From an electrician to an electrical engineer? (4 steps)

For people who are electricians and want to become electrical engineers, this post is for you.

In this post, we will discover if it is possible to become an electrical engineer as an electrician.

Also, giving you the 4 principal steps to follow to help you to prepare for that.

So keep reading if yoiu don’t want to miss steps.

Can an electrician become an electrical engineer?

As an electrician, is it possible to become an electrical engineer if you are ready to invest time, money, and tremendous effort into this field. Electrical engineering is one of the most complex degrees. In other words, is full of math and physics, so as an electrician you have to be ready and apt to study or understand these complex subjects.

So the first entry barrier is you have to verify if you are good enough in math or at least ready to study it. Because if you hate math and don’t want to study it. As a result, you can’t become an electrical engineer.

At least you should have a minimum requirement which is having a stem degree in high school. Or at least have studied math in 11th and 12th in high school, including some calculus and algebra.

But suppose you dropped school before reaching high school classes, like in middle classes or elementary school. In that case, that will be very difficult because you will need to study high school math and physics and then apply to college to study for an electrical engineering degree.

It is not impossible. You could do it if you have the will and determination.

As an electrical who needs to become an electrical engineer, he must know that getting a degree in this position requires 3 principal components:

• Money
• Time
• Hard work

But if you have the right reasons and the right diligence, you can do it if you are ready to sacrifice more than $100,000 and 4 years of hard work and grinding.

In another way, you can become an electrical engineer without having a degree, studying all the principles that electrical engineers do. But don’t expect to get paid like other engineering graduates with degrees.

Many people do this option to open their business in the field, so if you are one of them, you can take the course online and learn what you want.

But if you want to have a degree in electrical engineering, you should follow these 4 golden steps that we will recommend below.

1 – Take some math and physics classes

Electrical engineering is one of the top 4 hardest engineering majors, including also mechanical, chemical, and aerospace engineering. These majors have advanced math subjects like calculus and linear algebra.

Electrical engineering requires a lot of math, especially calculus. In electrical engineering, you will be studying:

• Calculus 1
• Calculus 2
• Calculus 3
• algebra 1
• algebra 2
• linear algebra

In other words, you will study the highest and most complex math subjects like derivatives, integrals, and differential equations. For this reason, you have to take some math classes before joining college to not suffer in classes.

For instance, algebra 1 and algebra 2 will not be taken in engineering courses. You should typically be good at before joining college. So the most significant recommendation is to start taking classes:

• firstly in algebra 1
• then algebra 2
• precalculus

You should be good at these subjects before looking for electrical engineering classes to enroll.

The second thing required in electrical engineering is physics. In other words, you study:

• electromagnetism
• electronics
• physics concepts of electricity

If you already have a high school degree in a stem or at least studied the 11th and 12th. Therefore, you won’t find it difficult to follow up with professors. But if you don’t, you should go back and study all the high school physic classes.

2 – Change your financial plans

An electrical engineering degree will cost you 100k, or even more if you spend more time in college. So dropping this major will be financially catastrophic. In other words, you won’t be happy with having an additional 100k debt to pay for the whole of your life.

So you have to verify yourself and test if you could succeed in the heavy math and physic stuff before deciding to engage in this risky adventure.

If you are married and have some obligations like raising kids, things will be complicated because the amount of debt you will take is not easy and will make a significant impact on your life in the next 5 years.

In addition, studying at university has fees. In other words, you will need to print files, buy textbooks, and do other stuff.

The best thing to do before deciding to study electrical engineering in a college as an electrician is to start saving some money that you can spend on these additional feels we mentioned.

3 – Find a support

The best thing to do is ask for support from an employer, especially if a company needs electrical engineers, and makes confidence in you as their future electrical engineer.

The support will not be for free, but many electrical did this strategy to climb the company’s hierarchy and take advanced positions, especially if you are an electrical engineer and know what you are doing.

Also, you could look for scholarships. Many colleges or universities provide scholarships to their students. So you just have to look for the good ones for you.

Find moral support from your family, especially your wife if you are married. Having a partner who belive in you and is ready to assume the responsibility is a great thing that can happen to you.

In addition, you might need to work some additional hours to have the basic spending for this degree. But in this case, you will need to take less credit to find a time to do all of these things together.

you could read this article if you want to work and study a the same time: Working while in college for stem major(5 tips to know)

4 – prepare psychologically for this interesting step

It will be 4 or even 5 years of grinding, so you will be finishing your job and then rushing to the house to study and prepare for exams, which will be not easy. Especially after a tiring workday.

Your biggest enemy in this journey will be time, so you will need to sacrifice a lot of sweet weekend moments to study and prepare for your college subjects.

So you have to be mentally tough to face these hardships and fight the feeling of procrastination you will face. In addtion is better to build some good relationships with people, so they can help you with college homework or assignments.

To face all these hardships, you must have a solid will and constantly remind yourself why you do this. You will likely drop and not finish the road if you want it easy.

Conclusion

From electrical to electrical engineering, the road will not be easy. It is full of obstacles. But it is possible for people who dream of becoming electrical engineers, not those who seek high pay salary.

Because if just you want to become an electrical engineer to make money, there are many other paths to follow. As a result, it will guarantee you to make more than becoming an engineer with less risk and investments.