Among the largest employers of electrical engineers are computer, telecommunications and consumer electronics companies. These fields are pretty much the domain of electrical engineers, though a few mechanical engineers are needed for package design. There are almost always job openings at the giants within these fields, such as IBM, Motorola, Cisco, Sharp, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Dell. These huge corporations employ hundreds of engineers at their home offices, but many also have remote engineering sites scattered around the country.

Most major corporations also have international offices. Though there is some chance for transferring overseas, the bulk of engineers in a region are from that area.

Finally, there are a number of smaller companies that produce many different types of basic computing and telecommunications equipment.

Roles in the Field

Electronic engineers may find themselves working in many different fields, but the majority will end up designing computers, communications and other products often considered electronics. Computers and communication employ more engineers than other areas. Computer makers may find themselves building PCs, but many of these so-called commodity products are now being designed and manufactured overseas.

While U.S. product developers still have some role to play even in these commodity areas, more American engineers will be designing larger computers such as workstations and supercomputers, which are intended for more technical work. Workstations are a common tool for engineers who design chips and other complex gear, while supercomputers are used by weather forecasters and defense engineers who design bombs and other equipment. Both applications deal with millions of elements that interact with each other in incredibly complicated, sometimes inscrutable ways.

Many working engineers will also be integrating these computers into larger systems, either networks or computer systems based on a number of PCs or workstations working in parallel. Most businesses today have networks, and there's a small but growing trend towards linking several PCs together to address complex tasks such as developing new pharmaceuticals. IBM, HP, Dell, Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics are among the many companies in this field.

Communications has become a huge field. It includes the vast network of telephone lines, broadband networks and even communication satellites. People making phone calls, using the Internet or watching cable TV are employing these products. Scientists and surveillance personnel who use satellite communications and monitor phone lines comprise another facet of the broad communications field. There's a vast infrastructure needed to make phone calls and Internet connections a part of everyday life. Electronic switches route connections, transmission gear sends those signals over long distances and power supplies keep these components running. Major corporations in communications include Cisco Systems, 3Com, Tellabs, Qualcomm and SBC.