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What is an electrical research engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Angela Rasmussen

Primarily, the electrical research engineer is tasked with conducting research. This will aid the design and development of new and innovative electrical products or systems. He/She evaluates existing systems to provide improvements to existing technical processes and helps companies develop new and improved forms of electrical technology. The Electrical Research Engineer oversees the construction of new electrical designs and devices. Additionally, he/she will assist in purchasing capital equipment and preparing budgets. Electrical research engineers are valuable to a company because they help them innovate new products and stay competitive.

Most electrical research engineers have a bachelor's degree, and some even hold master's degrees in engineering. They must possess analytical, maths, research, and communication skills. Likewise, they must be computer literate and be conversant with electronic, mechanical, and computer engineering design applications. Their salary ranges from $55,000 to $100,000, with an average of $74,798 per year or $35.96 per hour.

What general advice would you give to an electrical research engineer?

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 Research EngineerUS Average
Salary
6.7

Avg. Salary $85,767

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
5.7

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.0
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.18%

Asian 21.45%

Black or African American 4.61%

Hispanic or Latino 10.50%

Unknown 4.66%

White 58.60%

Gender

female 11.18%

male 88.82%

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 research engineer career paths

Key steps to become an electrical research engineer

  1. Explore electrical research engineer education requirements

    Most common electrical research engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    67.6 %

    Master's

    17.6 %

    Associate

    10.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific electrical research engineer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    C++12.94%
    Electrical Systems10.73%
    MATLAB10.67%
    Power Electronics8.01%
    ISO4.79%
  3. Complete relevant electrical research engineer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New electrical research engineers 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 research engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real electrical research engineer resumes.
  4. Research electrical research engineer duties and responsibilities

    • Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
    • Implement automation designs in LabVIEW for advance lamp measurements.
    • Cpld-Base multiplexer master and slave PCB design with custom fiber serial link.
    • Communicate between microcontroller (89C51) PCB circuits and computers through RS232/RS485 interfaces.
  5. Prepare your electrical research engineer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your electrical research engineer 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 research engineer 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 research engineer resume templates

    Build a professional electrical research engineer 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 research engineer resume.
    Electrical Research Engineer Resume
    Electrical Research Engineer Resume
    Electrical Research Engineer Resume
    Electrical Research Engineer Resume
    Electrical Research Engineer Resume
    Electrical Research Engineer Resume
    Electrical Research Engineer Resume
    Electrical Research Engineer Resume
    Electrical Research Engineer Resume
  6. Apply for electrical research engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for an electrical research engineer 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 research engineer job

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Average electrical research engineer salary

The average electrical research engineer salary in the United States is $85,767 per year or $41 per hour. Electrical research engineer salaries range between $65,000 and $112,000 per year.

Average electrical research engineer salary
$85,767 Yearly
$41.23 hourly

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Electrical research engineer reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2023
Pros

continuous learning


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A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020
Cons

I like everything about it.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Cons

very little


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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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