In this column, I will be talking mainly to young power electronics engineers who will soon be graduating or have recently graduated. The need to decarbonize and electrify the world’s energy supplies will offer you almost limitless opportunities. This “golden age” of power electronics will offer careers that are both personally and financially rewarding. While you learn about power electronics technology in your university studies, what is rarely taught are the options you have once you have your degree. As you sit in your power electronics classes, you are probably thinking of jobs or careers designing and developing power electronics products and systems.
Over the years, I have seen many young engineers become dissatisfied or disillusioned working in product development or design engineering groups. One reason for this is, quite simply, that design engineering is not for everyone. To be a good design engineer takes a certain imagination and creativity (see my column “What Makes A Good Engineer” in the PELS Magazine September 2025 issue). For many, the reality is that a design engineer only spends about 10%–20% of their time designing. The rest of one’s time is on tedious work like worst-case calculations, debugging prototypes, finding and sourcing components and alternates, documentation, status reports, and supporting manufacturing.
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