Skills
Electrical Engineer Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in electrical engineers, and how to build and show them.
What skills do electrical engineers need?
Electrical Engineers need technical skills such as circuit design, power systems, and control systems, plus people skills like problem solving and attention to detail. They also use tools such as ETAP or SKM and AutoCAD Electrical.
Technical (hard) skills
- Circuit design
- Power systems
- Control systems
- Electrical codes
- Simulation
- Testing
People (soft) skills
- Problem solving
- Attention to detail
- Communication
- Teamwork
Tools, equipment and technology
- ETAP or SKM
- AutoCAD Electrical
- SPICE simulation
- MATLAB
- Oscilloscopes
- PLC software
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how electrical engineers put their skills to work:
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Circuit design” and “Power systems.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “problem solving,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as Engineer in Training (EIT) near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our electrical engineer glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Electrical Engineer training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.