only if the person has a complete and comprehensive understanding of the entire system and can work well with other individuals with a range of expertise.
What will help Electrical Design Technicians increase their earning potential?
Min Song: Have an open mind and be willing to learn new knowledge and skills. College education primarily focuses on the development of critical and creative thinking skills, the learning of fundamental principles and design methodologies, and the building up of enthusiasm and dedication to lifelong learning. Starting a professional career requires new graduates develop the ability to translate the knowledge and skills developed in school to solving complex, real-world problems.
What general advice would you give to an Electrical Design Technician?
John Irwin EdD: Engineering technology graduates are masters of technology, gaining a broad and deep understanding of the processes, systems, tools, and techniques necessary to construct, modify, operate, and maintain an engineering design. They act as technological integrators, bridging the gap between the skilled trades and engineering fundamentals. This is a great career path for those who enjoy engineering concepts but would rather spend time working with their hands solving specific technical issues than tackling broader, more complex design challenges.
What will help Electrical Design Technicians increase their earning potential?
John Irwin EdD: Engineering technology graduates develop, design, and implement engineering and technology solutions, typically pursuing engineering careers in design, construction, and product improvement. They work both in an office setting with design and simulation software as well as on the production/onsite setting troubleshooting issues for continuous improvements.
What general advice would you give to an Electrical Design Technician?
Arie Nakhmani: Electrical Engineering combines a dozen sub-fields such as power systems, telecommunications, embedded systems, machine learning/AI, hardware design, signal analysis, IoT, etc., and jobs in these different subfields could look completely different. Some involve office work with the computer designing algorithms or optimizing processes, others might involve inspecting power transmission lines with drones in the middle of the forest. Some jobs include testing airplane engines and others designing microchips and working in clean rooms.
What Electrical Design Technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Arie Nakhmani: Electrical Engineering has always (from its inception) been a good profession to enter, but now it is better than ever. Now everything is becoming Electrical Engineering, and the world cannot survive without it even for a few days. Electrical Engineering is the most necessary profession for the survival of modern society.
What general advice would you give to an Electrical Design Technician?
Dr. Arif Engin: Electrical engineers solve problems by skillfully applying mathematics and science. Electrical engineering classes are challenging at college, and electrical engineers must embrace lifelong learning to remain at the top of their skills. In the end, seeing the results of their work in a finished product is a rewarding experience.
What Electrical Design Technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Arif Engin: Electrical engineering graduates are sought by a wide range of employers in government and industry for many different types of work. The top occupations in electrical engineering fields are projected to grow and sometimes require an advanced degree.
Florian Solzbacher
Department Chair, Professor, Elect & Computer EngineeringUniversity of Utah
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
What soft skills should all Electrical Design Technicians possess?
Florian Solzbacher: Engineering is about teamwork. All major quantum leaps and most products require extensive system engineering and diverse skills. Engineers need to be able to understand the languages and workflows not only across engineering disciplines but also ranging into business, legal and ethical aspects of their work. This includes communication and project management skills.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Electrical Design Technicians?
Florian Solzbacher: First of all, the fundamentals (mostly math, physics, materials/chemistry) and basic EE/CE concepts need to be solid. As stated above: the ability to solve real-world development and system integration problems that require "global optimization" of technical performance as opposed to local optimization of specific sub-systems or components is really critical.
Beyond that, given the accelerating breadth of specializations and sub-areas, it is important that students have sufficient depth and breadth of knowledge in the specific area they are targeting. It is important that schools are offering tracks and guidance as to what skills are needed to allow students to successfully master engineering tasks across a range of sub-areas. We have to recognize that in the context of a 4-year program, it is no longer possible to train a student in all areas of ECE - a combined BS/MS degree or MS/Ph.D. degree obviously provides more runway to add breadth.
What type of skills will young Electrical Design Technicians need?
Michel Audette Ph.D.: One skill that is timeless is the ability to communicate effectively, such as taking a complex design process and distilling it into intuitive slides or reports that lend themselves for senior managers to process in order to come to a decision. An engineer who has that ability will always have some tools in his/her toolbox that makes that individual attractive to a company and to the local technical ecosystem, thus a ripe target for headhunters who willing to champion them to companies looking for top talent. Moreover, speaking and writing well also comes with a vital component of diplomacy, especially in the context of increasingly distributed company workforce: the ability not just to get on with colleagues from different parts of the world, increasingly heterogeneous in terms of gender and possibly sexual preference, but embrace them for who they are. This is often maps to opportunities to travel, as some collaborations lead to meetings face to face, post-covid.
This embrace of heterogeneity is even more relevant in that technical problems being solved are increasingly multi-disciplinary, so that an engineer may need to interact with biologists, physicians, clothing or furniture designers, mathematicians, lawyers, and so on: in my own case, I have to wear a multitude of different hats, while recognizing someone who is a perfect fit for one of those hats when I meet that individual, and making the most of that opportunity to build a truly competent team. Engineers must be able to hold a meaningful, respectful conversation with any of these counterparts, not just discuss code or circuit design. I would advocate that they spend time reading, to maintain their vocabulary and stay abreast of the world around them.
