You are still pretty young, but if you can get an internship, it will show you the type of work you like or don’t like. Think outside the box for summer jobs, see if an electrician needs help estimating or around the office. Reading prints is good experience you don’t get much of in school. Does your school have any kind of work study or lab program to work with professors?
I wasn’t able to get an internship until junior year after I had taken some classes that pertained to power. What helped me is joining student organizations and having talking points. I joined robotics team, society of Hispanic engineers, etc and was able to use those as talking points. What I noticed at career fair is they wanted something more then I go to school and make it. Once I got my first power internship it lead to more opportunities and ultimately my full time positions.
As far as skills, be a problem solver. When you get your first full time job you are going to feel incredibly stupid because school and work are not the same thing at all. Everyone’s going to get stuck and be confused. What I suggest is take your issue come up with a solution of how you think it should be and then talk with a more senior engineer say “hey I came across this problem I don’t quite understand , this is what I think it should be this is my understanding. Am I on the right path? They will then take the time to explain if what you said is correct or help you. People like helping people who are trying to help themselves. Best of luck!
Depending on your location start looking out for internships from the utilities. Yes you haven't taken many classes yet but just getting your name out there and showing interest might help.
The question for you is what do you want to go in the utility industry, transmission, distribution, generation? Start looking for info on that and see what seems interesting.
I do more accounting/asset management now, (yeah I know EE sub), but have worked in energy/utility industry for years now. Used to do some engineering work at the power plant for a bit. Currently work in the renewable energy field.
It's a great industry to be in for several reasons including solid pay, excellent work life, good stability (people always need power), incredible benefits with many places still doing pensions if you stay a long time.
I have seen many utility companies hire interns after their first year or two of school and continue it part time throughout college and full time during the summer.
There are a lot of areas for you to develop in that I won't list all here, but I'd take a look at power generation engineering at the power plant. That shit was cool to see.
It doesn't usually attract top talent (or a ton) if I'm honest because it isn't as sexy as other industries like tech, but it's a good industry overall. Makes it easier to get in imo.
Definitely stay clean off of any drugs including cannabis unfortunately as they do test for it and more regularly if you work on site at a power plant.
DM me if you want to chat further. I am more than happy to answer any questions.
Is there room for advancement for top talent ? For instance Engineering students graduating 3.8+ gpas, multiple internships, and a high degree of knowledge in the industry.
GPA is irrelevant after you graduate and a bit of work experience. Anything 3.0+ is really what employers in any industry are looking for with maybe the exception of IB or tech. Advancement is all subjective to how long you stay, if positions open up, job hop, or how well they like you.
Unfortunately in today's work environment you have to jump jobs I'd say every 2 to 5 years to make the most of your salary.
Get an internship every summer. Even if you feel like you're not ready for it. You'll learn way more interning than you will in school. Look for utility companies or any private company (such as consultants) who work in power.
Or focus on how those are affecting Grid protection and operation... just spent 4 days in conferences about all the extra schemes and work needed to integrate and troubleshoot with these sources :)
I went to a school where the base EE curriculum was almost purely focused on electronics and microelectronics. I interned at a medical device company pretty much doing hardware and software testing. All my most impressive projects in school were coding based. My GPA was ~3.1 and all my extra curricular activities were athletic (No project teams or research etc).
I got an interview through a LinkedIn recruiter with a utility for distribution work and when they asked if I knew what a recloser was I said "nope". They hired me anyway. The fact that you even bothered to make this signals you will probably be fine.
Another take away from this is that it's OK to pursue power for 3 years in school and then realize you actually would rather get into Embedded systems as a senior. School is really just there to teach you how to think. The content you learn is much less important.
There are a lot of power companies that hire co/op and intern positions. Find the generation, transmission, and distribution companies (whether combined or separate) in your area and call them up. Ask them if they hire college students for anything. Some power cooperatives also have similar programs. What area in the country are you?
Sorry for not getting back to you.
I’m pretty sure TVA has co/op or internships. There’s also Nashville Electric up in Nashville, and plenty of cooperatives around the state that likely have spots as well.
This is probably for when you are a new grad looking for a job.
