Career Explorer Engineering and architecture
Grows with AI
Electrical engineers
Research, design, develop, test, or supervise the manufacturing and installation of electrical equipment, components, or systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 59% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by +9.9% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on creative vision and ethical judgement.
AI can help with many of the tasks, and demand is still growing. Being fluent with AI is the edge here.
- Median pay (2025)
- $120,630
- Job growth to 2035
- +9.9%
- Openings a year
- 11,400
- People doing it (2025)
- 200,000
- Usual route in
- Bachelor's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Determine resource needs of projects or operations
- Maintain electronic, computer, or other technical equipment
- Investigate organizational or operational problems
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures
- Design electrical or electronic systems or equipment
- Design structures or facilities
What the work looks like
- Design, implement, maintain, or improve electrical instruments, equipment, facilities, components, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, or domestic purposes.
- Oversee project production efforts to assure projects are completed on time and within budget.
- Direct or coordinate manufacturing, construction, installation, maintenance, support, documentation, or testing activities to ensure compliance with specifications, codes, or customer requirements.
- Perform detailed calculations to compute and establish manufacturing, construction, or installation standards or specifications.
- Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform engineering tasks.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- More of these jobs, as electrical infrastructure is updated and new electrical systems and technology are developed.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Agricultural engineersGrows with AI, Index 66, +6.9%
- Materials engineersGrows with AI, Index 61, +7.5%
- Food scientists and technologistsGrows with AI, Index 61, +6.2%
- Computer and information systems managersGrows with AI, Index 61, +15.8%
Also known as: Design Engineer, Electrical Design Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Project Engineer, Circuits Engineer, Electrical Controls Engineer, Electrical Project Engineer, Engineer.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.