Frequently Asked Questions

An engineer is a professional who creates solutions to real problems by utilizing scientific knowledge. In addition, engineers use their creativity to develop economical solutions and they should be sensitive to the environment. Generally, engineers do group work while working on different problems.

Engineers work in different fields such as research and development, design, production, operation and maintenance, and marketing. They develop materials, devices, system or process.

After the invention of the transistor, devices that operate with lower voltages and consume less current began to be made, and the field of electronics emerged. According to the generally accepted definition, the field dealing with low voltage and low current is called electronic engineering. In this context, computer, telecommunications, and microwave are the disciplines in close relations with electronics.

Electrical Engineering is the branch dealing with “heavy current”—that is, electric light and power systems and apparatuses. In this context, studies on energy generation and distribution, electrical machines are considered within electrical engineering.

Your personality and skills are naturally the most important factor in choosing a profession. They generally determine a profession group, and the effects of that profession on one's life become important. The person progresses in his career, the level of income increases as his career progresses. As a result, a correctly and appropriately chosen profession creates a positive relationship between the financial and moral satisfaction that the person gives to the institution he works for and the financial and moral satisfaction he receives, which affect each other positively. In choosing a profession, it is important to examine the general situation of the sector, employment opportunities, general wage level and how the related sector will develop in the coming years.

Electrical and Electronics Engineers have been the most sought-after profession group both in our country and in the world for many years. According to the data of “Elektronik Sanayi Almanağı 2011” (https://www.tesid.org.tr/tsd/belge/tesid_tur2011.pdf) prepared by the Turkish Electronics Industrialists Association (TESID), in our country, the production revenue in electronics industry was valued at $11.3 billion in 2010. In the same year, 45,000 people were employed in the electronics industry. Imports were $14.5 billion and exports were $5.5 billion in 2010. In the field of engineering and services related to the sector, a business volume of $18 billion and employment for 100,000 people was created. Research and development (R&D) expenditures in the electronics sector in 2010 were approximately $225 million, and its ratio to total turnover is 2%. Considering that this rate is around 0.8% in Turkey, it becomes clear that R&D studies are important in electronics industry.

Total production in the electrical power generation sector is around $15 billion. It is clear that energy production will mainly shift to renewable energy sources in the coming years, and electrical engineers will take a more active role in these systems. In addition, the need for electrical engineers and control engineers will increase in the manufacturing industry and other sectors that use electrical machines and try to increase their efficiency with smart control systems.

According to statistics from the US Employment Agency, there are 291,000 electrical and electronics engineers employed in the US. This number corresponds to 19.4% of approximately 1.5 million engineers. The ratio of electrical and electronics engineers who found employment among total engineers is very high. It has also been reported that electrical and electronics engineers are hired in almost every sector. Job opportunities for Electronics Engineers will increase by 4% between 2006 and 2016. In this context, job opportunities will increase in sub-fields such as mobile phone transmitters in service-providing sectors. Job opportunities for Electrical Engineers will grow by 6% between 2006-2016. In this context, there will be more job demand in the fields of energy production, high-capacity energy batteries and their management, navigation systems. An interesting report on Electrical and Electronics Engineering in the USA can be found at https://www.careercornerstone.org/pdf/ee/eleceng.pdf. You can find some statistics on electrical and electronics engineers in our country at https://www.emo.org.tr/emo_hakkinda/istatistikler/rapor0.php.

Choosing electrical and electronics engineering instead of another engineering field will increase your chances of finding a job and working in better workplace environment once you graduate successfully.

Surveys conducted with industry and private-public workplace managers around the world revealed that the basic expectations from an electrical-electronics engineer are;

   - Ability to identify and solve real engineering problems,

   - Being able to follow scientific/technological developments,

   - Ability to work both as a team and independently,

   - Has a knowledge of at least one foreign language,

   - Has a knowledge in information technologies,

   - Has effective communication skills.