Another one that I advocate is the ability to tap into a revolution that has occurred in parallel with the advent of Internet and cellular technologies, these past 30+ years: the explosion of open-source software tools. I am a committed proponent of open source, as a former contributor to them while previously employed at Kitware (a pioneer in this area, behind VTK, ITK, CMake, and myriad others). I see job ads in Indeed.com that specifically ask for the ability to work with these tools, since they save work and make it possible to produce a prototype in much less time than developing it completely in-house. This ability does not just presuppose the ability to program at a competent level, but other abilities: the ability to track bugs that not be in the calling program, but in the open-source software library itself, the willingness to get answers in the community of developers, the eye for details that extends to graphical processor units that result in accelerations an order of magnitude or better, and so on. These go way beyond writing a self-contained algorithm. Hardware designers may also have similar tools, based on broad standards, Arduino, and the prevalence of 3D printers that make it possible to physically replicate digital models.
Finally, a vital skill is the willingness and ability to keep learning, while embracing revolutions that take place at breathtaking pace. The latest one is the reliance on deep neural networks (DNNs) to synthesize algorithms that can learn and adapt to their data, with much faster performances than feasible with the previous algorithms that DNNs have replaced. The point to make here is not to embrace neural networks in a proximal sense, but that we cannot anticipate what will come next, downstream of DNNs. Graduates of 2021 have to be willing to keep their curiosity and work ethic enough to be responsive to the next wave of technologies, and embrace them for the opportunities that they represent.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Electrical Design Technicians?
Michel Audette Ph.D.: My take on this is what I've seen with my wife's work in industry, which suggests that the industrial landscape is going to be increasingly equipped for, and open to, remote work. I think that the implication for graduates is that they may need to be flexible about working within a geographically distributed team. If company deciders feel that someone is worth employing because of a unique skill set, then they would typically be more willing to hire that person even if unable to make it to work regularly, if that is feasible given the nature of the work; some work, such as hardware testing or industrial production, may not lend itself to remote contributions.
Nonetheless, for those areas that accommodate geographically distributed activity, such as software development, graduates can expect to interact with team members all over the US, possibly all over the world, if someone is deemed unique enough to hire despite living abroad. This places a high premium on the ability and willingness to work in a heterogeneous team, where not only will members look different, but also have myriad accents in their English, which will also impose a certain adaptability and tolerance to team members.
A related impact could also be that global hiring will make it easier for multi-national companies to hire a portion of their talent in countries where wages are lower and motivate US-based engineers to seek out graduate degrees in order to increase their competitiveness and employability at US salaries.
Maria Jacob
ProfessorUniversity of Central Florida
Department of ECE
What type of skills will young Electrical Design Technicians need?
Maria Jacob: I feel that the skills needed will not change to what is currently required; however, it may well happen that some of the graduates don't have them. For example, good communications skills. It may happen that the graduates have good written skills but not verbal, since more and more we send emails than calling someone. I know, I sound like an old person, which is funny because I'm writing this...
What experience really stands out on Electrical Design Technician resumes?
Maria Jacob: Well, this is a too general question to answer. It totally depends on which job you are applying. Is the graduate going to the industry or research? Is the job for testing, designing, coding? What will stand out will depend on this.
However, if I really have to choose one, I always thought that one of the most important things you can learn is to work in a multidisciplinary group. Then, if before graduation a student can have an internship either in the industry or in research that will definitely stand out.
What type of skills will young Electrical Design Technicians need?
Joshua Pearce Ph.D: The trends were already present before COVID - but they have been accelerated: graduates need to work remotely and function in virtual teams on large complex projects. Many jobs have been virtualized, and recruiters are targeting talent with proven abilities. Many graduates received a crash course in large-scale cooperation with massive open-source development projects like the thousands of engineers that joined Helpful Engineering to combat COVID. They worked on everything from designing PPE that overran the NIHs 3D printing Exchange to complicated electronics for open-source ventilators.
What type of skills will young Electrical Design Technicians need?
Dr. Ramanarayanan "Vish" Viswanathan Ph.D.: All graduates need to 1) have a broad understanding of electrical engineering and have programming skills, 2) be able to work collaboratively, and 3) effectively communicate with co-workers, both orally and through writing. Additionally, depending upon the nature of the job, some would need effective communication skills to interface with external stakeholders, and some would need strong foundations on theory and applications of electrical engineering, including networking of computers and devices.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Electrical Design Technicians?
Hai Ho Ph.D.: I believe the impact is short term, and once vaccines are effective and available, our graduates will have expected graduation and access to a responsive job market.
Robert Saunders P.E.
Assistant Department HeadUniversity of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Electrical Engineering Department
What general advice would you give to an Electrical Design Technician?
Robert Saunders P.E.: The job market for an electrical engineering student coming out of college is challenging right now. Many companies are still hiring electrical engineering students but, the students can't be as finicky about what jobs they are accepting. More than half of the students are starting their new jobs working remotely, which is a large shift from normal but the companies seem to be using this time to bring the new hires up to speed on policy, procedures, and industry regulations.
What general advice would you give to an Electrical Design Technician?
Fred Garber Ph.D.: I think the primary question, in the minds of those who are yet to graduate or are still searching, is in regard to the strength of the technical job market, especially the local job market. But you are in a position to definitively answer that question.
In you article, I would ask that you address the following:
Number of employers looking to fill and number of job offerings in the region (by engineering and computer science major) compared to last year and to the previous five years.
Any noticeable differences in job descriptions Zippia is receiving relative to work environment, benefits, starting salaries, etc.
Many of our soon-to-graduate students would be very interested in these quantitative and qualitative comparisons. Additionally, vast numbers of potential students would benefit from such information to guide their career choices.