I had a phone interview followed by the technical interview on the phone. The first phone interview consisted of characteristic questions, with nothing unexpected. The technical interview, however, required knowledge of most C++ functions. I had mentioned I hadn't used C++ in a few years and was told it was okay. The questions were like, "What does X function do?" I was also given short code snippets and asked for their output.

Matlab and math questions were easy:

• What is the relation between acceleration and velocity?
• Find the inverse of this matrix.
• How can you check to make sure it is correct? (A * A^(-1) = I)

Regarding control theory, which I had selected, I reviewed notes from my junior-level classes and was able to answer all questions. Example: Why do poles on the left half-axis of the complex s-plane lead to system stability?

However, I performed poorly on the C++ portion, to the point of not wanting to waste any more of the interviewer's time.

Overall, I believe if I had taken this technical test right out of college with my BSME, I would have done great. But not having done any programming during my master's, I needed to study a lot more.

What are the benefits of inheritance?