Hiring Electrical Engineers

What do electrical engineers do?

• 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.
• Confer with engineers, customers, or others to discuss existing or potential engineering projects or products.

Core tasks, O*NET OnLine, 17-2071.00.

What does it take to become one?

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

O*NET Job Zone 4, SVP (7.0 to < 8.0). O*NET OnLine.

Employers commonly list experience with Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit, C++, ETAP, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software for this role.

What do electrical engineers get paid?

BLS OEWS, May 2025 publishes a wage for electrical engineers in 90 of the metro areas in this build. The median ranges from $91,180 to $187,060 a year depending on the metro, with a midpoint of $111,210. This is what employers pay, place of work, not a single national figure and not what any one person takes home.

BLS OEWS, BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 17-2071.

What does hiring one cost?

The same as any role: tier, not location or salary, sets the fee. Across all six tiers the published range is $6,240 to $54,340 per search. For scale, the highest published median for electrical engineers in this build is $187,060. A contingency firm hiring at that level would bill roughly $37,412 to $56,118 on the first year salary alone, 20 to 30%.

Frequently asked

How fast can a electrical engineers search fill?

23 to 35 days, 2 to 3x faster than a typical contingency search, per the recruiting provider's published figures.

What if the hire does not work out?

A 45-day replacement guarantee, at 50% off a repeat search for the same role.