3 Reasons for a Power Electronics Career

I’ve spent 25 years recruiting engineers, and have been on a hunt for power electronics engineers for a majority of that time.

The engineers I place work on everything from cars to phones, computers, lighting systems, air conditioners, battery packs, charging systems, or any other product with electrons running through it. The modern market demands products that do more while using less energy. As a result, almost everyone is in the power technology game.

The future looks bright for power electronics engineers, and here are three reasons why.

Continued Growth and Demand for Power Electronics

Industry experts predict healthy growth in the sector through 2031. As mentioned, companies in most sectors don’t plan on slowing down development in the coming years. Even with our current economic uncertainty, thousands of power electronics jobs remain open in the United States.

T​hose with certain skill sets, such as hardware development, can look at 5% growth in job opportunities between now and 2031. That number may not sound impressive, but we have to couple it with the continuing retirement of older engineers. Far more engineers are retiring from the field than coming in.

This increased demand, and shrinking supply, for power electronics skills bodes well for engineers in this space for the coming decade.

The Grid Looms Large

I​ can’t remember a time in my career where people weren’t talking about modernizing the grid. The wear and tear shows, as we’ve had 64% more outages this decade than the one before. Beyond age, we’re also using power in ways the system wasn’t designed for.

While we’ve made improvements, or are in process for them, it’s nothing compared to what we need to do. We may be on the cusp of a development boom, though, thanks to electric vehicles.

Electric vehicle charging has the potential to force the big change everyone’s been waiting for. Simply put, the grid needs to be redesigned to even continue functioning properly. This requires a significant number of power electronics engineers, so they can improve power utility technology to the level they have in other industries.

Green Technology: It’s Anybody’s Game

I​ could ask ten engineers what they think will happen in the Green Technology space, and get ten different answers. The next several years will see a large number of fascinating concepts coming to market, though it’s unknown which will prove to be workable solutions.

Whatever the case, they all require development of new control hardware. Both established corporations and start-ups will continue hiring power electronics engineers, whether their solution of choice is wind, solar, hydro, or some yet untapped resource.

Even if your work doesn’t lead to the answer to our Green Technology prayers, it’s guaranteed you’ll gain valuable experience working with the latest tools and concepts.

T​here’s no more exciting field for an engineer than power electronics. The work is challenging, the future is bright, and you’ll develop technologies that change the way we live.

PRA USA has kept our finger on the pulse of the Electronics, Embedded, and Controls Engineering job market for 30+ years. We work with the best engineers and employers in this field, helping both succeed in this unpredictable job market. Contact us to find out what we can do for you!