US Job market outlook for EE/CE?

[GeoMike]

Hello,
I'm halfway through my undergrad program in EE (I've also been taking the necessary courses for a CE concentration, but have no yet declared it).
I was wondering if anyone out there could give me an idea of what the job market for EE (and CE) looks like in the US at this moment, and where it looks to be going in the near future (2-5 years).

I've asked around my college but I get a mix of opinion. Some say that EE/CE is in high demand and finding a job (with a BSEE) shouldn't be too tough. Others say that there are a surplus of young EE/CE's and so jobs are hard to find, especially in this economy. My advisor thinks that although the IEEE indicates a high demand for EE/CE, they are really focused more on EE/CE employers, and as such are encouraging young people to pursue EE/CE so as to over-supply the market and keep employer costs down.
I've also been told that the power industry is where EE's are really in demand, while the CE field and related industries are currently saturated with EE/CE's leading to a lot of competition over few jobs with low starting pay.

Looking on the internet hasn't been much help as I get the same conflicting information. Some say that the demand for engineers is high, others say it is low.

It is important for me to have some general idea of where the US EE/CE job market is (and where it looks to be going), so that I know what fields of EE/CE I should consider (to make myself more marketable) and in part so I can decide when/if to attend graduate school

Any advice/insight you can offer would be much appreciated.
Thank you,
GeoMike

 

[GeoMike]

Seriously? Nobody is in a position to say anything meaningful about this subject?
I'm not looking for a crystal ball just some thoughts about what kind of job market I might be entering when looking for an EE/CE job in a couple of years.

Thanks,
GeoMike

 

[fizziks]

Maybe in the mobile field you can find good prospects. Hence the power field for more efficient batteries, etc. Mobile hardware and software appears to be where the demand will be in the future. You'll be graduating at a good time, so you shouldn't worry. The economy should be improving by 2011/2012. It is still garbage now but is slowly recovering with job losses much lower than 6 months ago.

Don't delve too much to XXXX is in high demand. It's most likely in high demand for EXPERIENCED/QUALIFIED electric/computer engineers.

 

[Corneo]

Apply for internships during the summer so you can gain valuable work experience. This also gives you an idea whether or not you would want to work in that particular of EE/CE or not. Use the internship to market yourself later on for full time employment.

There will always be jobs in the US for EE/CE. The question is where will they be and will you be willing to relocate.