For engineering students in the United States, electrical and electronic engineering (EE) is the first choice, so what is the EE major in the United States? How is the employment situation? What schools can apply? The following 86 details are introduced to you.

1. Professional introduction

Electrical and electronic engineering is an interdisciplinary subject, covering mathematics, physics, circuits, computer science, biomedicine and other disciplines, with a wide range of knowledge. Electrical and electronic engineering is the core and key subject in modern science and technology. The great progress of electronic technology has promoted the arrival of the information age based on computer network, and will change the way of human life and work. It is also a popular major in the United States after CS. Among them, electricity focuses on strong electricity, and electronics is weak information.

In the name of institutions, some electrical engineering schools in American universities are called electrical engineering, such as Stanford. Some are called electrical engineering and information science, others are called electrical engineering and computer science, such as Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The research of EE specialty is divided into three levels: system, device and material. Traditional professors in China think that EE should be system-oriented, mainly because there is not so much research funds invested in devices and materials, and they think that these aspects of research can not directly produce economic benefits; Research at the system level pays off quickly. Of course, this view has also changed in China in recent years, mainly because VLSI is particularly popular and everyone is engaged in IC.

However, the professor of EE in the United States thinks that EE should take devices as the core and extend upward and downward respectively, which are called systems and materials. In other words, EE should focus on the physical level. Although China's traditional understanding of communication and signal processing has been popular in recent years, it is only because their application market and industrial prospects are very good, but it is not the mainstream of EE.

2. Professional branches

(1) Communication and Network

Communication and network is one of the hottest subjects at present, including wireless network and optical network, mobile network, quantum and optical communication, information theory, network security, network protocol and architecture, interactive communication, Internet performance modeling and analysis, distributed cache system, open programmable network, routing algorithm, multicast protocol, VoIP, bandwidth efficient modulation and coding system, error control theory and application in network, and multidimensional information and communication theory. Feature extraction, transmission and storage of information and information network in various media, including atmosphere, space, optical brazing, cable and other media. This direction widely intersects with signal processing, computer, control and optics.

(2) Computer Science and Engineering

Computer science and engineering involve a wide range of fields, including computer graphics, computer vision technology, spoken language system, medical robots, medical vision, mobile robots, applied artificial intelligence, bio-inspired robots and their models. Medical decision-making system, computer-aided automation, computer architecture, network and mobile system, parallel and distributed operating system, programming methodology, programmable system research, supercomputing technology, complexity theory, computing and biology, cryptography and information security, distributed system theory, advanced network architecture, parallel server and runtime system; Parallel input and output and disk structure, parallel system, distributed database and transaction system, online analytical processing and performance analysis in data mining.

(3) System control

System control includes robust and optimal control, robust multivariable control system, large-scale dynamic system, multivariable system identification, manufacturing system, minimax control and dynamic game, adaptive system of control and signal processing, stochastic system, design of linear and nonlinear evaluation, stochastic and adaptive control, etc.

(4) signal processing

Signal processing technology is the foundation of modern electronic and electrical engineering. Including sound and language signal processing, image and video signal processing, biomedical imaging and visualization, imaging array and array signal processing, adaptive and time-varying signal processing, signal processing theory, VLSI architecture, real-time software, statistical signal processing, nonlinear signal processing and nonlinear system identification, filter library and wavelet transform theory, disordered signal processing, fractal and morphological signal processing.

(5) Electronics and integrated circuits

This field includes microelectronics and micromechanics, nanoelectronics, superconducting circuits, circuit simulation and device modeling, integrated circuit (IC) design, signal processing in large-scale integrated circuits, integrated circuit design easy to manufacture, integrated circuit design methodology, A/D and D/A converters, digital and analog circuits, digital wireless systems, RF circuits, high electron transfer transistors, avalanche photocells and so on.

(6) Photonics and optics

In the United States, photonics and optics belong to one of the key directions of the Department of Electrical and Electronics. This field includes photoelectric devices, ultrafast electronics, nonlinear optics, micro-anatomy, three-dimensional vision, optical communication, soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet optics, optical printing, optical data processing, optical communication, optical calculation, optical data storage, optical system design and holography, volume holography research, composite optical digital data processing, image processing and material optical properties research.

(7) Power technology

This aspect mainly includes electrical materials science and semiconductor science, power electronics and devices, motors, electric vehicles, power system dynamics and stability, economic operation of power system, real-time control, electric energy conversion, high voltage engineering and so on.

