AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 17-2071.00
Will AI replace Electrical Engineers?
Electrical Engineers: AI can already handle 8 of 22 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
Have a team in this role?
Get your free 10-role sample: send this role and up to nine others, and a founder sends a board-pack PDF within two business days.
Every task, scored
The 22 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Electrical Engineers, from most to least exposed. 8 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compile data and write reports regarding existing or potential electrical engineering studies or projects. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Oversee project production efforts to assure projects are completed on time and within budget. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Confer with engineers, customers, or others to discuss existing or potential engineering projects or products. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Investigate or test vendors' or competitors' products. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Investigate customer or public complaints to determine the nature and extent of problems. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Prepare specifications for purchases of materials or equipment. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Integrate electrical systems with renewable energy systems to improve overall efficiency. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Conduct field surveys or study maps, graphs, diagrams, or other data to identify and correct power system problems. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Design, implement, maintain, or improve electrical instruments, equipment, facilities, components, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, or domestic purposes. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Direct or coordinate manufacturing, construction, installation, maintenance, support, documentation, or testing activities to ensure compliance with specifications, codes, or customer requirements. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform engineering tasks. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Collect data relating to commercial or residential development, population, or power system interconnection to determine operating efficiency of electrical systems. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inspect completed installations and observe operations to ensure conformance to design and equipment specifications and compliance with operational, safety, or environmental standards. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Develop systems that produce electricity with renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, or biofuels. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Plan or implement research methodology or procedures to apply principles of electrical theory to engineering projects. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Assist in developing capital project programs for new equipment or major repairs. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Design electrical systems or components that minimize electric energy requirements, such as lighting systems designed to account for natural lighting. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Develop software to control electrical systems. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Supervise or train project team members, as necessary. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Perform detailed calculations to compute and establish manufacturing, construction, or installation standards or specifications. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Prepare technical drawings, specifications of electrical systems, or topographical maps to ensure that installation and operations conform to standards and customer requirements. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Estimate labor, material, or construction costs for budget preparation purposes. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 22 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 21 of 22. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 96% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 96% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 5% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 198,750
- Median annual wage
- $120,630
- Middle half of earners
- $92,830 to $152,950
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +7.2%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Electronics Engineers, Except Computer 77% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure55
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians 73% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure52
- Mechatronics Engineers 73% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure53
- Manufacturing Engineers 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure60
- Electricians 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure23
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Electrical Engineers and AI
Will AI replace Electrical Engineers?
AI already handles 8 of the 22 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 54 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +7.2% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Electrical Engineers?
54 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 1 of the 22 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 21 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Electrical Engineers tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Compile data and write reports regarding existing or potential electrical engineering studies or projects; Oversee project production efforts to assure projects are completed on time and within budget; Confer with engineers, customers, or others to discuss existing or potential engineering projects or products. They are three of the 8 tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 96% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Electrical Engineers, and what do they earn?
198,750 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $120,630 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +7.2% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Electrical Engineers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/electrical-engineers
Have a team in this role?
Get your free 10-role sample. Send this role and up to nine others, with no employee data, and a founder sends a PDF in board-pack format within two business days.
A founder replies within one business day.