What classes in college are needed for a career in Electrical Engineering?

Question

Im trying to figure out what classes are needed for a career in Electrical Engineering. I heard that the classes are intense and that I wont even have to take English or anything like that because I'll have to be in like, 3 years of Chem, and classes like that. Does anyone know the classes that are required and how many years?? Any info would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

The main courses will be math (Calculus 1, 2, 3, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra) and physics 1-3. Also some programming and chemistry. To these courses you can add some intro to engineering courses (circuits, materials science, statics, etc) which may vary for every school.



English is a must. For many of your courses you'll need to spend hours writing lab reports, which might need to be highly technical. You will also need to learn how to communicate no matter how smart you are, if you can't work with a team, you are useless for a company.



As a degree requirement you'll have to take a bunch of general education courses (history, arts, english, communications, etc).



Ideally the degree would be completed in 4 years. Realistically, most people take 5, or even 6 years to do so.

Answer 2

You said,

"I wont even have to take English or anything like that because I'll have to be in like,...."



You are in for a rude awakening. You WILL have to take two semesters of English. You WILL have to take 6 to 8 other courses in the Humanities, Arts, Literature, History, and other Social Sciences.



Engineering is a lot more than just taking Science, Math, Computer and Electrical courses. Engineering is about DESIGN. You need English and the other so-called soft sciences because you have to tell others of your ideas and work in a way that they can understand them. You have to interact with people. You DO NOT sit in front of a computer all day looking at the screen. You can have the greatest idea for an invention that will make a gazillion dollars, but if you cannot tell others about it or write about it then your ideas are worthless.



If you think that once you get a job as an engineer that you will get to play with all the latest and greatest "toys" and technology, well that just doesn't happen. Those whom you work for will never give you "enough" money, materials and resources that you think you need to develop your product. You will be expected to produce tomorrow's stuff with the dinosaur equipment of yesteryear. You will need great people skills to get the company to reluctantly give you just a little bit more.



The soft sciences help you with those skills. Quite often your boss, or the boss of your boss will NOT have a technical background. And he will be proud of it. Again, the soft sciences help you there. The soft sciences also help you motivate you in the selection of new ideas.



Also, be sure to have a life and hobbies OUTSIDE of school classes. These also do a lot for your people skills.



Read Chapter 7 of "Electrical Engineering 101 - Everything You Should Have Learned In School But Probably didn't" by Darren Ashley. The title of Chapter 7 is "Touchy-Feely Stuff".



Good luck!!!

Answer 3

Check the course catalog at the university you want to go to. These will typically list the required curriculum for each major. Ex:



http://catalog.tamu.edu/09-10_UG_Catalog/look_engineering/electrical_eng.htm



For electrical engineering, you won't take 3 years of chemistry. You will probably take 1 semester of chemistry and a couple of physics. Electrical engineering does require a lot of math though. You will most likely take 2-3 levels of calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra.



Misc. classes like humanities will depend on the university. Most will have some "core" curriculum that all students are required to fulfill. Some specific classes are required, but for others you can pick from categories. Ex:



http://catalog.tamu.edu/09-10_UG_Catalog/gen_info/university_core_curriculum/specific_requirements.htm



Beyond that, you will take major-specific classes. For electrical engineering, this would include circuit design, computer science, signal analysis, etc. Engineering majors will have a senior design class where they work on a large project that incorporates a lot of what you've learned in other classes.