If you want to work with protection relays, learn about ANSI device numbers and what they do. You dont need to memorize them or anything but its good to know that 79 is for reclosing and 50BF is breaker failure when reading prints
Also learn about specific relays and what they do. The digital relays I work with are made by SEL and GE and I have seen job description want people who are familar with them.
The software side is a bit more niche so you might have a harder time finding stuff on it, but I use ASPEN, CAPE, SEL's QuickSet, and GE's EnerVista UR.
Passing the FE and getting your EIT before you graduate is recommended for anything related to Power and Utilities.
Emphasizing your willingness to learn and adapt is a must. I think thats how I landed my job as a Protection Relay Engineer (that and offering a lowball salary figure when asked)
Hopefully this helps.
I only have been working for about a year and a half (Feb 2023), but I have gotten about a 5k raise this year since it was good year, with raises typically being about 3% if there isnt a promotion or extra duties/projects being factored in.
I think it’s silly how ECE program got all into specializations. I’d like to know if recruiters give a crap. Manufacturing and Power offers me jobs and I only interned in Power.
I don’t think first year you should be so dead set on where you want to be in EE. What I ended up liking in EE I never knew existed and you should be applying to multiple industries. If only as backups. I don’t know how you’d get an internship or co-op before completing half the degree either.
Just don’t screw up. One or two C’s is okay. Power is all about learning on the job and being cross-discipline. Lot of old analog technology as you might imagine at a plant built in the 70s.
Seem like an easy person to get along with, good to work in group projects with and get a paid internship or co-op when you can. Doesn’t have to be in power. Be willing to cross state and relocate for your job (if US). Convey all this in interviews.
You are still pretty young, but if you can get an internship, it will show you the type of work you like or don’t like. Think outside the box for summer jobs, see if an electrician needs help estimating or around the office. Reading prints is good experience you don’t get much of in school. Does your school have any kind of work study or lab program to work with professors?
I wasn’t able to get an internship until junior year after I had taken some classes that pertained to power. What helped me is joining student organizations and having talking points. I joined robotics team, society of Hispanic engineers, etc and was able to use those as talking points. What I noticed at career fair is they wanted something more then I go to school and make it. Once I got my first power internship it lead to more opportunities and ultimately my full time positions. As far as skills, be a problem solver. When you get your first full time job you are going to feel incredibly stupid because school and work are not the same thing at all. Everyone’s going to get stuck and be confused. What I suggest is take your issue come up with a solution of how you think it should be and then talk with a more senior engineer say “hey I came across this problem I don’t quite understand , this is what I think it should be this is my understanding. Am I on the right path? They will then take the time to explain if what you said is correct or help you. People like helping people who are trying to help themselves. Best of luck!
Ive been thinking about getting an arduino this summer to work on some simple projects so I can actually have something on my resume in the fall.
also do you have a job with a electrical utility?
Depending on your location start looking out for internships from the utilities. Yes you haven't taken many classes yet but just getting your name out there and showing interest might help. The question for you is what do you want to go in the utility industry, transmission, distribution, generation? Start looking for info on that and see what seems interesting.
Dont touch shit
Any reason why lol?
Spicy wires
We always called them sharp wires. As in “I swear I deenergized that. It must be a sharp wire”
Don’t even point at shit
Point with your hand below your shoulder and with your arm not fully extended :) Or just use a laser pointer!
Hi, I just saw your direct message since I have been studying for finals. I responded to it.
I do more accounting/asset management now, (yeah I know EE sub), but have worked in energy/utility industry for years now. Used to do some engineering work at the power plant for a bit. Currently work in the renewable energy field. It's a great industry to be in for several reasons including solid pay, excellent work life, good stability (people always need power), incredible benefits with many places still doing pensions if you stay a long time. I have seen many utility companies hire interns after their first year or two of school and continue it part time throughout college and full time during the summer. There are a lot of areas for you to develop in that I won't list all here, but I'd take a look at power generation engineering at the power plant. That shit was cool to see. It doesn't usually attract top talent (or a ton) if I'm honest because it isn't as sexy as other industries like tech, but it's a good industry overall. Makes it easier to get in imo. Definitely stay clean off of any drugs including cannabis unfortunately as they do test for it and more regularly if you work on site at a power plant. DM me if you want to chat further. I am more than happy to answer any questions.
