So You Wanna Be an Embedded Engineer: The Guide to Embedded Engineering, From Consultancy to the Corporate Ladder

In this new, highly practical guide, expert embedded designer and manager Lewin Edwards answers the question, “How do I become an embedded engineer?” Embedded professionals agree that there is a treacherous gap between graduating from school and becoming an effective engineer in the workplace, and that there are few resources available for newbies to turn to when in need of advice and direction. This book provides that much-needed guidance for engineers fresh out of school, and for the thousands of experienced engineers now migrating into the popular embedded arena.
This book helps new embedded engineers to get ahead quickly by preparing them for the technical and professional challenges they will face. Detailed instructions on how to achieve successful designs using a broad spectrum of different microcontrollers and scripting languages are provided. The author shares insights from a lifetime of experience spent in-the-trenches, covering everything from small vs. large companies, and consultancy work vs. salaried positions, to which types of training will prove to be the most lucrative investments. This book provides an expert’s authoritative answers to questions that pop up constantly on Usenet newsgroups and in break rooms all over the world.

* An approachable, friendly introduction to working in the world of embedded design
* Full of design examples using the most common languages and hardware that new embedded engineers will be likely to use every day
* Answers important basic questions on which are the best products to learn, trainings to get, and kinds of companies to work for

Chapter 1: Introduction
About This Book

Chapter 2: Education
Traditional Education Paths into Embedded Engineering
Getting into the Field Without Traditional Education
How Much Electronics Must I Learn?
Educational Traps, Dead-Ends and Scams to Avoid
Practical Skills You'll Want To Acquire

Chapter 3: Teaching Yourself, Bottom-Up (Small Embedded Systems)
Target Audience
8051
Atmel AVR
Texas Instruments MSP430
C vs. Assembly Language in Small Embedded Systems

Chapter 4: Teaching Yourself, Top-Down (Large Embedded Systems)
Target Audience
Embedded x86 Solutions
ARM
PowerPC
Linux
eCos

Chapter 5: Working For Yourself
Is Self-Employment for You? Risks and Benefits
From Moonlighting to Fulltime Consultant Status – Bookkeeping, Taxes and Workload
Ways to Find Customers
Iterative Projects: Never-Ending Horror?
Pricing Your Services Appropriately
Establishing Your Own Working Best Practices
Business Has No Friends: The Importance of Contracts

Chapter 6: Working in a Small Company
Analyze your Goals: Benefits and Downsides of the Small Company
How to Get the Job
Responsibilities and Stresses in a Small Company
Personal Dynamics in Small Companies
Managing Tightly-Limited Resources
Task Breakdown: A Typical Week

Chapter 7: Working in a Larger Company
Analyze your Goals: Benefits and Downsides of the Large Company
How to Get the Job
Globalization: Outsourcing and Temporary Worker Visas
Procedures and You: Keeping Your Head Above Water
Task Breakdown: A Typical Week