How to Hire Electrical Designers in Vancouver

Current Environment

Electrical designer is a broad job title that can be applied to positions in many industries. The field is closely related to electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, and sometimes the title electrical designer can be swapped with electrical or electronics drafter, mechanical drafter, and even electrical technician.

People who have the skills for electrical design and drafting are needed for private-sector jobs in a large number of industries including:

Manufacturing
Construction
Architecture
Electric power generation, distribution, and transmission
Telecommunications
Semiconductor and electronic component manufacturing
Automotive and transportation
Consumer electronics

History

The field of electrical engineering came about before the second world war, but at that time the field was referred to as radio engineering, focused on the development of radar, commercial radio, and television. In the mid-to-late 1950s, the name of the field evolved to electronic engineering, the people with the skills to design and draft electric components was crucial for successful manufacturing and testing.

How will Recruiting electrical designers Help Your Company?

How will Hiring electrical designers Help Your Company?

Recruiting the top electrical designers can ensure you have the right expertise on the team for design, documentation, development, manufacturing, and testing of electronic components, systems, and equipment. As mentioned previously, these roles are a necessary component for companies in many industries.

When building a successful team, it’s important to consider how new design resources will align with your current team. Consider the USA Olympic basketball team, the first-year pro athletes were allowed to compete. They were the best players, but they failed to play well together as a team. Teams with lesser talent beat the U.S. because they played better together.

Fill the Knowledge Gap

If your current team members do not have a strong knowledge of the most current software systems for design, you have an opportunity to fill the gaps. You can source candidates that excel with a particular skill or fluency in a software system.

Technology

Technology is another area that is key for electrical designers. When you are looking for recruits, be prepared with specific questions about a candidate’s expertise with the latest technology systems and software to give your organization critical technology expertise.

electrical designer Details

Responsibilities

To help you recruit the best electrical designers in Vancouver, here are some of the details of the job.

Electrical designers help electrical and electronics engineers design and develop computers, communications equipment, medical monitoring devices, navigational equipment, and other electrical and electronic equipment. A few additional responsibilities include:

Convert the designs of engineers and architects into technical drawings
Inspect designs for quality control, report findings, and make recommendations
Draw diagrams and write specifications to clarify design details of electronics
Design basic circuitry and draft sketches to clarify details of design documentation, under engineers’ direction
Build prototypes from rough sketches or plans
Assemble, test, and maintain circuitry or electronic components according to engineering instructions, technical manuals, and knowledge of electronics

Looking for another position? View other positions we place in Vancouver, Washington.

Education

If an electrical design position is a stepping stone to an electrical engineer title and you have set a goal for a Bachelor’s degree, the top 4-year schools are listed below.

However, if you have a passion for electronics and design, you can easily complete your education at a local 2-year community college or a trade school. These intuitions are much lower cost than a 4-year university, and the teaching is generally hands-on training that can be immediately applied on the job.

In fact, most electrical engineering designers or technicians prepare for their careers with an associate’s degree. Pursuing this educational path can make good sense for students who need to jump into the job market and start earning.

US News & World Report ranked the top 3 undergraduate programs for electrical engineering. In these programs, students study and apply the physics and mathematics of electricity, electromagnetism, and electronics. Each of the schools listed has an undergraduate engineering program accredited by ABET.

Top Schools

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Cal Poly
Harvey Mudd College

2019 U.S. National Data

Salary Range

electrical designers in the U.S.

$37k

Low

$65k

Average

$100k

High

$90k

Average WA
Salary

$43.12

Average WA
Hourly

983k

Total electrical designers Employed in the U.S.

46%

Men

54%

Women

electrical designer Salary Comparison

National

Nationally, compensation for electrical designers ranges between $37,770 per year and $100,650 per year. The average annual salary in 2019 was $65,720. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 983,000 electrical designers employed in 2019, with 54% of those being women. It is estimated that 82% are white, 6% African American, 9% Asian, and 11% Hispanic or Latino.

Washington

The average annual salary for electrical designers in Washington was 90k in 2019. The hourly wage averaged $43.12.

For more detailed compensation information for electrical designers in Vancouver, download our free compensation/salary report below.

Working in Vancouver

Do [position-plural] like working and living in Vancouver, Washington? For people who value scenic beauty and the opportunity for outdoor adventure, yes, and also some big-city perks in a smaller package.

Vancouver sits on the beautiful Columbia River, which creates the border between Oregon and Washington. It’s the largest Portland suburb with just north of 180,000 residents and the fourth-largest city in Washington state.

The burb’s proximity to Portland makes the where to live and work question interesting. The pros and cons are outlined below.