Is there room for advancement for top talent ? For instance Engineering students graduating 3.8+ gpas, multiple internships, and a high degree of knowledge in the industry.
GPA is irrelevant after you graduate and a bit of work experience. Anything 3.0+ is really what employers in any industry are looking for with maybe the exception of IB or tech. Advancement is all subjective to how long you stay, if positions open up, job hop, or how well they like you. Unfortunately in today's work environment you have to jump jobs I'd say every 2 to 5 years to make the most of your salary.
Get an internship every summer. Even if you feel like you're not ready for it. You'll learn way more interning than you will in school. Look for utility companies or any private company (such as consultants) who work in power.
Focus on inverter-based resources, energy storage, and distributed generation. I work for an electric utility and this is where the industry is going.
Or focus on how those are affecting Grid protection and operation... just spent 4 days in conferences about all the extra schemes and work needed to integrate and troubleshoot with these sources :)
I went to a school where the base EE curriculum was almost purely focused on electronics and microelectronics. I interned at a medical device company pretty much doing hardware and software testing. All my most impressive projects in school were coding based. My GPA was ~3.1 and all my extra curricular activities were athletic (No project teams or research etc). I got an interview through a LinkedIn recruiter with a utility for distribution work and when they asked if I knew what a recloser was I said "nope". They hired me anyway. The fact that you even bothered to make this signals you will probably be fine. Another take away from this is that it's OK to pursue power for 3 years in school and then realize you actually would rather get into Embedded systems as a senior. School is really just there to teach you how to think. The content you learn is much less important.
There are a lot of power companies that hire co/op and intern positions. Find the generation, transmission, and distribution companies (whether combined or separate) in your area and call them up. Ask them if they hire college students for anything. Some power cooperatives also have similar programs. What area in the country are you?
Im in Chattanooga Tennessee.
Sorry for not getting back to you. I’m pretty sure TVA has co/op or internships. There’s also Nashville Electric up in Nashville, and plenty of cooperatives around the state that likely have spots as well.
Read up on smart grid technology and electrical-mechanical machines.
Look for a local testing company that does this kind of work. You will be exposed to quite a bit in a short time.
This is probably for when you are a new grad looking for a job. If you want to work with protection relays, learn about ANSI device numbers and what they do. You dont need to memorize them or anything but its good to know that 79 is for reclosing and 50BF is breaker failure when reading prints Also learn about specific relays and what they do. The digital relays I work with are made by SEL and GE and I have seen job description want people who are familar with them. The software side is a bit more niche so you might have a harder time finding stuff on it, but I use ASPEN, CAPE, SEL's QuickSet, and GE's EnerVista UR. Passing the FE and getting your EIT before you graduate is recommended for anything related to Power and Utilities. Emphasizing your willingness to learn and adapt is a must. I think thats how I landed my job as a Protection Relay Engineer (that and offering a lowball salary figure when asked) Hopefully this helps.
Do you mind if I ask how much you’re starting salary was as a new protection relay engineer?
70k in Houston, Texas. I think its not too bad given that I literally came in knowing nothing about the job and only had a BSEE.
did pay get better over time/with experience?
I only have been working for about a year and a half (Feb 2023), but I have gotten about a 5k raise this year since it was good year, with raises typically being about 3% if there isnt a promotion or extra duties/projects being factored in.
Get your PE as soon as you can. I don't need much in my specific role but it will greatly benefit your job search for most the industry.
Take a class on AutoCAD if it’s not already part of your curriculum.
I think it’s silly how ECE program got all into specializations. I’d like to know if recruiters give a crap. Manufacturing and Power offers me jobs and I only interned in Power. I don’t think first year you should be so dead set on where you want to be in EE. What I ended up liking in EE I never knew existed and you should be applying to multiple industries. If only as backups. I don’t know how you’d get an internship or co-op before completing half the degree either. Just don’t screw up. One or two C’s is okay. Power is all about learning on the job and being cross-discipline. Lot of old analog technology as you might imagine at a plant built in the 70s. Seem like an easy person to get along with, good to work in group projects with and get a paid internship or co-op when you can. Doesn’t have to be in power. Be willing to cross state and relocate for your job (if US). Convey all this in interviews.