Ten Essential Skills for Electrical Engineers

Question: Discuss about the Ten Essential Skills for Electrical Engineers. Answer: Introduction My chosen field of study is Electrical and Electronics Engineering. The objective of this essay is to highlight the main motivation and reason behind taking up this course of study. Additionally, using various examples, the focus is on emphasizing as to what the professional and practitioners in this subject do with particular reference to key industries served, Further, it is also reflected as to how the chosen field of study has utility for the society. Finally, the required attributes of the professionals in this field have been highlighted along with likely obstacles to be faced while working. The innate motivation to make a career in this field came from my father who also wanted to study engineering but could not do so due to poor financial situation. He was very much impressed by the works of Nicola Tesla.. During my childhood, my father narrated real life incidents from Teslas life and also made me watch various documentaries related to his life. My fathers fascination with Tesla had a profound impact on me during my childhood and electricity and application of the same fascinated me. Besides, during my course material at school, we were introduced about the computers starting with their history. While on one hand our life was so centric about personal computer, but it was fascinating to understand the historical development from those large computers to this compact piece of machine. All this made possible through one component which essentially laid the foundation of modern electronics i.e. transistors. I was absolutely fascinated on how the various electronic components using small amount of power can essentially prove to be reliable controlling mechanisms which have essentially transformed virtually every aspect of life thus ushering the age of communication and internet. This provided me motivation to take up electronics as my subject of study. I believe that my field of study has immense scope going forward. This is particularly true for electronics which has widespread use in computing technology along with communication systems . Also, semiconductor fab manufacturing companies tend to hire electronics engineers. There is immense scope for further research in the field of electronics especially with the need of making the components even smaller and the emphasis on nano-electronics. The electrical engineer finds wide application in the field of power, construction, robotics, manufacturing, along with building of homes and transportation. With the world being driven by electricity, there is increased emphasis on enhancing efficiency of various electrical appliances coupled with reduction of losses during transmission and distribution of electricity (Dowling et al, 2016). I personally am in touch with some of the practitioners who ate engaged in the above mentioned profiles. For instance, a distant cousin of mine is pursuing his doctorate in electronics engineering and has engaged in doing research on nano-electronics. I am acquainted with a senior from my university who is working in the computing industry and narrates how there is constant attempt to obey the Moores law whereby devices have to be made smaller in size but higher in their respective computing speeds. A friend of mine is working with majors in electronics is engaged with a company which manufacturers certain components for satellites and space shuttles. The field of electrical and electronics engineering has significant capacity to serve the society. For instance, smartphones which have the power of mobile internet is revolutionising the delivery of various services such as healthcare and education to remote parts of the world at minimal cost. Also, it has enabled seamless communication possible between people. This would not have been possible without electronics engineering. Similarly, the advancements in electrical engineering has led to various medical equipment that are used in the diagnosis and treatment of various critical diseases especially related to the brain. The lights of MRI and CT Scan besides other would not have been possible without advancements in electrical and electronics engineering. Electrical engineering is also being used at small scales such thermometers, blood pressure machines and numerous other common devices that are used in day to day life. Thus, through these inventions, there has been an improvement in the public health which amounts to serving the society.. Security now a days is enabled through the use of electronics engineering and thus plays an increasingly significant role in ensuring stability and safety in the society (Thecompleteuniversityguide, 2017). There are various attributes necessary for the engineers in my subject of study, Firstly, it is of utmost importance that they must possess superior technical knowledge which is essentially their biggest asset. Secondly, a key attribute in modern business world is communication as it is pivotal for the engineers to be able to communicate their ideas to the others in a non-technical manner. This essentially enhances the utility of their knowledge. Thirdly, it is vital for them to be good team players as projects are essentially executed in teams where team dynamics play a pivotal role. Thus, team performance is preferred over individual heroics. Fourthly, creative bent of mind is also a key attribute so that innovative solutions may be suggested to various issues. Lastly, it is vital for an engineer in my field should have the hunger to learn as learning is a lifelong process in the domain of electrical and electronics as a host of technological improvements are taking place (Dorr, 20 14). Some of the key obstacles to be faced on the job is to communicate to peers without usage of technical jargons and appreciating their lack of technical subject knowledge. Besides, the narrow mindset which fails to consider the broader business sense of various products could be an obstacle as the work should be driven by the underlying potential of commercial usage (Dowling et al, 2016). Conclusion It is apparent from the above discussion that there is immense demand for engineers pursuing my selected field of study and may engage with industry or choose research based on their individual preferences. Also, it would be fair to conclude that the field of electrical and electronics engineering has wide utility for the society which is expected to grow with time. Besides, to become successful in this field, it is pivotal that certain key skills need to be focused on such as technical knowledge, communication skills, teamwork, innovative spirit and desire to learn. References Dorr, B. (2014).Ten Essential Skills for Electrical Engineers. 1st ed. London: IEEE Press, pp.9-25. Dowling, D.G et al, (2016), Engineering Your Future: An Australasian Guide, 3rd ed, John Wiley and Sons Australia Thecompleteuniversityguide (2017).Reasons Why You Should Study Electrical Electronic Engineering. [online] Available at: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/courses/electrical-electronic-engineering/reasons-why-you-should-study-electrical-electronic-engineering/ [Accessed 23 Mar. 2017].