Technical questions for an entry-level electrical engineering job interview?

Question

I am going to be interviewing for entry level jobs in the electrical engineering field. I was wondering what types of technical questions I might be asked during the interview. I've got the non-technical ones down (I think).

Ex. What is the purpose of a transistor?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I have the knowledge and ability to be successful, but I dread the interview process.

Thanks

Answer 1

I'll answer the transistor one.

They are used in anything that has an Intergrated Circuit (IC) They can be used in different configurations as amplifiers, switches, buffers, tazers, TV, car computer.etc. They are amazing yet very basic, they replaced Valves a long time ago. However their downfall, as opposed to Valves are they are very susceptable to HERF (High Energy Radio Frequency) and EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse). Two basic types of transistors are PNP and NPN. They have 3 terminals, Emitter, collector and base. The base needs to be biased so that current can flow between the emitter and collector. They normally require a 0.7 Volts bias applied to the base in order to conduct. (If it is made of silicon) Actually any silicon diode. If it is made from Germanium it generally requires 0.3 volts to deplete the barrier. Germanium diodes are used in RF detection circuit. I wont carry on too much. The questions will be dependant on which job you are applying for. If it is a radio tech, read about antennas/radios/rf/circuits, etc.

Answer 2

All companies are different I suppose.  However it has been my experience that most interviewers are not technical type people and have little knowledge of specifics.  So if you have a 4yr engineering degree, I would not be too concerned about having to answer very technical questions.

Answer 3

If I were the interviewer, I'd want to see what type of problem solving and reasoning skills you have.

Some of the classic questions are:

- Why are manhole covers round?

- How are M&M's made?

- There are three switches with three lightbulbs in the next room.  Figure out which switch is for each light with only one visit from the switches to the lights.

It is all about putting you on the spot and seeing how you react.