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Electrical engineer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Florian Solzbacher,

Florian Solzbacher

Much of an electrical engineer's job is based in being highly technically skilled in a specific area, so the exact technical skills an electrical engineer will need depend on the area of work. Of these specializations though, some of the most highly in-demand hard skills are experience with the AutoCAD and designing layouts for electrical systems.

When it comes to soft skills, electrical engineers should have strong problem-solving and teamwork skills. Electrical engineers need to collaborate with many different people in the course of their work, so teamwork skills are a huge plus.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical electrical engineer skills. We ranked the top skills for electrical engineers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 6.0% of electrical engineer resumes contained autocad as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an electrical engineer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 electrical engineer skills for your resume and career

1. Autocad

Here's how electrical engineers use autocad:

Design Electrical Systems predominantly for building construction projects including power distribution systems, lighting, and other signal systems using AutoCAD.
Supplemented and revised AutoCAD diagrams and documentation accurately for developmental electronic communication, control, and monitoring systems and alarms.

2. Electrical Systems

Here's how electrical engineers use electrical systems:

Developed budgets, schedules, engineering analyses, preliminary designs and obtain resources for the design and installation/construction of electrical systems.
Tasked to support newly formed group for VIP aircraft installing avionic/interior electrical systems including entertainment, lighting and oxygen systems.

3. UL

Here's how electrical engineers use ul:

Designed and inspected high power switching industrial panels for UL certification and commercial installations.
Generated and expedited all UL follow up services documentation.

4. Electrical Design

Electrical design refers to the whole process and includes all the steps which are involved in the development of any electrical equipment. In electrical design, planning and managing the process of designing and development, creating the equipment, and testing it to evaluate the equipment's performance are all integral steps.

Here's how electrical engineers use electrical design:

Determined electrical design characteristics utilizing knowledge of analog, digital, power theory, and electrical architecture within schedule constraints.
Collaborated with mechanical and manufacturing engineering regarding electrical design requirements and the impact they would present to each respective design.

5. CAD

Here's how electrical engineers use cad:

Determined and documented proper procedures for importing and exporting printed wiring design databases between several company CAD systems.
Reviewed and modified CAD Drawings to coordinate with other engineers/consultants and make presentations.

6. C++

C++ is a general-purpose programming language that is used to create high-performing applications. It was invented as an extension to the C language. C++ lets the programmer have a high level of domination over memory and system resources. C++ is an object-oriented language that helps you implement real-time issues based on different data functions

Here's how electrical engineers use c++:

Produce advertising commercial billboards controlled by a microprocessor (C++ programming heavily involved).
Develop utility shutdown feature for sterilizers using C++ language.

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7. Control Systems

Here's how electrical engineers use control systems:

Engineered design appraisal of technical specifications including equipment functional specifications, P&ID, and control systems logic specifications.
Designed complete electrical and pneumatic control systems and supervised the assembly, installation and testing of custom material processing equipment.

8. RF

Here's how electrical engineers use rf:

Developed and analyzed prototype electronic RF circuits for improvement and modifications of Radar Systems to meet customer requirements.
Designed and installed systems for electrical RF and optical systems for government, military and commercial applications.

9. Analog

An analog system refers to a system that uses continuously variable signals.

Here's how electrical engineers use analog:

Assisted design engineer by circuit simulation, design analysis and building prototype which involved of Power supply and analog circuitry.
Specified digital and analog instrumentation to operate equipment and regulate plant processes using pressure, temperature and flow control.

10. Electrical Equipment

Here's how electrical engineers use electrical equipment:

Assisted in modifying and repairing electrical equipment, supporting facility lightning and grounding protection activities and performing electrical testing of components.
Provide recommendations in minimizing the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Category Level for personnel safety working near energized electrical equipment.

11. Engineering Design

Engineering design is defined as the method that engineers use to recognize and solve problems. It is an extensive and flexible approach to problem-solving and provides the necessary information needed regarding every step of the process. An engineering design is a collaborative effort of the team to identify problems underlying a process and find out ways to solve them.

Here's how electrical engineers use engineering design:

Drive reliability and maintainability requirements of new designs via participation in internal engineering design & development processes and similar forums.
Provided direction at all levels for creating company documentation standards, strategic engineering design/planning, vendor selection and budgeting.

