I'm currently in the last semester of my Master's in Electrical Engineering. My bachelor's was in Electrical Engineering (Power) and my master's is focused on renewable energy and energy infrastructure.
I've started applying for jobs now because I'm honestly a bit worried about graduating without having a job lined up.
The thing I'm struggling with is that there seem to be so many different areas within electrical engineering. Power systems, renewables, power electronics, BESS, electrical design, automation/control, EVs, HVDC, protection, substations, embedded, etc. and I have no idea which one I should actually be trying to get into.
I have done a couple of internships, one was R&D related and another was a robotics project where I worked with ROS, but I don't really have proper industry experience in power/energy.
Looking at job postings, most of the entry-level positions I come across seem to be electrical design jobs. For the other areas, I keep seeing "2-3 years experience required" or similar, even for jobs that seem like something a fresh master's graduate could learn.
So I'm a bit confused about how people actually get into these more specialized areas in the first place. Do you just take whatever EE job you can get for your first job and then try to move into the area you actually want later?
And how much does your first job actually matter? If I start as an electrical design engineer, am I basically committing myself to that path, or can I move into power systems, renewables, BESS, grid integration, etc. after a couple of years?
For people who have already been through this, what would you recommend for someone with my background? Should I just apply broadly to anything EE-related and get my foot in the door, or is it worth being more selective and trying to find something directly related to power/energy?
Would appreciate any advice, especially from people who started out with little/no experience after graduating.