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I've done a fair amount of embedded programming. (I was the most experienced C programmer at various places and was asked to help out with hardware projects, in

I've done a fair amount of embedded programming. (I was the most experienced C programmer at various places and was asked to help out with hardware projects, including Space Shuttle payloads, tools for a new chip design and Vegas slot games.) What I have noticed is that job postings for dedicated embedded/firmware programmers paid about half what I was already making, so I never put that on my resume. So I think you're misguided: nobody's going to give you a job as a junior embedded engineer (since they would have to supervise you and debug your code, or face a failed $$$$ hw project), and even if they did, you'd earn half what a CRUD developer can make. But if you're going down that road, learn the linux tool chain, including how linux boots. You can find the IBM DOS era BIOS listing manual on ebay.

arduinomancer 5y ago
I'm really curious why embedded pays so much lower than CRUD web dev. My guess is that CRUD product companies have much lower marginal cost of production (just server costs) than hardware so they can afford to pay more.
- redis_mlc 5y ago
  No, non-SV companies have no respect for full-time embedded software engineers. However a licensed PE who also does sw will have very high status since he can almost single-handedly ship a new release. (Multiply that respect disparity by 2 or 5 for Japan - sw is the lowest-paid eng. job in Japan.) Note that even in SV it's very common to lay off the entire eng. team after a chip is taped out or a product is shipped. You'll see eng. managers desert like rats on a chip about 4-6 weeks before finish, then all the ICs get their final all-hands about a month later. The exceptions are if the software toolchain is not done, or if you're a "customer engineer" - then the software budget gets more time. (Smart hw companies start both the hw and sw at the same time, but if they don't, then the sw will not be finished when the hw is ready. Oops.) So stick to CRUD and sw-only companies, folks.

arduinomancer 5y ago

I'm really curious why embedded pays so much lower than CRUD web dev. My guess is that CRUD product companies have much lower marginal cost of production (just server costs) than hardware so they can afford to pay more.

redis_mlc 5y ago
No, non-SV companies have no respect for full-time embedded software engineers. However a licensed PE who also does sw will have very high status since he can almost single-handedly ship a new release. (Multiply that respect disparity by 2 or 5 for Japan - sw is the lowest-paid eng. job in Japan.) Note that even in SV it's very common to lay off the entire eng. team after a chip is taped out or a product is shipped. You'll see eng. managers desert like rats on a chip about 4-6 weeks before finish, then all the ICs get their final all-hands about a month later. The exceptions are if the software toolchain is not done, or if you're a "customer engineer" - then the software budget gets more time. (Smart hw companies start both the hw and sw at the same time, but if they don't, then the sw will not be finished when the hw is ready. Oops.) So stick to CRUD and sw-only companies, folks.