Embedded Development Roadmap For Fresh Grads: Necessary Skills For Beginners To Gain First Job

Embedded systems are one of the most in-demand skills in the present world. It has a huge import in every electronics system today. In this tutorial, we will explain the concept of embedded systems. We will also discuss the Embedded Development roadmap for fresh grads to gain their first jobs as embedded system engineers. So, let’s get started!

What Are Embedded Systems?

An embedded system is an electronic system designed for a specific task. You have an automatic machine in your home. The washing machine works automatically; you can also control it from your mobile. It’s an embedded system.

In short, an embedded system is any small independent electronics system designed for a specific task.

In technical words, embedded systems are microcontroller-based systems where we inject software-based instructions to perform specific independent tasks.  

Microcontroller is a circuit, like computer hardware, that helps engineers to execute software instructions and control different peripherals/devices attached to the system via software.

Let’s understand embedded systems more using the above washing machine example. The washing machine has a microcontroller (You can say it is like a mini-computer). This controller has a piece of code in it called firmware. This firmware controls motors and other functionalities based on different attached buttons. Besides, this firmware also coordinates with your wifi if your machine allows you to control the machine via a mobile app. 

Some common examples of embedded systems are the following

• Smart devices like smart watches, smart switches, smart agricultural systems, smart security systems, etc., 
• Automotive systems.
• Robots like cleaning robots, security robots, etc.
• Mobile Phones

We hope that you have now got a brief idea about embedded systems.

Embedded Development Roadmap for Fresh Grads to Grab Embedded Engineer Job:

Embedded system is a vast field with multiple domains. Therefore, many fresh graduates face difficulty getting the roadmap to gain the right skills for their first job in embedded systems. 

But don’t worry. We are here to help the new grads. We will tell you the skills most employers expect from fresh embedded engineers. So, Let’s get started!

1. Programming Languages:

As we have already said, embedded systems combine hardware and software. So, good programming concepts are necessary for any embedded engineer. You should have strong concepts of programming fundamentals, data structures, and object-oriented programming (optionally).

Here are the languages you should learn to secure your first embedded engineering job.

1. 1. C Programming (Necessary) as it is preferred for programming low-level microcontrollers like ESP32 and STM32 in most companies.
   2. C++ Programming (Optional if you know C programming), as some companies use C++ for bare-metal programming. It also finds huge importance in embedded application development.
   3. Rust (Optional) is an emerging language for low-level microcontrollers. Besides, it is becoming popular among embedded and application developers worldwide due to its fast speed and excessive memory safety features.
   4. Python (Optional)

2. Microcontrollers Programming:

Microcontroller is the heart of any embedded system. Therefore, fresh graduates should have hand on experience with two or three different microcontrollers. Here is the list of microcontrollers that you should learn

1. 1. ESP32 (Necessary esp-idf), as it is good for IoT due to its networking abilities.
   2. STM32 (Necessary, register level), as it is a powerful microcontroller with ARM architecture used in most of the controllers worldwide.
   3. Arduino (Good to start but not necessary)
   4. Raspberry Pi (Good to learn Embedded Linux)

3. Operating Systems:

Embedded systems are just like mini-computers managing different tasks simultaneously. Therefore, these systems also require some operating system to schedule various tasks. You should have basic concepts of operating systems and system programming like processes, mutexes, threads, scheduling algorithms, etc. You should have hand on experience with the following operating systems (OS) to grab an embedded engineer job

1. 1. FreeRTOS (Necessary), a lightweight operating system for embedded products
   2. Linux (Basic concepts and commands are necessary)
   3. Zephyr (Good to learn but not necessary)

4. Peripherals Interfacing and Protocols:

embedded development roadmap for fresh grads also includes hand on experience with some of the most commonly used peripherals in embedded systems given below!

1. 1. GPIO
   2. Timers
   3. PWM
   4. ADC
   5. DAC
   6. Serial Communication (SPI, I2C, UART)
   7. Wifi
   8. Memory (Flash, SRAM, EEPROM)
   9. BLE

5. Software & Tools:

1. 1. Platform IO (Necessary for esp32 and Arduino)
   2. ESP-IDF (Necessary)
   3. STM32 cube IDE (for STM32 boards)
   4. Altium Designer or KiCad (for PCB designing)
   5. Build systems like makefiles or CMake (to manage code compilation professionally)

6. Other Related Skills and Concepts:

You should learn additional skills to grab your first embedded systems job. These additional skills are the following 

1. 1. PCB designing
   2. Computer networking (HTTPS, WebSockets, etc.)
   3. Architecture Concepts (CISC, RISC, ARM, etc.)
   4. Basic Assembly instructions.

That’s all from today. We hope this embedded development roadmap for fresh grads will help you design your journey to learn embedded systems.