How to become a microcontroller engineer?

What do I need to get a job as a microcontroller engineer? Any specific books to read? Any courses, Masters or whatever?

first u need to do electronics enginering .and then u can make out what to read . for 8051 searies read mazidi

I have BS of Physics and I am getting my MSEE, which I will finish next year.
Do you mean that I will get a job on microcontrollers field just by telling the employer "I have read books on 8051 or other microcontrollers"? (I am not sarcastic, I really wonder if it is like that)

pepillo said:

Do you mean that I will get a job on microcontrollers field just by telling the employer "I have read books on 8051 or other microcontrollers"? (I am not sarcastic, I really wonder if it is like that)

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Hi,
u need to show them the real work/projects u have done using microcontrollers. so my advice is to pick up initially any one microcontroller family e.g MCS-51 and do some projects, ofcourse u need to study also

thanks
sawaak

In my CV resume, do you recommend me to explain in depth the projects I have been involved in? or just name them? It may take up to 3 pages to explain them, and I think a CV should not exceed 2 pages.

THE MORE YOU PRACTICE THE MORE YOU LEARN...ELECTRONIC IS AN ENDLESS OCEAN...AND MICROCONTROLLERS ARE JUST A PART OF ELECTRONICS...YOU HAVE TO STUDY VERY MUCH AND MAKE SOMETHING AND THEN SELL YOURSELF...MARKET IS SO BIG AND COMPLEX.RIVALRY ENVIRONTMENT IS VERY VERY BIG...YOU MUST HAVE A DIFFERENCE THAN OTHERS...LEARN MICROCHIP'S MICROCONTROLLERS OR INTEL'S BUT THE BEST ONE IS LEARNING ALL OF THEM

Will the employer hire me just for having done some Do It Yourself projects?

I COULDN T UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION VERY WELL!!! SORY..

I see, now I understand, you're kidding

hi,

Frist you have to start with a simple controller
like pic16f84
write a flasher program
then try a switch with led
try to send a char to serial port
then you will find yourself involved in micrcontrollers
also you can find a lot of books to start with be search edaboard
i start with pic then switch to 8051 now i'm involved in Avr
i'm studing ARM7 form philipes LPC2000
the more you work hard the more you know faster

Fire in The Wire :idea:

c its not all about that you have read some books and you have done some projects that employers will hire you and its niether about that you have done your bs and pursuing your msee .What matters is that what you have gleaned through all your studies all the books you read and all the projects you made and ofcourse how you present it before them.

Remember theres no substitute for knowledge but its not also that you cant open the tap until the pitcher is full .
start indulging and then start exploring

pepillo said:

Will the employer hire me just for having done some Do It Yourself projects?

Click to expand...

I mean, will the employer consider my profile interesting if I mention that I have started to learn microcontrollers on my own, and that I have done projects at home as for example interfacing an eeprom with a 8051?
Won't the employer tell me "learn real electronics from university, dude, we do not need a hobbyist we need an engineer"?

I wish I could

**broken link removed**

pepillo,

employers will first scan your resume/CV for past and present work experience and skill sets.
if you have experience in the kind of MCUs they hope to use or are using, they will pick you for an interview.
if not, they will still see if you have worked with other MCUs and development tools.
they will also look at the kind of real industrial projects such as a mobile phone, PDA, GSM base station, switch box, bluetooth MP3 player for examples, which you have done using this MCUs.

Most universities only teach one or at most two MCUs.
Personally I was taught MC68HC11. I learnt PIC18F452, Intel8051, Zilog Z8, ARM7/9/11 and OMAP, MIPS, Atmel128/8 etc on my own when I worked with them.

You have to learn many things on your own. Degree gives you the foundation. After you graduated, you are on your own to explore, with this basics knowledge in your head.

lastly they will still check for your "sheepskins". in other words, they want to see your qualifications such as MSEE or BSEE.

You dont need a MSEE to become a MCU or an embedded system engineer. BSEE is good enough.

Look at it this way. Many engineers from "unheard" and village universities in India or China with BSEEs found jobs as engineers working with MCUs in the USA.
Do you think they care so much about needing MSEE?

So long you are technically good and experienced, even a degree from India and China still get you a decent employment as far as USA.

I need to stress this. Not having a BSEE is really a disadvantage because you are less competitive compared to cheaper labour from India and China where BSEE is nothing at all and everyone has one.