(8) Electromagnetic

This includes satellite communication, microwave electronics, remote sensing, radio astronomy, radar antenna, electromagnetic wave theory and application, radio and optical system, optics and quantum electronics, short-wave laser, optical information processing, superconducting electronics, microwave magnetism, interaction between electromagnetic field and biological medium, microwave and millimeter-wave circuits, microwave digital circuit design, satellite imaging processing of earth remote sensing, submillimeter-wavelet atmospheric imaging radiation measurement, vector finite element method, and material electrical property measurement.

(9) Microstructure

As the origin of microelectronics revolution, solid-state electronic technology has now produced another new and important technical field-MEMS. MEMS is an extremely cross-cutting field, which has great influence on many engineering and scientific fields, especially electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, biological engineering and so on. Recent research shows that micromachining provides a powerful tool to promote the frontier development of chemical engineering, material engineering, biology and physical chemistry. The most basic aspects of MEMS are the machining knowledge of micro-manufacturing technology and the method of manufacturing microstructure. It is MEMS technology that enables us to manufacture ultrasonic micro-jet and micron-scale motor, nano-scale scanning tunneling microscope on silicon wafer, and micro-maze for measuring sperm cell activity.

(10) bioengineering

Biology and life science are one of the most active subjects in the 2 1 century. Using electrical and electronic technology to study biological life is one of the characteristics of electrical disciplines in American and European universities. This aspect includes biological instruments, biosensors, computational neural networks, biomedical ultrasound, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), signal transmission and coding in nervous system, interaction between high-energy particles and biological substances, clinical application of high-energy particle beams and high-energy X-rays in the treatment of tumors, medical imaging, biological image processing, magnetic resonance imaging, emission computed tomography (PET and SPET), ultrasonic imaging, Three-dimensional reconstruction of ultrasonic imaging, feature extraction of cardiac imaging, attenuation correction in PET/SPET imaging, neuromicroelectronic interface, intravascular imaging, sensory assistance system for deaf-mute patients, blind reader, automatic language recognition.

(1 1) materials and equipment

Electrical and electronic materials and devices are one of the important disciplines of electrical science in American and European universities. This discipline includes photoelectric device simulation, nano-structure electronics, semiconductors and microelectronics, magnetic materials, dielectric materials and optical materials and their devices, solid state physics and its applications, small mechanical structures and their actuators, micromechanical and nano-mechanical devices, physical, chemical and biological sensors, device physics and its characterization, equipment modeling and simulation, nano-manufacturing and new devices, micro-machining and superconducting electronics.

3. Who is suitable for the application?

The number of applicants for EE major has increased sharply year by year, and many students who changed their major have applied. Generally speaking, applying for EE should have a good engineering background, excellent and solid mathematical and physical background, good experimental and analytical skills, proficient use of computer software and certain programming skills. This major is suitable for undergraduates who have studied basic or specialized courses including mathematical analysis, college physics, programming, analog and digital electricity, engineering mathematics, probability and statistics, signal and communication system, digital signal processing, automatic control and so on. In addition, students who have rich research experience or papers in the field of electrical and electronic engineering are more likely to be favored by prestigious schools. For example, the University of Pennsylvania especially likes to admit students who have published papers.

Generally speaking, undergraduates majoring in electronic engineering, electrical engineering and automation, communication engineering, optical science and microelectronics are considered as graduate students applying for EE. It is also common for physics department to apply for electromagnetic wave and microelectronics, computer major to apply for signal processing, and mechanical engineering to apply for automatic control.

However, there are many small directions under the electrician and electronics, and each small direction has a different ability to focus. Communication direction needs basic knowledge of signal processing and certain programming ability; Robot direction needs basic knowledge and programming ability of automatic control; System control needs generalization and system knowledge; Digital signal processing needs programming ability, and often needs the combination of generalization and biomedical knowledge; The circuit direction needs the theory and experimental practice of analog, digital, analog and digital integrated circuits; Power technology needs strong current and automatic control theory; There are many intersections between optical science and physics, and engineering problems are solved by using optical foundation; Materials and solid-state electronics are also more inclined to physical theory.

4. Employment prospects

Electrical Engineering (EE) in the United States is a very popular major in applying for studying in the United States, especially the application for EE graduate programs, and the competition is very fierce in recent years. On the one hand, due to the increasingly severe employment situation at home and abroad, graduates want to make themselves better in the competition and choose to study abroad. On the other hand, the employment prospect of electrical engineering (EE) major is very good, and the salary is optimistic compared with other majors.

