Annual Salary
£27,000 to £58,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Maintenance or Manufacturing or go back to all job sectors or go to green jobs
Swap to Maintenance or Manufacturing or go back to all job sectors or go to green jobs
Electrical engineers design, build and maintain electrical systems, machinery and equipment in lots of different industries.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings; occasionally
There will be
2.4% more Electrical engineer jobs in 2027.
As an electrical engineer, you could:
You could work in a factory, at a power station, in a workshop, at a research facility or in an office.
Your working environment may be at height.
You can get into this job through:
You can do a foundation degree or degree in electrical or electronic engineering. You may also be able to get into this career with a degree in:
Look out for courses that offer work experience opportunities during your studies, such as:internships; sandwich course placements; Easter and summer vacation schemes
These can give you an advantage when applying for jobs or graduate training schemes. Your university careers service can help you to find opportunities.
You'll usually need:
You could do a higher national certificate or diploma in electrical and electronic engineering at college before looking for a trainee engineer position with a company.
You'll usually need:
You could apply for a place on an apprenticeship, for example:
These apprenticeships take up to 5 years to complete.
You'll usually need:
You could start as an electrical engineering technician and do training on the job to become an engineer.
You can apply for jobs if you've got qualifications and several years' experience in a related area of engineering, for example electronics or power generation.
Many courses and apprenticeships aimed at specific industries, such as aerospace, energy and defence, include electrical engineering as part of their training. It's worth looking into these as another route to becoming a qualified electrical engineer.
You can find more details about careers in the electrical industry from The Institution of Engineering and Technology and Electrical Careers.
You can work in many different industries, from power and renewable energy to transport, construction and manufacturing.
You can improve your career prospects through professional registration.
Registration can lead to senior roles in:project management; electrical design; engineering research and development; contracts management; consultancy services
You could also teach in higher or further education.
For other roles linked to Electrical Engineer, employers such as SSE have roles as an Electrical Power Engineer and Craft Apprenticeships: Linesperson, Electrical Fitter, Electrical Jointer, Electrical Engineering.
You'll need: