How To Become An Electrical/Mechanical Designer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an electrical/mechanical designer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Fred Garber Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an electrical/mechanical designer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.88 an hour? That's $62,155 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an electrical/mechanical designer?

Fred Garber Ph.D.

Professor, Electrical Engineering, Wright State University

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.

ScoreElectrical/Mechanical DesignerUS Average

Salary

4.9

Avg. Salary $62,155

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.9

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.29%

Asian 17.25%

Black or African American 4.11%

Hispanic or Latino 10.23%

Unknown 4.69%

White 63.44%

Gender

female 14.48%

male 85.52%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress level

5.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an electrical/mechanical designer

Explore electrical/mechanical designer education requirements

Most common electrical/mechanical designer degrees

Associate

56.4 %

Bachelor's

26.3 %

High School Diploma

7.7 %

Start to develop specific electrical/mechanical designer skills

Skills	Percentages
Autocad	11.98%
Assembly Drawings	11.60%
CAD	10.73%
Panel Layouts	7.19%
Solidworks	6.43%

Complete relevant electrical/mechanical designer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New electrical/mechanical 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/mechanical designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real electrical/mechanical designer resumes.

Research electrical/mechanical designer duties and responsibilities

Control and manage the testing documentation of magnetics and mechanical documents using custom small scale PDM system base on windows files.
Create BOM's to document assemblies.
Input BOM into company MRP system and created/modify schematic and wiring diagrams.
Design and automate electro-mechanical machinery to customer specifications.

Prepare your electrical/mechanical designer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your electrical/mechanical 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/mechanical 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/mechanical designer resume templates

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