Most electrical engineering majors train senior technical talents, so the graduates of this major have a wide range of choices and strong employment adaptability. Generally speaking, graduate students majoring in electrical engineering can play an important role in the fields of system operation, automatic control, information processing, experimental technology, research and development, economic management and application related to electrical engineering, and can also engage in power design, construction, commissioning, production, operation, management, market operation, scientific and technological development and technical training in power plants, power supply bureaus, power grid dispatching stations and other enterprises at all levels, or engage in maintenance and repair of electrical equipment. In addition, graduates of this major can also engage in electrical technology work in other industries.

At present, large state-owned power generation groups include: China Huaneng Group, China Datang Group, China Huadian Group, China Guodian Group and China Power Investment Group. Power grid companies include: State Grid Corporation and China Southern Power Grid Corporation. Electrical equipment manufacturers include: Shanghai Power Station, Xinjiang TBEA, etc. There are also some well-known multinational companies, such as Siemens, ABB, Schneider, Areva, Vestas and so on. These are undoubtedly very attractive to students majoring in EE, but the employment scope of EE is not limited to this. Take North China Electric Power University as an example. In recent years, the employment rate of electrical graduates has reached over 94%. However, due to the large number of graduates in this major, the competition is bound to be fierce and the requirements for competitors will be higher and higher. For example, the campus recruitment conditions of State Grid Corporation and China Southern Power Grid Corporation have become more stringent, and candidates must be graduates majoring in electrical engineering from national key universities. If possible, it is wise to study for graduate students, especially to get diplomas from some famous foreign engineering schools. It is not difficult to see that it is necessary to have a good development, a professional counterpart, and a prestigious school background.

In addition, when recruiting American graduate students majoring in EE, the admissions unit will also consider the specific professional direction of the graduates. According to statistics, there are more than a dozen branches under EE, so direction matching has also become the audit condition for recruiting units.

Employment direction

Electric power company

Among them, State Grid Corporation, China Southern Power Grid Corporation and the five major power generation companies? Electrical graduates prefer Datang, Huaneng, Guodian, Huadian and China Power Investment Corporation. However, the requirements of these famous enterprises for talents are also quite high and the competition is extremely fierce. If you have had the experience of studying in famous overseas schools, I believe you can lay a certain foundation for becoming a member of these enterprises. There are also some students who choose provincial and municipal power companies, power supply companies or power supply bureaus for personal reasons. These choices are relatively more realistic and the treatment is good. However, if you want to develop well in such a place, your comprehensive quality is very important. It can be said that famous foreign universities are better than ordinary domestic graduate students, and domestic graduate students are better than ordinary undergraduates. After such competition, everyone should know where to put himself.

At present, domestic power generation companies mainly include Datang, Guodian, Huadian, Huaneng, CLP, Ertan, Three Gorges and Wuling. Large power plants and nuclear power plants mainly include Guangdong Nuclear Power Plant and China Nuclear Power Plant.

Electric power design institute or research institute

It is worth mentioning that design institutes and research institutes have always been regarded as talent fields with graduate education or above, mainly engaged in the design, field debugging, testing, data reporting, research and other work of power plants, substations and lines, with little work pressure, but the salary is quite rich. As I said just now, if this place is not commendable, don't spend energy. Therefore, it is suggested that those students who join the postgraduate entrance examination army should not be trampled by tens of thousands of postgraduate entrance examination troops every year and go abroad to have a look. This is another world.

Engineering bureau or something

Relatively speaking, the work may be hard and will be constantly mobilized with the location of the project, but the treatment is still considerable. Their job nature is mainly responsible for power plant construction and substation construction.

American graduate students majoring in EE go to work in some electrical equipment companies. According to statistics, more than half of the graduates majoring in electrical engineering will engage in power system-related work, and most of them choose to enter some large and medium-sized electrical equipment companies, automation companies and communication equipment companies to engage in research and development, technical support and project management. Of course, some equipment manufacturing companies also need EE professionals very much. Transformers, generators, switches and other equipment are important products of these companies. At the same time, electrical equipment, automobile, railway, lighting, communication, chemical industry and other industries also need EE talents. From this point of view, people who study EE really don't worry about finding a job, but whether they can find a job that satisfies them depends on their own quality.