Re: Need advice: want to enter the Embedded field

Amir wrote:

I apologize for writing to this list but would be grateful if I can get
career advice from people in the Embedded field.
I did my MS in EE in 2001, an MBA last year in 2005. Now I want to get
an Embedded job but I don't have industry experience. I love the
field and know I'll learn quickly and perform well. What do I do to get
a job? I've applied here and there, and got no response from anyone.
Everyone is looking for very experienced candidates. The situation is
not promising. I'm not a US citizen but am authorized to work
indefinitely for any employer here (am an asylee). With my MBA, I also
need experience for that kind of job so I need to have a career in
technology before I can qualify for a management position. I did my MBA
to stay in school when the job market was bad. Currently I do website
work, its not related to my degrees but it makes a living. I know my
resume isnt perfect, but I believe my passion for the embedded field
would help me get a job no matter what.
I thought EE's were in demand. There's a company in a nearby city I
thought of volunteering in to get experience and maybe a job offer
later if all goes well. I wonder if they'll respond to my request and
how that would work out.

Any advice on how to get a job in the Embedded field? I'm also offering
$5,000 to any one who can get me a full time Embedded position. I know
this sounds desperate but considering I have no experience, I'm willing
to do anything to get a job. Is there anything I can do to at least get
on track to an Embedded career while earning money? Or do I think about
changing my field and abandoning Embedded?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Amir

* Keep looking. Getting that first job is hard, so don't get discouraged.

* 'Volunteer' may be the wrong word to use -- see if you can get an internship. These are usually done _before_ you graduate, but who knows?

* Try to do your web design for smallish high-tech companies, and hang out with the engineers. Make it clear that you wish you were helping them -- perhaps when a crunch hits you'll get lucky.

* Companies shy away from new grads because at first most of them aren't worth the paper their degree is printed on. Engineering degrees will serve you well to the end of your career, but they sure don't help in the first two years. So do something real. Start reading Servo, Circuit Cellar and Embedded Systems Programming magazine. Pick something you've always wanted to do and make it work with an embedded processor. Then put it on your resume under 'Experience' even if it wasn't for money.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

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