EEs find jobs in a range of industries

Companies in defense, power, electronics and more all need EEs, and value diversity

"I feel the knowledge I acquired back in school was helpful for what I'm doing now." – Julio Hernandez, Cummins

By Dan Calabrese
Contributing Editor

Electrical engineering is a specialty with applications from high-tech electronics to power generation. An EE degree can lead to jobs with defense contractors, advanced research companies, automakers or semiconductor manufacturers. And many EEs work in the power field, at nuclear plants, utility companies and more.

Demand for EEs is ongoing. Students who get degrees in the field are often in a position to take advantage of opportunities with solid companies, especially if they did internships or co-op work during school.

Minority students like those profiled in this story cite their involvement in multi-cultural student organizations, particularly those with an engineering focus, for helping them develop the confidence, skills and aggressiveness to go after and obtain jobs in the field.

While electrical engineering was certainly not immune to the recession that took hold in 2008 and 2009, and hiring in the field declined in most states during those years, companies report that hiring is stronger in 2011. The states with the most demand for electrical engineers, according to placement firm Odin Jobs (Oakbrook Terrace, IL), are California, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. California has the most vibrant market by far, with more than 70,000 electrical engineers currently working in the field.

Diversity is a high priority
Diversity is important across the corporate spectrum. At Cummins, which designs and manufactures service engines and related technologies, Tim Solso, chair and CEO, says in a company video, "My definition of diversity is about differences, and it can be race or gender or country of origin and so forth. But it's also about types of education, where you grew up, family experiences and work experiences.

"The whole concept of managing diversity is to attract as many different people as you possibly can and have them work effectively together in resolving problems or accomplishing projects," Solso explains. "Building on the differences gives you a bigger variety of solutions than you get from people who are all very similar in background."

Thomas A. Fanning, president, CEO and chairman of electricity generator Southern Company (Atlanta, GA), agrees that diversity, as much as anything else, is a strategy for making the company perform better.

"Creating a workplace environment where people from varying perspectives and backgrounds can contribute to the best of their ability is why we value diversity at Southern Company," says Fanning. "We will improve our productivity and effectiveness, and we will eliminate barriers for people to realize their full potential. Honor, respect and appreciate our differences. That will help make us a better company."

Demand for EEs is rising
Major employers are planning to hire electrical engineers. Constellation Energy (Baltimore, MD), which recently made fulltime offers to several of its twenty-five graduating interns, expects an increase in demand for electrical engineers in the coming years, according to Scott W. Trapp, director of talent acquisition.

Grads also found a path to fulltime employment through co-ops at CenterPoint Energy (Houston, TX) this year. Of the nine electrical engineers hired, seven had been in the company's co-op program, according to spokesman Floyd LeBlanc.

American Electric Power (AEP, Columbus, OH) is aggressively seeking talent. "We are currently recruiting at select colleges and universities for electrical engineering students for our cooperative education programs in the generation, transmission and distribution business units," says Leslie Rittenhouse, corporate employment manager for AEP.

Pamela Mendoza: reliability engineer at CenterPoint Energy
Professional networking is a major component of Pamela Mendoza's career success at CenterPoint Energy, a domestic energy delivery company. "Networking helps me master current tasks and find opportunities for the future," she says. Mendoza is one of a group of employees who coordinate networking events for training, career advice and community service within several engineering departments.

Mendoza is no stranger to networking. As an undergrad at Texas A&M University (College Station, TX), she was an active member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). That's where she first discovered the value of asking for help, and even more important, knowing who to ask for guidance.

"SHPE is a great organization, and we had a very active chapter," Mendoza recalls. "We brought in companies to talk to the students about current opportunities, and to help with professional development."

SHPE helped Mendoza gain confidence as well. "The national career fairs and conferences made me more comfortable in interview settings," Mendoza says. "When I got the interview with CenterPoint, it felt like a conversation, much easier than I expected."

Mendoza landed a co-op opportunity in substation engineering at CenterPoint Energy in 2007. She returned in 2008 for another co-op assignment in distribution engineering and took a fulltime job after earning her BSEE in 2009.

As a reliability engineer Mendoza helps CenterPoint identify and solve potential reliability issues that could affect the distribution system and create power disturbances for customers. "I'm getting lots of hands-on training in this group," she says. "I learn something new each day, and I help our customers."

Eventually Mendoza wants to move into a managerial role. For now she's focused on strengthening her technical knowledge in order to optimize her contribution to the company.

Lucine Emrazian works on modem technology at L-3 Communications
When Lucine Emrazian entered the University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT) in 2004, she checked electrical engineering as her major because she had to check something.

Emrazian had participated in a summer course through the University of Utah's Access, a scholarship program designed to open opportunities for women in the fields of math and science. Before formally accepting the scholarship, she had to declare a major.

"I didn't want to do physics or chemistry or math or biology, not a bit of it," she says. "My dad is an electrical engineer, so I put that down on the application!"

Today, Emrazian has parlayed that choice into a promising career at L-3 Communications (New York, NY), designer and producer of integrated space communications systems. She's working on the development of modem technology at the Communications Systems-West location in Salt Lake City, UT.

Emrazian didn't have much love for electrical engineering during her first two years in the program, and while she didn't let it become an obstacle, she knew she was a rare female in a very male-dominated curriculum.

"I didn't feel like they looked down on me," Emrazian recalls. "I just wasn't one of the guys. But I felt comfortable."

