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Job outlook for electrical specialists in the United States
Electrical specialist job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected electrical specialist job growth rate is 0% from 2018-2028.
About -400 new jobs for electrical specialists are projected over the next decade.
Electrical specialist salaries have increased 9% for electrical specialists in the last 5 years.
There are over 6,155 electrical specialists currently employed in the United States.
There are 25,948 active electrical specialist job openings in the US.
The average electrical specialist salary is $75,131.
Are electrical specialist jobs in demand?
Electrical specialist job and salary trends over time
Electrical specialist jobs over time
Electrical specialist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6,155 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 6,993 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 7,435 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 7,702 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 7,785 | 0.00% |
Average electrical specialist salary over time
Electrical specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $75,131 | $36.12 | +3.5% |
| 2025 | $72,584 | $34.90 | +1.4% |
| 2024 | $71,550 | $34.40 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $70,805 | $34.04 | +2.4% |
| 2022 | $69,170 | $33.25 | +1.7% |
Electrical specialist jobs by state
Most common states for electrical specialists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 141 | 20% |
| 2 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 408 | 13% |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 824 | 12% |
| 4 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 922 | 11% |
| 5 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 334 | 11% |
| 6 | Delaware | 961,939 | 103 | 11% |
| 7 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 65 | 11% |
| 8 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 194 | 10% |
| 9 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 77 | 10% |
| 10 | Vermont | 623,657 | 61 | 10% |
| 11 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 616 | 9% |
| 12 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 566 | 9% |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 501 | 9% |
| 14 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 486 | 9% |
| 15 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 257 | 9% |
| 16 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 185 | 9% |
| 17 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 121 | 9% |
| 18 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 839 | 8% |
| 19 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 804 | 8% |
| 20 | Hawaii | 1,427,538 | 117 | 8% |
Most common cities for electrical specialists
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hilo | 2 | 5% | $71,053 |
| 2 | Schenectady | 2 | 3% | $59,773 |
| 3 | Casa Grande | 1 | 2% | $70,211 |
| 4 | Flagstaff | 1 | 1% | $69,608 |
| 5 | Fort Lauderdale | 1 | 1% | $54,647 |
| 6 | Baltimore | 1 | 0% | $62,550 |
| 7 | Boston | 1 | 0% | $66,295 |
| 8 | Chicago | 1 | 0% | $62,963 |
| 9 | Colorado Springs | 1 | 0% | $68,030 |
| 10 | Detroit | 1 | 0% | $71,301 |
Electrical Specialist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of electrical specialist experts
Gonzaga University
Stevens Institute of Technology
California State University - Fresno
San Diego State University
Old Dominion University
University of Central Florida
University of Louisville
University of California, Davis
Wright State University
What will help Electrical Specialists increase their earning potential?
Craig Johnson Ph.D., P.E.: Master basic science and engineering concepts, as well as application of 'soft skills' such as written and verbal communication. Acquire skills and knowledge areas in electromechanical devices, especially in areas of energy and heat transfer, reflecting current issues related to climate change and power management.
What general advice would you give to an Electrical Specialist?
Steven Schennum Ph.D. P.E.: Make sure electrical engineering is something that YOU want to do and not something you are doing for someone else (a friend, a relative, etc.). I’ve had students who were pursuing an EE degree just to make their parents (or uncle, or whomever) proud, and weren’t really interested in what they are studying. If you do not have the passion to be an engineer, then do something else. In addition to passion, engineering requires a lot of math, reason, and logic. If you are easily frustrated, struggle with mathematics, and are inclined to give up, then don’t waste your time. Find a more suitable way to live your life. If you live your life by disregarding your own interests while trying to gain the approval of someone else, you will wind up being miserable.
What Electrical Specialist 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 Specialist 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 Electrical Specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Aaron Stillmaker Ph.D.: I think that in the next 3-5 years electrical engineering jobs will start to require more programming, especially scripting languages like Python, and artificial intelligence. Machine learning is becoming prevalent in many fields, and likely most prevalent in electrical and computer engineering. A baseline understanding of the theory of machine learning is something that all electrical and computer engineers should have when entering the job market.
What Electrical Specialist 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.
What will help Electrical Specialists increase their earning potential?
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.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Electrical Specialists?
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
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Electrical Specialists?
Maria Jacob: Well, this is a somewhat difficult question, since it's hard to predict what is going to happen.
Given the current research, everything seems to indicate that even with the vaccine, we won't be able to come back to what we were used to for a long time.
This will mean, work and classes from home for some time. Although I see and enjoy some of the advantages of staying at home (that go from clothing to saving money on gas), I feel we are losing some of the human contact we were used to. Of course, we have software like Zoom or Meet that helps us to communicate with others, but this virtuality is just simply different. For example, some students do just fine, and others can't deal with the fact that they have to write their questions over a chat. More than that, some students have family making everything more difficult.
There are other aspects that also impact the knowledge the new graduates have at the time of start working. For example, we as professors also have to take into account that we are living special circumstances and that some students may find this new system more difficult. Then, sometimes is easy to overcompensate and be more lenient with some things. If we are not careful this could lead to students graduating having less knowledge in some topics, where students pass a class not knowing certain topics that they should.
Cindy Harnett Ph.D.
Assoc Professor, Electrical & Computer EngUniversity of Louisville
J.B. Speed School of Engineering
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Electrical Specialists?
Cindy Harnett Ph.D.: I had an EE student who was an essential worker because he worked part-time at the power company. The power systems field is going to stay in demand. He had multiple jobs to choose from at graduation.
We also do a lot of device simulations and draw up circuit layouts in software. That's great for remote work, something students are likely to be thinking about now.
For students who are more hardware-oriented, prospects for remote work are still pretty good, thanks to miniaturization and low cost of setting up a workbench. My embedded systems students were able to carry on with remote coursework by taking small circuit boards home.
In 2020 when we can't go into the office, EEs can still be productive working from home.
We do seek grad students to work in research labs and we'll pay their tuition, salary, and health insurance.
Going to grad school means doing cutting-edge research and writing papers. It's exciting but it also means looking for a job in a few years.
It's too soon for me to spot a 2020 trend yet, but in recent years they've largely gone with their co-op employers right out of the master's degree program.
What Electrical Specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Andre Knoesen Ph.D.: The gap year is an excellent period to expand soft skills (e.g., communication, critical thinking, creativity, writing, and exposure to other cultures) that are essential for new engineers. Basic engineering talents could be maintained by volunteering time in K-12 schools, such as assisting in distance learning efforts.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Electrical Specialists?
Fred Garber Ph.D.: Many of our EE grads had jobs in place before March. Some of these have been put on hold, especially some that require relocating.