The Complete Guide to Becoming An Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologist and Technician
The honest, no-hype guide to what it's really like to build, test, and fix the electrical and electronic systems that run the modern world — including the pay, the path, and whether you'll actually like it
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
The real deal on becoming an electrical or electronic engineering technologist and technician: daily work, pay, paths in, and whether you're built for it.
About this book
You've seen the job listings: 'Electrical Engineering Technologist needed — 2-3 years experience, CAD and PLC skills a plus.' Maybe you're a high schooler good at physics and hands-on projects, or a working adult tired of a job where you never make anything real. The ads promise a technical career with good pay, but they don't tell you what the first Tuesday on the job looks like, or whether you'll be staring at a screen all day, or how fast you can actually get hired.
This guide answers those questions with specifics, not motivational fluff. You'll read about a typical day that includes calibrating a sensor array for a food processing plant, tracking down a ground fault that shut down a production line, and documenting everything in a maintenance database. You'll see the real salary range — from about $50,000 in year one to over $80,000 by mid-career, with the top 10 percent clearing $100,000. You'll get three realistic paths into the field, including a two-year associate degree that can put you to work before your college peers finish their bachelor's. And you'll get a blunt self-assessment checklist so you can see if this field matches how you actually think and work.
Written by someone who has trained and worked alongside technologists on factory floors and in testing labs, this book gives you the unvarnished picture — the satisfying moments of fixing something that stumped everyone, and the tedium of writing test reports that no one reads. No one can tell you if this career is 'your passion,' but this guide will tell you if it's a smart, honest fit for the person you are right now.
Reader Reviews
George Baker
★★★★★I'm a high school junior trying to pick a major, and this book gave me real numbers — actual starting salaries and what the first job looks like. That said, it's pretty heavy on the downsides. Chapter 1 basically made me wonder if every day is just paperwork and troubleshooting for 8 hours straight. I appreciated the honesty, but I left slightly less excited than I was before. Still, it's a lot more useful than the generic 'STEM is great!' stuff my counselor hands out.
Anna Jackson
★★★★★I'm 34, working retail, and hopelessly lost about what to do next. This book was the first thing I've read that didn't talk down to me. The salary table in Chapter 4 was a shock — I had no idea a two-year degree could get you to $50k. The self-assessment checklist in Chapter 2 made me realize I'm more of a troubleshooter than I gave myself credit for. Knocked off one star because I wish it had more info on night classes and part-time options, but otherwise, solid.
Steven Thomas
★★★★★I've been a working technician for six years, and my little brother is thinking about getting into the field. I gave him this book to see if it was worth his time, and I ended up reading the whole thing. Chapter 6 is scarily accurate — I felt seen in the part about writing test reports and then troubleshooting a PLC alarm at 4pm on a Friday. This is the kind of straight talk I wish I'd gotten before I started. Worth every penny.
Barbara Scott
★★★★★As a career changer from an office job, this book was a lifeline. I had no idea what an EET actually did — I thought it was just 'engineering-lite' or something. Chapter 1 painted a real picture of the work, and Chapter 3 broke down the costs and timelines of the two-year degree versus a four-year. I'm now enrolled in a local associate program. It's not a sexy read, but it's exactly the honest advice I needed to make a real decision.
David Perez
★★★★★Decent book if you're at square zero. I liked the chapter on landing the first job, it had a useful checklist that I actually used to fix up my resume. But the book feels like it assumes you're a fresh-faced 18-year-old. I'm in my 40s and switching careers; the sections on networking and internships felt a little unrealistic for someone with a mortgage. The salary data was current and realistic, though. I'd recommend it with that caveat.
John Gonzalez
★★★★★I'm a high school teacher, and I picked this up to help students who don't want the 4-year university grind. This is the book I've been missing. The salary projections and the honest fit assessment are perfect for my juniors. The chapter on certification and training paths is exactly what parents ask me about. It's not flashy, but it's clear, grounded, and doesn't oversell. I'll be keeping a copy on my desk for Career Day prep.
Kenneth Baker
★★★★★Good, solid overview, but I was hoping for a bit more in Chapter 7 about where you can go after ten years. It mentions moving into a lead role or getting a PE license later, but it felt skimmed. The day-in-the-life narrative in Chapter 6 was the best part — gave me a real feel for the pace. It's a useful read before you commit to a degree, but don't expect a comprehensive manual for the next twenty years.
Eric Hall
★★★★★I've been a maintenance electrician for a few years and I was considering the step up to the technologist side. This book showed me the differences clearly, like how much time goes into documentation and actually designing test rigs versus just swapping parts out. Chapter 3's path comparison made it obvious that going back for an associates degree was the right move for me. Exactly the no-nonsense guide I needed to pull the trigger.