How are you reading this blog article right now? Are you using your phone, tablet, computer, or watch? Well, how do these devices function? What goes into lighting up the display screen, taking a photo, or using Touch ID? What about the electricity that runs through your home? We're able to live our lives with ease thanks to the amazing work of electrical engineers!
In simple terms, electrical engineers design, build, and test all sorts of things related to electricity. This ranges from power systems—like the electricity that powers your home—to electronics, such as your computers and phones, and to control systems, including robots, cars, and rockets.
We often associate the word "electronic" with wires, power plugs, voltages, and so on—and that's normal! However, the work of electrical engineers spans far beyond just that. Beyond working with circuit boards and power gates, electrical engineers can also work in more theoretical fields involving advanced math and computer science. In fact, some electrical engineers spend most of their day in office-like labs, typing away on computers. So, if you've avoided electrical engineering because of hands-on experiments, don’t close the door just yet!
To give you more context, here is a list of common areas of work in electrical engineering:
- Power systems: Designing, developing, and maintaining power generation and distribution systems. This includes power plants, electrical grids, and renewable energy.
- Electronics: Developing electrical components and small devices such as circuits for phones, computers, or even medical equipment.
- Control systems: Studying how systems behave, building automated machines, and analyzing feedback mechanisms. This includes robots, cars, and factories.
- Signal processing: Cleaning and analyzing signals like audio, video, and ECG recordings. If you enjoy working with data, this could be the field for you!
- Telecommunications: Designing and implementing communication systems.Electromagnetism: Studying the interactions between electricity and magnetism, including electric currents, magnetic fields, energy transfer, and electromagnetic waves (e.g., radio, sound, and light).
To sum it up, electrical engineering is the study of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism.
Skills include:
- Circuit design and analysis
- Programming (Python, C++, MATLAB, etc.)
- Simulation tools (MATLAB...)
- Microcontrollers and embedded systems
- Control theory and signal processing
- Systems (dynamical, linear and nonlinear...)
- Power and renewable energy technology
- Electromagnetics
- Digital logic
Career paths include:
- Tech companies (Apple, Intel, Tesla...)
- Utility companies (i.e., electricity providers)
- Aerospace and defense (NASA...)
- Automotive industry (self-driving cars)
- Medical device companies
- AI companies
- Research labs and universities
你现在是如何阅读这篇博客文章的？ 你是在用手机、平板、电脑，还是手表？那么，这些设备是如何运作的呢？是什么让屏幕发光、拍照和使用指纹识别成为可能？那家里流动的电又是怎么来的？我们今天能够如此轻松地生活，全都要感谢电气工程师的杰出贡献！
简单来说，电气工程师负责设计、建造和测试与电相关的各种设备和系统。这包括从为你家供电的电力系统，到电子产品（如电脑和手机），再到控制系统（比如机器人、汽车和火箭）等。
我们通常会把“电子”这个词和电线、电源插头、电压等联系起来，这很正常！但其实电气工程师的工作远远不止这些。除了在电路板和电力装置方面的工作，他们还可能从事涉及大量数学和计算机科学的理论研究工作。事实上，一些电气工程师的工作内容主要是在办公室或实验室中使用电脑进行编程和建模。所以，如果你曾因为动手实验而对电气工程却步，现在不要急着关上这扇门！
为了让你更了解这个领域，以下是电气工程常见的几个工作方向：
- 电力系统：设计、开发和维护发电和输配电系统，包括电厂、电网和可再生能源系统。
- 电子学：开发电气组件，并制造用于手机、电脑甚至医疗设备的小型电子设备。
- 控制系统：研究系统的行为，开发自动化机器，并分析反馈机制。应用领域包括机器人、汽车和工厂自动化。
- 信号处理：处理和分析音频、视频和心电图（ECG）等信号。如果你喜欢与数据打交道，这可能是你的方向！
- 通信系统：设计并实现电话、互联网、无线通信等通信系统。
- 电磁学：研究电与磁之间的相互作用，包括电流、磁场、能量传输以及电磁波（例如无线电、声音和光）。
总的来说，电气工程是研究电力、电子技术和电磁现象的学科。
所需技能包括：
- 电路设计与分析
- 编程（Python、C++、MATLAB 等）
- 仿真工具（如 MATLAB）
- 微控制器与嵌入式系统
- 控制理论与信号处理
- 动态系统（线性与非线性）
- 电力与可再生能源技术
- 电磁学基础
- 数字逻辑设计
职业路径包括：
- 科技公司（如 Apple、Intel、Tesla 等）
- 公用事业公司（如电力供应商）
- 航空航天与国防机构（如 NASA、波音等）
- 汽车行业（如自动驾驶技术）
- 医疗设备公司
- 人工智能公司
- 研究实验室与大学