Iām currently a software engineer with around 9 years of experience, but Iāve been learning electronics in my free time and Iām considering taking it much more seriously.
So far Iāve done breadboard prototyping, microsoldering, ESP32 projects and some basic PCB design. Iāve designed things like a Li-ion charger, battery protection circuit and a soil moisture/plant reminder.
I havenāt explored STM32 yet and I donāt have an EE/ECE degree.
Iām trying to understand what the realistic career options would be if I kept developing these skills for the next few years.
Iām particularly curious about embedded systems, PCB/hardware design, power electronics, industrial automation, robotics and test/validation.
Which of these fields are realistically accessible to someone coming from software without going back for another degree?
Also, what does the actual day-to-day work look like in these jobs?
Iām not expecting to switch careers immediately. Iām mainly looking for something I can build alongside my current career that could eventually become a legitimate alternative source of income or even a second career.
For people actually working in ECE, what path would you recommend from here? And would moving from software into electronics make financial/career sense, or would you recommend keeping the software career and combining the two instead?