15 Questions for an Interview in Electronics
Electronics is a branch of engineering that looks at how electrical principles and methods can be used to design and make the electronics we use every day. If you want a job in electronics, you should think ahead of time about what kinds of questions you might be asked. Most of the time, electronics interview questions will focus on your hard skills, but you may also be asked questions to test your soft skills. This article goes over 15 interview questions for electronics engineers and technicians and gives examples of how to answer them to help you prepare for your interview.
What are some questions about electronics to ask in an interview?
Interview questions about electronics can be about the basics or about more advanced technical applications. During your interview, you can expect to be asked questions about electronics that test your knowledge and skills in that area. Interviewers may ask you detailed and technical questions to find out how skilled you are and how well you understand electricity so they can decide if you are a good fit for the job. Also, many electronics engineering interview questions will test your knowledge of the field as well as your critical thinking, creativity, and communication skills, all of which are important.
Questions to ask about electronics for an interview
The following examples of interview questions and answers for electrical engineers and technicians can help you get ready for your interview and make a good impression:
What do you think is the best way to get electricity?
This question checks how well you know how to measure the voltages of devices. When deciding which voltage sources are best, show off your specific knowledge and technical skills in electronics by giving examples from your own life.
“An ideal voltage source is a device with a resistance of zero on the inside.” When designing and making two-terminal electrical devices like batteries and switches, it helps to use ideal voltage sources to keep the electrical currents steady.
What do you think is the best place to get news?
Most likely, the interviewer will ask you questions to find out how well you understand the basics of electronics engineering. Give examples of how you use what you know about current and voltage in electronics to show that you are technically savvy and have an aptitude for engineering.
“The best source of current is one that gives off a constant current with the most power no matter what is going on in the electrical circuit. A lot of the devices and parts I’ve made in the past have perfect current sources that make batteries work better.
Why is a source of voltage useful?
This question is meant to see how well you can explain how things work. It can also show the interviewer how you evaluate electrical parts when making devices. Show how well you can plan and make electrical parts by giving examples of how voltage sources in the real world work.
“An ideal source of voltage has no resistance, but real sources do. Because of the series resistance, the voltage drops, which makes voltage sources more useful because the voltage can change. Most of the electronics I’ve built use real-world voltage sources to turn on lights, store energy, and control the flow of electricity.
What is the point of a source of voltage?
The interviewer might want to know how you use different electrical principles when you design electronics. Talk about how well you can describe complicated electrical processes and how you use these processes at work in your answer.
“Voltage sources are two-ended devices that can keep a constant voltage. I didn’t design and build better battery terminals using the best voltage sources. Instead, I used real voltage sources because electronics can’t handle an endless supply of current.”
How could you use Ohm’s Law to figure out how much current a device uses?
This question can help the interviewer find out how well you understand the basic theories and ideas of electrical engineering. Show that you can think critically, come up with creative solutions, and plan and design electronics and components well.
Example: “Using Ohm’s Law, I measure an electrical device’s voltage and resistance to find out how much current it has. Then, I divide the voltage by the resistance to find out how much current is going through an electrical device as a whole. At my old job, I used this method to figure out how much electricity a device could put out and how much it could charge.
Can you describe passive and active electrical components?
During your interview, the person asking you questions might ask you how you use the ideas behind both electrical components. Talk about the difference between passive and active electrical components by giving examples of electronics that use each type.
“In order for passive parts to work, they don’t need anything from the outside. Most of what I did at my last job involved passive parts. I helped engineers make things like inductors, capacitors, and resistors.
What does a resistor do?
This question tests your technical and electronics engineering skills and shows the interviewer how well you understand how electronics work. Give some examples of how you used resistors to make electrical designs work better in your answer.
“A resistor has two ends that stop electricity from moving through it. Between their ends, resistors make the voltage drop. How big these drops are can depend on how much current is going through the resistor. My experience making passive parts like inductors and capacitors, which can be used in batteries, light bulbs, and switches.
What does a capacitor do?
Your knowledge and experience with electronics can show the interviewer how you use the principles of electronics engineering to design parts and components for projects. Show the interviewer you know what you’re talking about by telling them how a part you designed works in an electrical device.
“Capacitors are like resistors in that they have two ends, but they are used to store potential energy as an electric charge. In radio electronics, I made capacitors that block direct current but let alternating current pass through the device so that it could be tuned to specific frequencies.
How does a coil do its job?
Like other questions about parts, this one can help you show off your technical skills and your ability to explain complicated processes. Show off your communication skills by breaking down the electrical processes that happen in basic electrical components.
“Inductors work by preventing the flow of electricity through them from changing. As the current flows through it, it also stores energy in a magnetic field. In many of the designs I’ve made for computer circuit boards, I’ve had to use inductors. This reminds me of what I do with passive components.”
What do the Norton theorem and linear circuitry have in common?
This question shows the interviewer how you use the important electrical engineering ideas you know. Show your knowledge of electronics, your ability to think critically, and your creativity by giving examples of how you used this principle in your past work.
Example: “I use Norton’s Theorem to figure out how much distortion is in electrical signals by measuring how batteries and resistances in linear circuitry are the same. Norton’s Theorem is helpful because it lets me design sound systems for cars and other stereo equipment that use linear circuitry.
What’s the difference between a germanium diode and a silicon diode?
The person who is interviewing you might want to know how you use different kinds of electricity at work. Give examples of projects you worked on that used both types of diodes and how they worked to show how you broke down and used complex information.
“Germanium crystals can deal with heat better than silicon crystals. This means that silicon diodes have a voltage drop of 0.7 volts and germanium diodes have a voltage drop of 0.3 volts. Germanium has more free electrons and a higher conductivity, but this depends on how hot the current is. Silicon is a better semiconductor because it doesn’t conduct electricity as well as other materials.
Why is a silicon diode better than a germanium diode?
This question gives the interviewer a chance to see how well you can figure out what tools and methods you need to design different electronic devices and parts. Use your answer to show how well you can make decisions and think critically.
“Silicon is better in many ways because it is easier to find and can be used to make more kinds of electronics. It is also better at dealing with heat. In my last job, I used silicon diodes to make watches, batteries, circuit boards, and electrical switches.
What makes up a bipolar junction transistor?
This is another basic electronics engineering question that can help the interviewer figure out how much experience you have designing and making electronics. Give examples of BJTs and how you would use them to show how skilled and knowledgeable you are.
“BJTs have both majority and minority electrical charge carriers, which are needed in emitters, bases, and collectors. I’ve worked with BJTs before because they have a much lower input impedance than FETs. This makes them better for things like batteries and switch boards.”
How do you control BJT?
This question shows the interviewer how you would set up and check on simple electrical tasks. Tell me how you would keep an eye on a BJT and keep electrical systems safe if something went wrong.
Example: “The current going through a bipolar junction transistor’s input or base controls the current going through the collector and emitter. I had to watch the direction of the current going through BJT devices in some applications, like switches, to make sure they had the right junction biasing. But if a BJT isn’t connected to the right voltage, it can stop the flow of current and make the switch hard to turn on. So it’s important to keep an eye on BJT devices to make sure the junction biasing is right.”
What do field effect transistors have inside them?
The interviewer might ask you this kind of question to find out how well you understand how electricity works. Show off your technical skills and knowledge by giving examples of how you would use them on the job.
“The drain, source, and gate terminals of a FET are used to control the voltage input. They are unipolar devices that use the majority of charge carriers to direct electrical current. With these terminals, I can limit distortion and lower nonlinearity in FET devices like phase shifters, amplifiers, and active mixers.
