Elif Kaya

I attribute my success to my desire to help society through electronics and engineering. What motivates me most is that as an electronics and electrical engineer, I can be part of so many different things and contribute from multiple perspectives. Whether it's cell phones, laptops, medical equipment, communication circuits, software, or even space research and development, there are always new paths I can explore. I can help make things easier for people and society in so many ways. I don't have to be limited to just one area. This versatility always motivates me because there's always something new I can work toward. It's not going to end, so I can always do something meaningful if I stay self-motivated. The ability to help society from different perspectives, especially through advancing devices and electronics in healthcare, keeps me driven. I also have strong family support, which has been crucial throughout my journey.

The best career advice I can share is to stay as up-to-date as possible by following current research and learning what's really happening in the world right now, so you can identify where you can contribute. It's also crucial to build good networking connections. Even if you don't have access to opportunities because of where you live or where you were born, you can still use social media to make meaningful connections, find mentorship, and identify role models to help you reach your goals. Instead of just using social media to post things or enjoy your life, take advantage of platforms like LinkedIn and professional pages. Right now, many people have access to the internet, so you can really follow the right content and find resources that motivate you and help you believe that you can achieve similar things too. You should use every advantage available to you, whether it's social media, networking, or other resources, and never lose your self-motivation and self-confidence.

I would tell young women to always trust themselves and have self-confidence that they can achieve anything. It doesn't matter where you're coming from, what your age is, or which part of the world you're from. Even if lots of people tell you that you can't do it, you can't get into this school, you can't succeed in this field, or that even if you get in you may not make it, just ignore all of that. Focus on yourself, believe in yourself, and target a goal that you want to achieve. You should be self-motivated always. You shouldn't need to rely on someone else to motivate you. Be a self-motivated and self-learner, so that you will always be strong enough to go through any struggle. I'm sure if you do this, you're going to achieve whatever you want. You can do it! Just focus on your goals and stay self-motivated.

The biggest challenges facing young women in technical fields right now are that these fields are very male-dominated, and females unfortunately often face underestimation and unequal pay for the same jobs and same work. It's not just about your colleagues, but most of the managers and leadership are also male, so you're going to face different issues throughout your career path. This makes it uncomfortable for some females to choose this path because they know they'll be working in a male-dominated environment. However, I really hope the number of females increases over time in engineering fields like electronics and circuits engineering. I believe females are more detail-oriented compared to males, and they can really make lots of improvements with that detailed perspective. We're missing female inventors right now in our field. Females are more patient, more detailed, and they like to spend time going through all the details, questioning more. In our personal life, we're mostly like that too - we question more, think more, and try to look at things from a detailed perspective rather than just a straight way. I think if the number of female engineers increases, we're going to see lots of interesting work. Most technical things today use male data, even for things like Google glasses and other simple devices. If females get more involved, I think most things are going to change for the better.

For me, all values are important, but family is definitely one of the most important things. Getting their support at any time has been crucial for me. Beyond my core family, I also believe in being part of the bigger society, because society is our family too. We're all part of each other, right? So being part of the entire society and doing something useful and beneficial for them is something that makes you feel good in life. Contributing to society in a meaningful way is a value I hold very close to my heart.