Jobs · Electrical engineer

Will AI replace electrical engineers?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 53% of the working time in a typical electrical engineer job today. The other 47% still needs a person.

22 responsibilities · a typical electrical engineer job

47% of the work still needs a person.

Still needs a person: 47% of the timeAI could take on: 53%

Median pay $120,630 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Discuss projects with engineers and customers
  • Inspect installations for safety and conformance
  • Supervise and train project team members

AI can do or help with

  • Design and maintain electrical systems AI helps
  • Keep projects on time and budget AI helps
  • Run engineering design software AI helps
  • Coordinate work to meet codes and specs AI helps
  • Calculate specs and standards AI helps
  • Write control software for electrical systems AI helps

The biggest responsibilities of each kind. "AI helps" means AI takes on part of the work, or most of it with a person checking what it produces. See all 22, with the reason for each and the cost of handing them to AI.

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Questions people ask

Will AI replace electrical engineers?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 53% of the working time in a typical electrical engineer job today. The other 47% still needs a person. That is a split of the work, not a forecast of jobs lost.

Which parts of the job can AI do?

The biggest ones AI can do or help with: design and maintain electrical systems, keep projects on time and budget, run engineering design software, coordinate work to meet codes and specs, calculate specs and standards, write control software for electrical systems.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: discuss projects with engineers and customers, inspect installations for safety and conformance, supervise and train project team members.

How is this measured?

The U.S. Department of Labor lists 22 responsibilities for this job (O*NET 31.0). Each is scored on 4 questions: can AI do it, does it get it right, must a person sign for it, and do people need to deal with a real person. The split is weighted by how much of the job each responsibility takes up. Scores version 0.5.1, updated September 29, 2026.

Responsibilities from O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor). Pay from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. Scores are calibrated to published research and updated every month. How it works.

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