Pros

The cost of living is lower than in Portland. When you live and work in Washington, you avoid paying Oregon’s personal income tax. There is no state income tax in Washington. YAY!
PayScale estimates Vancouver’s housing expenses are 3% lower than the national average and the utility prices are 7% lower than the national average. Zillow’s Home Value Index for the city is just under $409,000.
Outdoor adventure is an easy drive. The 80-mile Columbia River Gorge has hiking trails through some of the most beautiful scenery; huge panoramic vistas, old-growth forests, and yes, waterfalls.
The city has views! Either Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood or the Columbia River.

On the other hand, a few people site a couple of cons about living and working in the city.

Cons

The sales tax is high—8.4%, which takes a little shine off of no state income tax. However, for some large purchases, people cross over the state line to Oregon where there is no state sales tax. See how that works?
All the green equates to above-average precipitation and winters can be cloudy and gray for long periods of time.
As one Quora reader explained. “We always have to explain that we are Vancouver Washington, not Vancouver Canada, and Washington State, not DC.

Vancouver, Washington

Current Weather

Not your city? View other cities where we place electrical designers.

Demand for electrical designers in Vancouver

The demand for electrical designers is growing at a slightly slower rate than other engineering fields. This is mainly because a large number of electrical designers work in the manufacturing industry, which is expected to decline slightly. But employment is expected to grow in other areas, including professional, scientific, and technical services firms as companies seek ways to contract out these services as a way to lower costs.

Also, demand for electrical designers and electrical technicians is expected to be boosted by the continuing integration of computer and electronics systems, especially automation systems. Computer, cellular phone, and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies are being included in automobiles and various portable and household electronics systems.

The supply of candidates and demand for open positions have a direct correlation to a company's ability to hire. Download a free Supply and Demand report for electrical designers in Vancouver, Washington below.

How to Hire the Best electrical designers

Finding and hiring the best electrical designer candidates can save you money right away and well into the future.

The costs of making a bad hire are well documented. The cost can run as much as 30% of the employee's first-year earnings according to the US Department of Labor. Bad hires can cost a whopping $240,000 in expenses related to hiring, compensation, and retention per The Undercover Recruiter. 74% of companies who admit they've hired the wrong person for a position lost an average of $14,900 for each bad hire according to CareerBuilder. These statistics support our long-held position that behavioral questions are the best way to get to know your candidates and past behavior is the best indicator of future performance.

Recruiting Best Practices

The information below comes from the best practices Amtec uses for finding the highest quality candidates.

Defining the Position

When defining the role you are creating, we recommend a position profile to fully evaluate the position you are hiring for. You must decide if the engineer can work remotely or must work in Washington. If working in Vancouver is essential, make sure you include that in your job posting so candidates can decide how many miles they can commute.

How to Source the Best Candidates

When you are looking to source the best quality candidates for your open positions, make sure you have done the legwork to hire an "A Player". You can do this by making sure your company's perspective is aligned with the current market, you have taken into account the job responsibilities, as well as what type of characteristics you are looking for to fit your company culture. Then proceed to write a job posting to attract high-quality candidates.

Characteristics of electrical designers

Find the Best Electrical Designers

If you need to recruit the sharpest electrical design professionals:

Look for candidates who have exemplary knowledge of the software, systems, and tools required for the job.
The best candidates are focused, self-motivated, and innovative.
Consider candidates who will best fit your environment.
Partner with a recruiting agency that specializes in engineering to find the best candidates.

How to Screen Candidates

You wrote a job posting, posted the position online, and received a lot more resumes than you’d bargained for! Next comes the enormous task of sorting through those resumes to eliminate the ones that are clearly not a good fit. Now, you have a stack of resumes for candidates who have potential. So how do you go about screening the remaining candidates?

It starts on the phone! As a recruiter, the goal of your telephone screening is to learn more about your candidates. You can confirm that they have the educational qualifications and relevant experience, but you also need to determine if they would fit into your company's culture. To make this job easier, use a system to consistently evaluate results. This way you can equally and objectively compare candidates and evaluate their "soft skills", like communication and thinking process. Download Amtec's Professional Assessment Questionnaire below to help with screening candidates.

Free Professional Assessment Questionnaire

An individually customized questionnaire that helps assess a candidate's competence with written communication skills, thinking processes, and other relevant skills.

How to Interview Candidates

At Amtec, we believe in the power of behavoral interview questions to go beyond the experience and skills listed on the candidate's resume. Although you will want to confirm in the interview that the candidate does indeed have the experience listed on their resume, your assessment needs to go much deeper than that. An interview using behavioral questions can help you determine how well the candidate will fit with your company culture.

Download Amtec's best practices on conducting super effective interviews to find the best candidates and fill your open jobs.

Behavioral Interview Guide

Get the info you need to hire the best electrical designers

Free Interview Guide