EE

Types of Degrees EE Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many electrical engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	15,444
Master’s Degree	8,743
Doctor’s Degree	2,142
Associate Degree	232
Basic Certificate	232
Undergraduate Certificate	172
Graduate Certificate	106

What EE Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to ee were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for EE Majors

Ee majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for EE Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to ee:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for EE Majors

As a ee major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a EE Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with ee:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Aerospace Engineers	6.0%	$115,220
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Electrical Engineers	8.6%	$96,640
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer	3.7%	$102,700
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Radio Frequency Identification Device Specialists	3.7%	$102,700

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in EE?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 84% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of ee majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2,505
Black or African American	798
Hispanic or Latino	2,282
White	7,018
International Students	1,720
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,121

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in EE, too. About 11.1% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to EE

Some degrees associated with ee may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to ee have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.0%
Some College Courses	0.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	58.3%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.8%
Master’s Degree	19.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.5%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	6.6%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.5%

Online EE Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	53	1
Bachelor’s Degree	37	7
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	237	21
Post-Master’s	15	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	152	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Majors Related to EE

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to ee.

Major	Number of Grads
Other Electrical Engineering	468
Telecommunications Engineering	155
Optical Enginering	115

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By NASA under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.