IEEE HISTORY CENTER RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
Source: "Careers for Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists" � Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
PREPARED BY THE IEEE HISTORY CENTER
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

ELECTRICITY IN THE 1880s

The organization of the electrical engineering profession in America in the1880s was no
coincidence. It was in that decade that electrical technology finally emerged from the confines
of specialized applications that had little direct impact on most people, to be seen as a force for
change everywhere. This was especially apparent at the Philadelphia exhibition that gave
impetus to the IEEE's birth in 1884.

For nearly a half century, the application of electricity meant telegraphy, electroplating, and
electricity in medicine. It is easy now to forget what a wonderful thing the telegraph was to
people in the 19th century, so crude and simple does it seem ne xt to the electrical and
electronic marvels of a later day. One must think back to what it meant to introduce
instantaneous communication between distant points into a society that had never known
anything like it. Although commonplace by the1880s, the telegraph had not yet lost its
fascination and was the only electrical technology known or understood by many in
Philadelphia.

The real excitement, however, came from new electrical inventions, some of which had begun
their rapid spread across the land into households, shops, factories, and everywhere else that
people sought the increased comforts and productivity promised by the most modern
technology. The electric light was, of course, the most visible of these. The arc light, with its
glaring, unsurpassed brightness, had been available for about a decade, but was in fact still
only beginning its spread into use in public places, such as streets, squares, large stores, and
theaters. The incandescent lamp, characterized by its soft, yellow glow that seemed so
superior to gas, was less than 5 years old, although the efforts of Thomas Edison and a half-
dozen rivals were pressing the new light, and the central power system that made it work, into
service everywhere.

Hard on the heels of the electric light were the attempts of inventors and entrepreneurs to find
other applications for the central electrical system. Already, small devices such as sewing
machines, pumps, and hoists had been successfully linked with electric motors to make work
safer, more convenient, and more productive. A multitude of similar applications seemed just
around the corner, and Philadelphia provided a wonderful opportunity for showing them off.
And on the horizon, a number of inventors showed, were even greater marvels, such as the
application of electric power to the always difficult problem of urban transport.

Perhaps most significant, if its true importance was not realized at the time, was the application
of electricity to counting and computation. Scientists and mathematicians had long been
intrigued by the possibilities of mechanical calculation. As early as the 1830s, the Englishman
Charles Babbage conceived of an "Analytical Engine" that would perform mathematical
operations using punched cards, hundreds of gears, and steam power. Babbage's machine
was beyond the capabilities of 19th-century technology, but his vision represented a goal that
many were to pursue in the next century and a half. The harnessing of electricity to the
problem led to such developments that, in 1890, the U.S. Census Bureau was able to adopt
Herman Hollerith's Electric Tabulating System to their task.
Source: "Careers for Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists" � Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers


The present therefore seemed wonderful to engineer and citizen alike during those bright
autumn days in Philadelphia, and the future was so full of possibilities that it was hard even to
conceive what they might be. It would have taken foresight indeed for anyone to recognize the
significance of one odd little item displayed in a corner of the hall's largest single exhibit, that
belonging to Thomas Edison. There, labeled simply as "apparatus showing conductivity of
continuous currents through high vacuo," was Edison's "Tri-Polar Incandescent Lamp,"
showing off the "Edison Effect" the harbinger of electronics.

THE TELEGRAPHERS

The organizers of the AIEE appealed to a broad audience when they issued their call for the
new society in the spring of 1884: "Persons who are interested in our electrical scientific
educational, manufacturing, telegraphic, telephonic, and like concerns as well as the users of
electrical appliances generally, will find it to their advantage, personally and collectively, to
establish, work for, and generally aid our proposed society."

It is proposed, the call went on to say, "to make electrical engineers, electricians, instructors in
schools and colleges, inventors and manufacturers of electrical apparatus, officers of
telegraph, telephone, electric light, burglar alarm, district messenger, electric time, and of all
companies based upon electrical inventions as well as all who are inclined to support the
organization for the common interest, eligible to membership."

For the most part, in the 1880s, this meant telegraphers and those associated with them. The
telegraph was the primary manifestation of electrical technology in the 19th century, and even
those whose activities had spread further afield, such as Thomas Edison, had usually gotten
their start at the telegraph key.

The telegraphers were prominent in the list of founding members of the AIEE, and the new
organization paid further homage to the industry when it elected Norvin Green, head of the
Western Union Telegraph Company, its first president.

THE MAKERS OF A NEW AGE-LIGHT & POWER

Like today, the electrical engineering of the late 19th century was an exciting and rapidly
changing technology. Telegraphy had already shown how important electrical technology could
be to society and had attracted many an ambitious young man to the ranks of operators and
electricians. It was the newer technologies of light and power, however, that suggested the
extent of possibilities for the future. These new technologies required new knowledge and new
skills, and from these needs emerged the modern electrical engineer.

The telegraphers who were so prominent in the establishment of the electrical engineering
profession were largely practical men, whose training had been at the telegraph key, the
workbench, and the lines and cables that criss-crossed the country and the seas. Their
schooling, where it existed, was often in a field far removed from their profession. This was not
to be adequate for the advancement of the newer applications of electricity. The construction
of dynamos, the design of central power stations and distribution systems, the making of light
bulbs, motors, and a host of auxiliary devices all required a deeper understanding of
engineering fundamentals and of electricity itself. The new leaders of the electrical engineering
Source: "Careers for Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists" � Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

profession would be men whose practical experience was augmented by theoretical training
and a concern for establishing the basic principles of their field.

INDUSTRY OVERVIEWS: TEN KEY SECTORS

Graduates of programs in electrical and computer engineering and computer science are
employed in all industry sectors. In corporations, they design and develop products for such
diverse fields as telecommunications, radar and navigation, automation, consumer
entertainment, power generation and distribution, data processing, aerospace,
semiconductors, bioengineering, manufacturing, and transportation. In government, they
participate in regulatory functions, manage contractors, plan projects, and supervise
operations (for example, ports, airports, rapid transit, and emergency communications). In
universities, they help develop new generations of engineers and perform the research that
ensures continued advances in technology. Top EE and CE/CS graduates are also getting
prime offers in areas such as financial services, wholesale/retail trade, medical systems, and
hospitals.

Jobs, Sector by Sector

Job opportunities in 10 key sectors are surveyed in Overview, Spectrum: telecommunications,
energy and electric power, computers, semiconductors, aerospace, bioengineering,
manufacturing, services and other professions, education, and transportation/automotive. The
focus is on industry sectors whose products and services directly relate to electrical
engineering, computer science, and information technology. However, many potential jobs are
in other sectors, such as medicine, law, finance, and sales. These jobs represent a significant
career option.

Within the key sectors, there are many kinds of employers- large corporations, medium-sized
and small companies, start-ups, consulting firms, independent consultants, research
organizations, universities, and governmental agencies.

Each industry sector is described in general terms, with a discussion of the current job outlook
for jobs that relate directly to engineering and information technology. You will find here links
to professional associations and other organizations that kee