Rosmianto Aji Saputro

To successfully work on Embedded Systems, you actually need 3 main skills:

👉 Computer Science
👉 Electrical Engineering
👉 A third field depending on your interest

We need CS because there are programming aspects in Embedded Systems. We have to create robust, and efficient code for the device.

We need EE because we will be interfacing with electronic devices like sensors and actuators.

Understanding the electronics under the hoods will make your life as Embedded Engineer easy.

Lastly, we need a third field. It means that if we work on embedded devices on vehicles then we need to learn and understand automotive: its standards, the rules, the principles in auto.

The same with other fields.

I'm personally working on mining and marine, so I need to learn and understand how mining processes are done, how harsh the environment is, etc.

Fun fact, the sea environment is super harsh for embedded devices, especially saline water and temperature. If not sealed well, the device will be heavily corroded the moment you deploy into the sea.

What is your third field? Comment your fun facts below! 👇

#embeddedsystems #programming #career

My hot take: ageism in embedded systems is essentially non-existent.

Unlike the web development industry, we don’t see age as an issue in embedded systems.

In fact, older embedded engineers can still be productive, leveraging their 20+ years worth of knowledge about embedded. Making them even more valuable.

While their web developer friends are often forced to switch to consulting or managerial roles, we enjoy longer tenures in this industry.

Well, we can also switch to a managerial role if we want to.

But if we don’t, we can write a book about our embedded systems journey and it will stay relevant for the next 15 years.

An inspiring educator, an engineer, and an entrepreneur Vinay Chaddha (image below) is still working on traffic light controllers in India, proving that age has nothing to do with our embedded systems journey.

We can still be as excited at 65 as we were at 20.

For me, being an embedded engineer is closer to being a doctor than a software engineer. The older we get, the deeper our knowledge, and the more valuable we become, without having to give up the technical stuff.

What do you think? Do you think ageism in embedded is real?

Image credit: Vinay Chaddha.

PS: If you're an experienced embedded engineer, start exploring the freelancing world in 2025. More here: https://lnkd.in/gNX2GKvX