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What is an electrical designer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted Expert
Dr. Angela Rasmussen
introduction image

The electrical designer is responsible for designing electrical control systems and systematic custom automation equipment. Using your expertise on how electricity works, you are to come up with wiring and power distribution to fit the needs of individual projects. This entails examining the need for a new building and figuring out the best way to supply it. When you are presented with situations that need to be figured out, you have to consult the interested parties and begin to design your solutions for them.

As an electrical designer, you are to estimate the labor, cost, material that is needed to produce a real version of your ideas. You will be expected to re-strategize plans based on unforeseen circumstances or client changes. Your top priority is to prevent electrical hazards to save lives and properties. For progress and productivity, you will need to keep managers, colleagues, and clients in the loop.

Basic skills requirements include communication skills, ability to solve problems quicker, attention to detail, and consistency. The average salary of an electrical designer annually is $68,000, and the educational qualification is a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering.

What general advice would you give to an Electrical Designer?

Dr. Angela RasmussenDr. Angela Rasmussen LinkedIn Profile

Professor (Lecturer) Director of Mentoring and Advising Director of Electrical Engineering Senior Projects, University of Utah

Take heart that while Electrical Engineering jobs have been impacted by COVID19, it's impact is minimal in comparison to most other areas. While many areas have been hit hard by layoffs, Electrical Engineering has only slightly been affected in comparison. Many companies have declared hiring freezes and many others are still hiring. Therefore, don't get discouraged. There are Electrical Engineerings jobs needing to be filled! Make sure to be professional in all your interactions and work on improving your online presence.
ScoreElectrical DesignerUS Average
Salary
5.1

Avg. Salary $64,930

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
5.7

Growth Rate 3%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.18%

Asian 14.43%

Black or African American 4.82%

Hispanic or Latino 11.17%

Unknown 4.70%

White 64.69%

Gender

female 17.06%

male 82.94%

Age - 44
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44
Stress Level
5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
6.2

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Electrical Designer career paths

Key steps to become an electrical designer

  1. Explore electrical designer education requirements

    Most common electrical designer degrees

    Associate

    46.9 %

    Bachelor's

    38.7 %

    Master's

    4.2 %
  2. Start to develop specific electrical designer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Revit14.28%
    Electrical Design10.91%
    Autocad Electrical5.40%
    UL5.31%
    Electrical Systems4.89%
  3. Complete relevant electrical designer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New electrical designers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an electrical designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real electrical designer resumes.
  4. Research electrical designer duties and responsibilities

    • Manage database for PDF drawings and other electronic files.
    • Design control systems to NFPA, UL, and CE specifications to comply with country-specific standards.
    • Work conduct using PDMS, NavisWorks and AutoCAD.
    • Used INTOOLS to input instrument tags into index, customize reports & import data from PDMS into INTOOLS.
  5. Prepare your electrical designer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your electrical designer resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an electrical designer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Electrical Designer Resume templates

    Build a professional Electrical Designer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Electrical Designer resume.
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    Electrical Designer Resume
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    Electrical Designer Resume
    Electrical Designer Resume
    Electrical Designer Resume
    Electrical Designer Resume
    Electrical Designer Resume
    Electrical Designer Resume
    Electrical Designer Resume
  6. Apply for electrical designer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for an electrical designer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Electrical Designer Job

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Average electrical designer salary

The average Electrical Designer salary in the United States is $64,930 per year or $31 per hour. Electrical designer salaries range between $47,000 and $89,000 per year.

Average Electrical Designer Salary
$64,930 Yearly
$31.22 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Electrical Designer reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020
Pros

To Install And Maintain Mostly In Building And Industrial Installation.

Cons

Repair, And Any Over Head Installation


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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