By her third year in the program, she started to feel comfortable with the curriculum as well. "The classes were less theory and more application at that point," she says. "I found I really enjoyed the hands-on aspect of engineering. I thought, 'So this is why we learn all this stuff,' instead of feeling like I was crunching numbers all the time."

After graduating in December 2008, Emrazian did a brief internship at her school, but she'd set her sights on working at L-3. She researched opportunities on the company's website, connected with company reps at a job fair and wound up having to choose between two offers.

She's grateful that L-3 allowed her to fulfill a missionary obligation for her church without jeopardizing her job. When she returned from her eighteen-month leave, Emrazian was re-hired by the department that had originally employed her.

Lillie Ngietsap works in distribution and standards at BGE
It's not surprising to find Lillie Ngietsap working at an energy provider. During the early years of her life, electricity was something she couldn't take for granted.

"I grew up in a city where electricity was scarce," Ngietsap recalls of her early days in Douala, Cameroon. "We had electricity every other week.

"Having experienced all the adversity of not having the lights on and having to study with candles, I knew at a young age that I wanted to be able to make a difference one day. I later found out that electrical engineering was the nearest major that could teach me the skills I needed to fulfill my dream. Fortunately, I was really good in math and science in general; hence I was armed to make it happen."

Ngietsap came to the U.S. in 2004 to join family and continue her education. She went to work at Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE, Baltimore, MD), an affiliate of Constellation Energy, after earning her BSEE at University of Maryland (Baltimore, MD) in December 2010.

She works in the electric distribution engineering and standards unit on projects involving stray voltage, transformer fault current, grounding procedures, power quality and volt/ VAR optimization.

As an undergrad, Ngietsap completed three internships, including one at BGE. She found out about Constellation Energy/BGE through Central Scholarship Bureau (CSB, centralsb.org), a nonprofit in Baltimore.

"During my sophomore year, I applied for a scholarship there," she explains. "At the time, CSB required applicants to submit only one application, and if your application stood out from the thousands they received annually, they would award you the scholarship that fits most with your education and interests. I had told them during the interview that I would like to work in an energy company upon graduation, so they awarded me the Constellation Energy scholarship."

Just because Constellation Energy paid for her scholarship didn't automatically mean Ngietsap wanted to work for her generous benefactor. However, the internship cemented her interest in working there by giving her real hands-on experience.

"My boss purposely gave me a project where I was able to directly apply the electrical concepts that I learned in school and also develop my communication skills," Ngietsap says. "I even got to attend important meetings with him."

Ngietsap's present focus is to grow her technical knowledge, which she hopes will eventually lead to a management role.

Javier Munoz does pole clearance and load analysis at AEP
When utility company American Electric Power (AEP) called Javier Munoz to schedule an interview for an engineering position, a phone interview with the Puerto Rico native was what the recruiter expected.

He had discovered the company during a campus job fair, and his girlfriend already worked there. Since Munoz was visiting his girlfriend when the call came in, he replied, "I'm in Columbus. I can drive there and do the interview." He felt that a face-to-face interview would allow him to make a better impression. Munoz joined AEP in November 2009.

Today Munoz focuses on joint use work in Indiana and southwest Michigan. "I've been doing clearance and load analysis on AEP poles, so communication companies and telephone companies can attach their fiber and conductors," he explains. Proposals submitted to the company go through Munoz, who does the engineering work and prepares work orders if pole replacements are needed.

Like many undergrads, Munoz was not sure what he wanted to do when he started college. "I liked architecture, engineering and computer programming, and originally I went with computer programming," he says.

Munoz soon discovered that there's a difference between liking something and making it your career. "I realized that I love programming as a hobby, but I couldn't see myself working in front of the computer all day every day," he recalls. "I'm more of a hands-on person."

For Munoz, hands-on means taking things apart, especially electronics, which led him to electrical engineering. He earned his BSEE at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez.

"They have the best engineering program on the island," Munoz says. "When I started electrical engineering, I was specializing in control systems. By my fourth year, I realized I liked power systems better. So I decided to do both."

Munoz is now pursuing all the degrees and certifications he will need to one day move into management. "I know that will help me in the long run," he says.

Julio Hernandez: software test engineer at Cummins
Julio Hernandez is a software test engineer at Cummins. He got the company's attention when he worked there on contract through LHP Software (Columbus, IN).

"I've always tried to leave a good impression everywhere I go," Hernandez says. "So I think we did develop a good professional relationship."

When Cummins needed an engineer to test software for industrial applications, particularly one with a good work ethic, company officials approached Hernandez about the position. Based on what they'd observed, plus his electrical engineering training and software engineering background, the hiring managers were confident that he would excel in the job.

"I feel the knowledge I acquired back in school was helpful for what I'm doing now, even though it wasn't directly related," Hernandez says.

Hernandez earned his 2006 BSEE and 2010 MSEE at Purdue University's Indianapolis, IN campus. As an undergrad, he was involved with the Latino Student Association, in its infancy at the time.

"They were just starting to plan events to help Latino students," he recalls. "But it was still helpful."

Hernandez would like to move into technical leadership eventually, and believes he's well positioned to do so. For now though, he's focused on excelling at his current task. "I'm pretty new with the company," he says, "so I'm just trying to learn the core values and how we do business here."

D/C

Dan Calabrese is a freelance writer based in Byron Center, MI.

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