5 Things Every New Embedded Systems Engineer Should Know
What is an embedded system engineer?
The embedded systems engineer is a cornerstone of any major organization. The embedded systems engineer, or ESE, has the responsibility of developing and maintaining the software that runs on devices that are not controlled by a user. There are many things that an ESE should know in order to be successful in this role.
Here are five things every new ESE should know before they embark on their new career path.
1. Hardware Is Not Everything
Hardware is important, but it’s only one piece of your development puzzle. It’s true that there are some applications where hardware will dominate the project. However, most projects require both hardware and software solutions. You need to understand how the two work together after you get started with the first few projects.
2. Testing Techniques Are More Important Than Test Results
The importance of test results vs. testing techniques is a topic I discussed in my previous post. The bottom line here is that if you don’t know what to look for when testing, then you won’t be able to develop testable code.
3. Learning By Doing Builds From time to time,
you may find yourself working on a large-scale application with multiple developers. During these times, managing a team becomes essential. In this case, learning by doing builds is more useful than reading about them.
Taking an exercise such as JUnit or Cucumber can help you learn how to manage a team by having each developer write tests from scratch.
4. Overcome Your Fear Of Failure
If you have any fear of failure, then let it go! You might not enjoy taking risks, but failing faster means less time wasted. This is something we must all do at least once, so don’t worry about reusing old habits.
5. Get Started With A Great IDE
The best way to learn to program is through practice. Practice making mistakes until you figure out how to fix them. Once you start using IDEs, make sure you use them properly. For example, try not to ignore Auto-Completion; instead, take advantage of it. Find out what settings you can adjust within your IDE to improve its performance.
What are the most important things to know for new Embedded Systems Engineers?
Embedded systems are an integral part of any device that has a computer system embedded in them, but many people don’t understand how important they are. If you’re new to this industry, here are five things that you should know before entering the field.
- The first thing is that you need to know at least one programming language. It doesn’t have to be C or C++ because there are plenty of other languages available to choose from, including Python and Java.
- The second thing is that it’s a good idea to learn a scripting language like PHP or Ruby on Rails. These will give you more options for developing websites. That, combined with HTML5, JavaScript, CSS3, and jQuery will really broaden your skillset.
- Thirdly, you’ll want access to tools like git: if you can use version control, you’ll save time later on when collaborating on projects.
- Also, learning how to create a Makefile will help speed up development.
- And finally, being able to program in assembler would probably increase your comprehension of hardware. But remember, while knowing these three things may benefit you as a developer, they won’t necessarily make you a better engineer.
As an Embedded system engineer consider the following :
Be passionate make sure that you love what you do
Working in the field of embedded systems engineering is an exciting and innovative career. It can be a fast-paced industry where new technology is constantly being developed, but many engineers believe that they are passionate about their work because they love what they do.
Do NOT engineer by storytelling only follow the facts
Every new engineer in the embedded systems field should know that they should not rely on stories to design their product. Follow the facts and ensure that you have enough evidence before you come up with your final solution for your embedded system. they should have knowledge of the fundamentals of embedded systems like machine and communication protocol serially, memory and registers, and instruction set architecture. They should also be familiar with different debugging tools and techniques. When things break down they need to verify what went wrong using a debugger or logic analyzer. And finally, they should know some basics about programming languages and compilers.
Don’t pretend to know something you don’t
it is very bad to say that you know something and when they ask you about it they find out that you know nothing like you can’t tell someone to track something assuming that it will work.
Be purposeful focus and add value!
In today’s competitive job market, new engineers need to stand out from the crowd. Here are some tips for those
just starting out in the field of embedded systems. There are many tricks of the trade that come with being an embedded systems engineer. Whether it is developing microcontrollers to control a toy, designing circuits for pacemakers, or just programming an Arduino board to blink LEDs, there are many skills involved.