The educational objectives of the Izmir University of Economics Electrical and Electronics Engineering undergraduate program meet the expectations and needs of the industry, and the program, which consists of theoretical and applied courses in order to gain the said skills, is implemented by constantly measuring-evaluating the achievements of the students.

A modern and universally accepted electrical and electronics engineering program should be organized in accordance with the features sought in workplaces, revealing the strengths of the learners and making the learning process effective.

Our electrical and electronics engineering program provides the theoretical and applied courses of electrical and electronics engineering, allowing each student the opportunity to conduct experiments and design engineering projects independently as well as as a team, and reinforce the theoretical and applied knowledge given by the lecturers with educational tools such as homework, term papers, etc. It is implemented with an educational approach based on the principle of "learning by trying", which is organized according to the learner rather than the teacher, in which the preparatory midterm exams are used intensively and the knowledge and skills of the students are measured effectively with non-exam components. As a result, it is aimed that our graduates will improve themselves with the knowledge and experience they have gained throughout the program.

The laboratory courses in the curriculum are at a high level, both in number and quality. They aim to provide our students with the opportunity to learn by doing and to gain practical application experience. Our current laboratories are as follows:

- Electrical Circuits Laboratory (C 607)

- Microprocessors Laboratory (C 606)

- Digital Signal Processing Laboratory (C 603)

- Electrical Machines/Power Electronics Laboratory (C-604: under construction)

- Communication Laboratory (C 508)

- Computer Networks and Communications Laboratory (C 608)

- Simulation Laboratory (C 601-C602)

- Software and Development Laboratory (C 605)

- Software Test Center/VLSI Design Lab (C 609)

- Automation/Control Laboratory (C 509)

- Microwave/Antenna Laboratory (C-508: under construction)

In the first year, students of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering take Mathematics I and II, General Physics I and II, Chemistry, Introduction to Programming and Introduction to Electrical and Electronics Engineering courses. In addition to English I and II courses, students are required to take two courses as the second foreign language of their choice, which they will take for four years. In addition, there are Social Sciences I and II courses in the first year.

Mathematics is a widely used tool to construct concepts in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. For this reason, first-year mathematics courses are important as they are prerequisites for other courses.

Electrical and Electronics engineers work in the following areas:

- Computers and Embedded Systems

- Measurement and Control

- Digital and Analog Electronics

- Whole circuit (Chip) Design and Construction

- Semiconductor Materials

- Nanotechnology

- Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS)

- Signal Processing (Image Processing, Video Processing, Audio Processing, Encoding and Cryptography)

- Bioelectronics and biomedical

- Microwave - Antennas

- Communication and Telecommunications

- Fiber Optic Communication

- Photonics

- Electrical Machines

- High Voltage and Energy

- Renewable energy

- Power Electronics

- Automatic control

- Sound Engineering

- Acoustic Engineering

Electrical and Electronics Engineers develop materials, modules, devices and systems in these areas. Studies can be theoretical as well as practical.

Electrical installation projects can be signed by engineers with “Serbest Müşavir Mühendis” (SMM) certificate. SSM certificates are issued by the Chamber of Electrical Engineers.

Three types of SMM certificates are issued:

i. Electrical installations above 1kV and below 1kV (all electrical voltage levels):

Student who take courses named "High Voltage Technique", "Electrical Machines", "Electrical Facilities" (one of protection, generation, transmission, distribution) or courses with the same content but under different names can obtain this certificate.

Graduates of Izmir University of Economics, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

- ETE 307 Electromechanical Energy Conversion

- ETE 471 High Voltage Engineering

- ETE 472 Electrical Energy Transmission and Distribution

They can get this document when they take the courses listed above.

ii. For electrical installations below 1kV:

For Electrical and Electronics Engineers who have not taken the courses in Article (i), SMM certificate is issued for electrical facilities below 1kV.

iii. For elevator services:

It is the SMM Certificate for Elevator Services. Those who meet the conditions in Article (ii) can obtain this document. Those who receive the elevator SMM certificate cannot receive other SMM documents at the same time.