12. Project Management

Here's how electrical engineers use project management:

Power Distribution Project Management Design Management
Gained experience in all aspects of product development from conceptual design to production release, manufacturing, project management and documentation.

13. PLC

Here's how electrical engineers use plc:

Designed production machines on automated production with applying PLC controller and microprocessor on them.
Performed Maintained electrical components of ships Dynamic Positioning: Power and PLC Control

14. Transformers

A transformer refers to a passive electrical gadget that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to the next.

Here's how electrical engineers use transformers:

Prepared one line diagrams illustrating generator grounding equipment, instrument transformers and protection functions.
Developed FEA models to successfully simulate the observed thermal behavior of developmental transformers.

15. MATLAB

Here's how electrical engineers use matlab:

Utilized C/C++ and MATLAB to develop in-house applications targeted toward validating experiments and calibrating sensor accuracy.
Applied statistical processes and characterized real and simulated data utilizing MATLAB.

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What skills help Electrical Engineers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on electrical engineer resumes?

Florian Solzbacher

Department Chair, Professor, Elect & Computer Engineering, University of Utah

Examples of having applied the knowledge gained in their studies to practical examples of solving engineering problems that require the combination of skills and at least some understanding of system engineering aspects are important signals that graduating engineers are ready to be productive in a real-world setting are always important. Obviously, participating in projects that address current "hot topic" problems, e.g., in robotics, AI/machine learning, power systems, biomedical applications, or that resonate with specific problems an employer is currently working on, will raise a student's profile.

Supplemental skills, such as Entrepreneurial or business training, can enhance and differentiate a student's resume. This shows that an engineer is not solely focused on the core technical engineering skills but does have an understanding of the driving forces and their interaction in a real-world business setting, that are not only part of the design requirements for a product (e.g., design to cost), but also often drive the selection of technical solution paths, after all, every development and product has to make business sense. Imagine two young engineers proposing a solution to their manager for a new product: one maybe even over-exceeds the technical requirements, but the development and/or manufacturing and servicing effort and cost is significantly higher than a colleagues solution that may only just about reach the requirements, or maybe even compromise on some specifications, but that is far cheaper to develop, make and service and that may allow entering a far larger market- chances are very high that the business may decide to go for the "inferior" solution from a technical point of view, that is, however, the better product. This supplemental skill set is a significant competitive advantage to have as an engineer.

What soft skills should all electrical engineers possess?

Florian Solzbacher

Department Chair, Professor, Elect & Computer Engineering, University of Utah

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 engineers?

Florian Solzbacher

Department Chair, Professor, Elect & Computer Engineering, University of Utah

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 electrical engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Angela Rasmussen

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

Hone your skills by taking online classes, or consider getting something such as the University of Utah Electrical and Computer Engineering Online Master's Degree which can increase your overall income, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, by approximately $20,000 in comparison to just having a Bachelor of Science degree. Our department has removed many barriers and streamlined our admittance process for this upcoming Fall 2020 semester.

Another skill to expand is programming. Consider learning a new programming language to build on your current skills. Also, look at different job opportunities and choose a skill that you are lacking to improve upon.

What type of skills will young electrical engineers need?

Aaron Ohta Ph.D.

Professor, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Graduates will, of course, need a solid technical background. They should have a good grasp of the fundamentals, and also know how to apply that knowledge to new situations, as technology is always changing. I've also heard from many recent graduates that they appreciate the "soft skills" that they learned in school, like how to give effective technical presentations and how to write technical reports.

Do you want to know more?

List of electrical engineer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an electrical engineer resume and required skills for an electrical engineer to have include:

Autocad
Electrical Systems
UL
Electrical Design
CAD
C++
Control Systems
RF
Analog
Electrical Equipment
Engineering Design
Project Management
PLC
Transformers
MATLAB
PCB

Arc Flash
Troubleshoot
Cost Estimates
System Design
Test Equipment
Electrical Components
NFPA
NEC
Power Electronics
Circuit Design
Technical Support
FPGA
SKM
HMI
Engineering Support
Electrical Schematics

LabVIEW
Line Diagrams
Data Acquisition
Fire Alarms
VHDL
Test Procedures
ETAP
Embedded Systems
Shop Drawings
IEEE
OrCAD
EMI
Load Flow
Renewable Energy
Prototyping

Updated January 8, 2025

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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