“Earlier, lighting was confined to electrical domain, but now because of the advent of LED lighting, electronics has overshadowed the electrical part. LED lighting majorly involves the luminaries part. One part of it is how the lighting works and the second part is the integration of power electronics including what should be the drivers of LEDs and then the right selection of LEDs. We cover all these three aspects in the training. We also give candidates industrial exposure on how the LED lighting is being developed and manufactured in industries. We teach everything of LEDs, be it the drivers, the selection of components, etc,” he adds.
Such courses can be of help to diploma holders as well. An add-on course like this typically costs around Rs 25,000.
You can be an entrepreneur too
Career in LED lighting is not just about having an engineering job in a reputed company. LED lighting gives you the avenues of being an entrepreneur too. In fact, this trend is picking up fast in India.
Gupta says, “The established base of the LED industry is quite small. Most of the engineers can get into R&D of their own products and become entrepreneurs in their own rights. I think the field is very open and this is the most opportune time for engineers to make career in LED lighting. So if they want to become entrepreneurs in LED segment, they have to follow innovations happening across the globe. This can be easily done with the help of the Internet.”
Yet another sector where LED engineers can find place is electronics manufacturing services (EMS). Currently, a lot of EMS companies are trying to offer solutions for LED lighting but are constrained by lack of driver solutions. One unique thing about LED drivers is that there is no fixed voltage or current. There are umpteen number of voltage and current combinations demanded by the market today, providing enough scope for engineers in this line. Apart from EMS companies, existing UPS and power supply companies like charger manufacturers are the action grounds for LED engineers. These companies are increasingly making efforts to expand their portfolio on LED drivers front.
There is money as well
LED lighting is one of the handsomely paid streams of engineering simply because there is no saturation in the industry. A fresher can get an annual package of around Rs 250,000 to begin with. Of course, the amount varies from company to company.
The author is an assistant editor at EFY
