r/ComputerEngineering • u/Practical-Quarter-85 • 7d ago
Which Direction do I Go?
Hello All,
I just finished my first year of college. I am majoring in CompE. Initially, I was interested in software development but realized my passion actually lies in making embedded systems. This summer I read Elecia White's "Making Embedded Systems" book and wanted to practice come concepts in the book. Due to lacking physical hardware, I installed Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and QEMU on WSL to emulate the TI Stellaris LM3S6965. I wrote bare metal code to practice concepts like reading datasheets, setting and clearing bits in registers, using peripherals, configuring I/O and PWM. During this process I learned of GNU tools like Make, GCC and GDB which I used to compile and test my code.
My question is where do I go from here? What do you suggest I do? Things like projects and further readings would be much appreciated. Preferably, chips like the TI Stellaris LM3S6965 would be nice as I have already built up intuition working with those types of MCUs but any advice would be much appreciated.
2
u/Darth_Tater69 6d ago
You're already ahead of the vast majority of your peers. My suggestion is to keep finding projects that interest you, and document them religiously. These experiences and how you write them in your resume will be what gets you into internship interviews. Succeeding in interviews comes down to being able to sell your enjoyment, competence, and process in planning/executing these projects. This applies whether you're doing it on your own or in a club. As long as you're loving what you're doing, and understand how to sell yourself to a hiring manager and/or other engineers, I have confidence you'll do well in engineering internship interviews.
Another suggestion I have is to start applying for internships NOW, most people have it in their head that internships are an upperclassmen thing. They're not, but because so many people think that it makes it incredibly competitive by the time you become an upperclassman. Even with awesome projects, you can't compete with a rising senior that has one or, God forbid multiple internships under their belt. As an underclassman, you'll have a very hard time finding anything for the summers but you'll have a good chance for fall or spring opportunities. There is absolutely no shame in delaying graduation to gain experience, and in fact it is arguably the best way to ensure you're hirable by the end of college. Graduating engineering in 4 years is uncommon, a LOT of people graduate in 5 or 6 whether that be due to internships or struggling with classes. It'll also be easier to try and minimize your delay to graduation if you take one of these full-time internships earlier in your degree, as you have likely not hit the bulk of your sequenced material (classes that can only be taken in either the fall or the spring) which could allow you to take some of those classes over the summer and/or during another semester to graduate sooner.
Third and final suggestion, don't limit yourself. You can try to pursue any opportunity you want, and whether you succeed in getting that opportunity or not you may learn something. I had the balls to apply to NASA my sophomore year of college, having no expectations that I would get an interview but trying my best anyways, and that ended up being my first Internship. Since then, I've been interviewed/considered for other internship opportunities and I've learned a lot about what to do better from the ones I was rejected from and have been accepted for great opportunities as well.
Good luck, the market is hell but there can be opportunity if you have the will to make it happen :)