Re: Need advice: want to enter the Embedded field

In article <Qr-dnfzMWbPctbHZRVn-ig@xxxxxxxxxx>, Jim Stewart
<jstewart@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes
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.

I see something of a contradiction here. You talk
about your love for the embedded engineering field
yet then you talk about jumping into a management
situation. Most (but not all) embedded projects
involve one or two engineers with only a small
need for tech management. Much more appropriate
than management skills are documentation, support
and tech writing skills. I suggest you forget about
the management goal until you've acually worked as
a hands-on engineer for a few years.

I would agree completely here. I don't know ANY Embedded Engineer who
does not love to play ^H^H^H^H^H evaluate equipment and try small
projects. Most managers of embedded teams use ANY excuse to get their
hands dirty on the bench. I even know one manager of a region who nearly
lost his job because he kept working like an FAE rather than a corporate
manager



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?

Withdraw the $5,000 offer immediately.


Use the money to do some of your own small projects. This will give you
some technical experience. With your MBA you might even make a business
out of it but this is NOT a good idea. You really need a little
experience working for some one else first.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Amir

I'm going to go out on a limb here. Nomex flamesuit
zipped up.

Unless you have deep religious or philosophical
objections, consider using a "westernized"
nickname. Something like Andrew or Andy for short.

I would say "Andy" not "Andrew" It is not uncommon to get called a short
or informal nickname but not usually a formal name.

In some areas of the country, it won't make much
difference, but in others, there is an anti-foreign
sentiment that might very well work against someone
named Amir. Don't worry about your last name or
even legally changing your first name. Using a
westernized nickname is an age-old tradition to
symbolically indicate your desire to integrate
into the US culture.


Yes I think lots of Chinese and other Asians with names that are not
correctly pronounced by westerners have done this for years. Bruce Lee
springs to mind. (Now some one will tell me Bruce is a Chinese name :-)


Other posters have made good recommendations about
how to get experience. I'd add that at the very
least, you should buy a dev kit for a popular
microprocessor, learn the tools, and do a project
that you can carry around in your briefcase and
offer to show during interview.


8051
AVR
Pic
ARM

If you have 5K USD I think you could do one of each. For tools I would
suggest using eval versions of the better commercial tools. Demo
projects don't have to be large and knowing the main industrial tools
will help


--
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
\/\/\/\/\ Chris Hills Staffs England /\/\/\/\/
/\/\/ chris@xxxxxxxxxxxx www.phaedsys.org \/\/\
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/



.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Need advice: want to enter the Embedded field
    ... Amir wrote: ... career advice from people in the Embedded field. ... I did my MS in EE in 2001, an MBA last year in 2005. ... technology before I can qualify for a management position. ...
    (comp.arch.embedded)
  • Re: Doctorate degree vs CCIE
    ... one had an MBA, technical chops, and decent management experience, they ... An MBA is a worthless degree anymore. ... to become a CCIE in VoIP, ... PhD degree? ...
    (comp.dcom.sys.cisco)
  • Re: Doctorate degree vs CCIE
    ... one had an MBA, technical chops, and decent management experience, they ... An MBA is a worthless degree anymore. ... to become a CCIE in VoIP, ... PhD degree? ...
    (comp.dcom.sys.cisco)
  • Re: Career advise - PhD or MBA
    ... I guess the pros for MBA are: study can be done part-time (maybe online ... Cons for PhD would be: mostly need full-time studies, ... >>> management tasks, and achieved satisfaction of my superiors. ... >>> an Engineering PhD or a MBA. ...
    (sci.research.careers)
  • Re: Hate crime and its implications for this newsgroup
    ... I've spent my career in professional ... that's all your anti-racist alleged management training showing.... ... Zionists do with your hatred of Islam/Moslems and others. ... direct control of government ...and it's not just NuLab. ...
    (uk.politics.misc)