Electrical Engineers

Low Risk
29%

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Vote Comments (35)
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
25%
(Low Risk)
POLLING
32%
(Low Risk, Based on 1,216 votes)
Average: 29%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
9.1%
by year 2033
WAGES
$106,950
or $51.41 per hour
Volume
185,430
as of 2023
SUMMARY
What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
7.9/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

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Calculated automation risk

25% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): Jobs in this level have a limited risk of automation, as they demand a mix of technical and human-centric skills.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Originality

  • Social Perceptiveness

User poll

32% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 25% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Electrical Engineers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

The following graph is shown where there are enough votes to produce meaningful data. It displays user poll results over time, providing a clear indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Very fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Electrical Engineers' job openings is expected to rise 9.1% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Wages

Very high paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Electrical Engineers' was 106.950 $, or 51 $ per hour

'Electrical Engineers' were paid 122.5% higher than the national median wage, which stood at 48.060 $

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 185,430 people employed as 'Electrical Engineers' within the United States.

This represents around 0.12% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 818 people are employed as 'Electrical Engineers'.

Job description

Research, design, develop, test, or supervise the manufacturing and installation of electrical equipment, components, or systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use.

SOC Code: 17-2071.00

Comments (35)

Leave a comment
Georgy (No chance)
15 Feb 2025 13:14
I am an electrical engineer in the construction industry. Based on my experience, every project is unique, with distinct client requirements that differ from previous projects. We develop tailored designs to suit each new scope of work, conduct site inspections for existing projects, and perform inspections during the construction phase of new projects.

AI can assist with calculations, much like other software tools we use, but it must be operated by a qualified engineer. Our work is highly critical—errors in design can lead to serious consequences, such as fire hazards. Therefore, AI should be used by engineers who understand the mathematical and scientific principles behind each design decision.
Mu (No chance)
18 May 2025 17:05
New Grad EE-AI will certainly augment an EE's productivity however at higher levels where creativity and imagination (research) will not be replaced. Also risk to a company without a trained EE overlook basic tasks that AI can do wrong can cost millions of dollars and kill many people.
Zeke (Low)
28 Apr 2025 14:20
People will want someone there to watch over the machines to make sure they don't explode or have something go wrong
Nate johnson
05 Jun 2024 19:19
No way.
Imagination is needed for engineering.
Great minds will never be replaced.
Generation automation will take a hit, the automation will be highly driven affected by AI
Electrical instalations will always take humans to set up.
Relegating most repetive tasks will be a pleasure
Surely this will be focused in PID control and dealing with its mathematical complexity
Ninjamokama_3 (No chance)
10 Nov 2023 15:10
Unless they make robots that are flexible, durable and reliable enough and have developed enough conciousness to replace human labour and thinking, this is going to be a no for me.
eMPee584
23 Dec 2025 11:59
Coming next year.. Progress on humanoid robot development is about to become very impressive. Especially with UBTech having launched and Boston Dynamics/Hyundai preparing for serial production.
Jose
22 Apr 2023 08:02
Honestly, I'm an electrical engineer and what I see in AI is that it will simply boost your productivity, but in the short to medium term, I find it very unlikely that it will replace us. I myself use AI tools and I know they make mistakes. On the other hand, you have a lot of human interaction, when talking with operators, distributors, customers, and coordinating all of that. AI is very good, for example, when consulting regulations, but the day an AI can call a subcontractor, understand that Manolo had to leave the construction site because his wife got sick, and that this will cause a delay, then call the customer and explain it and reorganize the entire schedule, we will be talking about an AI that will be capable of doing everything a human does and we will be talking about a very different society.
I am quite skeptical. Only time will tell.
eMPee584
23 Dec 2025 11:55
Going into 2026, we will get a lot closer to this level of versatility.. Buckle your seatbelts – and start rallying for a commons-based open-access post-scarcity economy with universal basic services and quality planetary infrastructure! 😎
Engineer (Moderate)
20 Nov 2025 14:32
It is a more mathematical field and depends less on real world variables than a technician role.
Lovro (No chance)
27 Dec 2021 16:06
This is the job that takes away other jobs. Not vice versa
Tomcat (No chance)
16 Aug 2019 07:15
Somebody must repair and maintain those robots
mr x
21 Nov 2019 02:21
They will fix themselves, there won't be a job they can't do.
valian
04 Jul 2019 06:18
dude they make robots
Pawel (Low)
03 Sep 2024 11:18
Need to travel, phisical work required, climbing, dismanteling, if they build relaibale robot with good battery, higher chance of beeing replaced. Until then, risk is low.
Zenon
01 Aug 2025 03:00
Physical work of climbing / dismantling is more technician work than engineer. Not sure what a "relaibale robot with good battery" means for AI automation, but I agree it is probably one of the safer engineering fields (only beat by civil)
Wyan Francis (Low)
17 Feb 2024 20:16
I’m not sure for certain, I’m just using my own opinionated logic. EE has to do with wiring and building circuits, which AI itself is created on. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that in the future AI won’t be able to do so, but in the near future I don’t think so.
Matt (Low)
19 Jun 2023 01:39
Electrical engineers would be required in the short-medium time frame of AI development to design, manufacture & maintain infrastructure for AI development.
cum dump (Low)
17 Dec 2022 00:01
At a Master's/PhD level, electrical engineers will always be needed. Even if drafting can easily become fully automated.
Steven (No chance)
16 Mar 2021 21:18
Electricals Engineers are inherent to the process of automatization.
Ferenc Kiss (Uncertain)
17 Feb 2021 22:44
Because an electrical engineer needs to invent a machine, which can invent better machine than humans or other engineers can. This can pertain to software as well, instead of machines. And if this happens, the profession of electrical engineering may become obsolete and superfluous.
Laurentiu Duma (Low)
12 Dec 2020 10:00
Somebody must develop new electrical systems (and find strange failures)
Jake (Low)
21 Dec 2019 04:31
Engineering takes intellect not yet accomplished by AI.
Flo
18 Nov 2023 14:05
Electrical engineers must use more and more AI to improve their productivity. They even should organize small events to diffuse knowledge among their peers, in order to use technology the best way possible. And this, always keepind in mind the upcoming developments and the future challenges of the organization they work for. They should use AI while adapting the way they do their job to stay useful and in a leading position.
Peter (Uncertain)
28 Dec 2021 20:42
Electrical engineers are the precursors of automation, it is inherent to this profession. The electric grid for example is mostly operated by itself, but always will be necessary for humans to assess for risks and plan and manage improvements, act when a fault occurs, etc.
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