# Electrical Engineers

> Research, design, develop, test, or supervise the manufacturing and installation of electrical equipment, components, or systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use.

- **SOC code:** 17-2071.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2071-00
- **Also known as:** Design Engineer, Electrical Design Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Project Engineer, Circuits Engineer, Electrical Controls Engineer, Electrical Project Engineer, Engineer
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- 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.
- Investigate or test vendors' or competitors' products.
- Collect data relating to commercial or residential development, population, or power system interconnection to determine operating efficiency of electrical systems.
- Inspect completed installations and observe operations to ensure conformance to design and equipment specifications and compliance with operational, safety, or environmental standards.
- Develop systems that produce electricity with renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, or biofuels.
- Investigate customer or public complaints to determine the nature and extent of problems.
- Prepare technical drawings, specifications of electrical systems, or topographical maps to ensure that installation and operations conform to standards and customer requirements.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Engineering and Technology _(knowledge)_
- Computers and Electronics _(knowledge)_
- Writing _(essential_skill)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Design _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Autodesk AutoCAD _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Autodesk Revit _(hot technology, in demand)_
- C++ _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Python _(hot technology, in demand)_
- The MathWorks MATLAB _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Apache Subversion SVN _(hot technology)_
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D _(hot technology)_
- Bash _(hot technology)_
- Bentley MicroStation _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 60th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 79th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 70th percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 33rd percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 29th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 7.2% growth (Growing fast); 11.7k annual openings; 192k → 205.7k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $111,910; 188,790 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 25% automation, 45% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 4.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** task iteration.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Estimate labor, material, or construction costs for budget preparation purposes. _(2.1% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Investigate customer or public complaints to determine the nature and extent of problems. _(1.1% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Integrate electrical systems with renewable energy systems to improve overall efficiency. _(0.8% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Conduct field surveys or study maps, graphs, diagrams, or other data to identify and correct power system problems. _(0.7% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Collect data relating to commercial or residential development, population, or power system interconnection to determine operating efficiency of electrical systems. _(0.5% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Prepare technical drawings, specifications of electrical systems, or topographical maps to ensure that installation and operations conform to standards and customer requirements. _(0.4% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Develop systems that produce electricity using renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, or biofuels. _(0.3% of measured AI use)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me estimate labor, material, or construction costs for budget preparation purposes.
- Help me investigate customer or public complaints to determine the nature and extent of problems.
- Help me integrate electrical systems with renewable energy systems to improve overall efficiency.
- Help me conduct field surveys or study maps, graphs, diagrams, or other data to identify and correct power system problems.
- Help me collect data relating to commercial or residential development, population, or power system interconnection to determine operating efficiency of electrical systems.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2071-00_