An electrical engineer focuses on designing, maintaining, and improving products that are powered by or produce electricity.
Although the terms electrical engineer and electronics engineer are often used interchangeably, some distinctions can be made. Electrical engineers typically focus on products that supply, generate, or transmit electricity. Electronics engineers generally focus on products that use electricity as a power source. For example, an electronics engineer might design a car's computer system, and an electrical engineer would design the car's electrical system that supplies power to the computer system. Sometimes, however, both types of engineers are referred to as electrical engineers.
An electrical engineer will plan the circuitry and wiring of electronic components. Generally a prototype is built and extensive tests are conducted on it to make sure that it works as designed and that all of the components work well together. An electrical engineer might test existing products that have malfunctioned or broken to determine what went wrong and whether any design flaws can be corrected
The engineer often is responsible for overseeing the installation of the product to ensure that it is installed properly and safely. The electrical engineer will often create technical drawings, instructions, and specifications that can be followed to ensure that the product will be properly installed and correctly operated.