On Home Projects as a Reentry into the Job Market

before,

OK, so there's a bug that MS-DOS didn't have.

hey, if you are turning sand into gold, you don't need no stinkin engeneer job!

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Back in college our reflow oven was a Black & Decker. Only one temperature zone, but it did ding when the time was up.

Then I went on to my first job, found myself reflowing by heat gun, and longed for those more sophisticated days.

--
Rob Gaddi, Highland Technology
Email address is currently out of order

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A guy I knew repaired Data general computer gear. He did Surface Mount repair with a B&D heat gun.

But on the other hand, in Massachusetts you might be burned at the stake as an unlicensed alchemist.

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I wish a had a nickle for every engineer or hobbyist who wanted to recreate an old CPU design. Or better yet, a line of fully debugged and documented code on a new project with real world application.

I thought I was going to have a lot of free time this summer to work on an open source hardware design, but my time has not been so free after all. But if anyone is sitting around bored and wants to participate, I would love to have some moral support if not good, solid planning and design work. I want to develop an open source GPS receiver. The main goal is to allow a variety of sources of data to be used rather than being locked into maps from the GPS vendor. I've been inspired by USAPhotoMaps and OpenStreetMaps.

I'm not trying to knock retro-projects. I'm just saying I'd like to work on something closer to state of the art.

Rick

Hi Rick,

I think that's a great idea, but personally I'd be happy if I could simply

*buy* a program like Street Atlas USA for Linux... and that means including high-quality maps of the U.S. AFAIK the problem is that the commercial map guys like NavTeq and TeleAtlas are only willing to sell their maps to folks who'll take reasonable precautions to prevent the data from being trivially copied into other programs. (I don't know it for a fact, but I suspect the map databases in Street Atlas, Street & Trips, etc. are encrypted -- otherwise someone would have written an "extractor" by now so that such data could be used by the Linux mapping applications.)

The OpenStreetMaps guys seem to be doing a pretty good job, though... perhaps eventually they will be an acceptable replacement for the commercial alternatives.

---Joel

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ships.

We don't play with their toys either. It's much easier to have them do the work. ;-)

I guess that counts as a free pass. ;-)

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ships.

Engineering had a bad habit of thinking that everything in the building belonged to them. Like when they swiped the scope off my bench and took it with them for a couple weeks to a customer's site. When they got back they discovered that the Tek 2465B they had ordered, had replaced it. ;-)

Nice. :-)

Did you get to keep the 2465B?

Yes. For over two years. Even when I was moved to a new project, it went with me. :)

They tried to get back at me by banning me from entering or calling the engineering department, for life. That lasted less than a week.

Hi Tim, and everyone else! Its me, I'm one of the guys who has sent this "I want to do a home project because I need to get an embedded job" message. I havent watched any other messages on this list so I dont know if there was anyone else. Reading the messages in this thread, I understand people's different views that:

• If anyone does a home project just to get a job, their intentions are easily exposed and a blinky home project means nothing.

• Yes a home project is valuable and practical I think it just depends on the situation; how sincere a person is and how passionate, interested and willing to learn they are about technology and what their background is, and what the project is. In my case I love problem solving (but then who doesnt; I know) and technology, programming and creating unique solutions that do it like it hasnt been done before. I did an MS in EE in 2002, did a few job interviews and didnt get anything so I got back into school and started an MBA. I got that in

2005 and have been a web-designer job since then which pays the bills. Although I do a good job and am happy about how the job serves people but I struggle in the job intellectually and it really doesnt use my talents (it requires aesthetic creativity which I struggle with). For these 5 years I've been inactive I havent done anything to get a real EE job. Yes this doesnt leave a good impression of me. I also know there is a way out. In around 2006 I came to this same list and asked what I should do to get an embedded job. Many responses were "do a home project". Yes for 4 years I still havent done anything. I did buy some Embedded boards/kits as suggested but they've been collecting dust. Once again I know I'm to blame. I've had chronis sinusitus for atleast 4 years and the lack of sleep has destroyed my quality of life and my energy level. I'm now going to the number one ENT in the country and will have it all fixed by the end of this year. And then I know I have to work on doing *what it takes* to get a real EE job. I wish I had the same brain power before my sinus problems and I know I will have it again.

So to sum it up, I'm very sincere to the electrical engineering field. Yes my inactiveness of 5 years says the opposite perhaps but I havent been able to work on it. I know there is a way out. To my left are sitting 3 embedding kits, still in their boxes. It excites me every time I look at them (yes I know, how wonderful [sarcasm]). I have a soldering iron at home. I'm handy with things. I have tonnes of screwdrivers and tools. I love working with tools, opening things and tinkering.

I know I could make something that combines embedded stuff into web technologies. If I was able to do it, it could help reduce the negativity of my non-EE web-design job that I'm doing right now and I can turn that into something positive. Here's a diagram of what I thought I could do:

This is some kind of "enviromental" embedded home project that can talk to the internet. Not everything here serves a practical purpose, its for learning. Regarding the wireless part, someone [Michael Karas] correctly suggested I should use pre-existing Bluetooth instead of making something 433Mhz at home.

I've been creative and have done some pretty unique things in my personal life which I'm glad I did, because most people dont make the choices that I made (except for staying in my non-EE job for 5 years which was bad). I know I can be creative and unique in technology and in my career as well. A lot of you look like you're experts, you've achieved success and all so I'm fortunate to even have this platform. I dont know what else I can do, given that I have an MSEE from 2002, did an MBA and since then have been a web-designer. I have to get out of this situation one way or the other and I know there's a way and I'll do anything to get there. I know all is not lost and I know I can do great stuff when I get into the right company in the right job. I know there's still time.

Money is not an object for me. I can pay my bills and save every month. I want to do something that I love doing, something that utilizes my real talents and interests. I have a passion for 'free' things (renewable energy). I know I can connect that to embedded and web technologies. I've thought a lot about what kind of job I would like doing best.

If anyone has any advice on what I should do, I'll be really grateful. This time I'll do it. I have a new car, a new place, will have a new 'nose' (they'll fix it) and I want to have a new job now too and I'm hopeful.

Alex

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Sixty pinball machines? Damn, I'm in love.

Back to the main question, I think doing something very public (Makerfaire, Circuit Cellar article, etc) is a good idea to show you at least have a clue.

I suppose not taking an engineering job is better than taking an engineering job you don't want. For instance, you want to design but you take a job in test.

Getting back to Jeri's DIY chip, it is quite possible to do a chip on open source software. It is just a pain in the ass. I guess to be clearer, some of the commercial EDA of say Cadence is just cleaned up Berkeley software. I've played with those open source layout tool and it's pretty ugly, but haven't tried so in years. Once you have a layout, take it to Mosis Obviously you design with their spice parameter file. Basically, it's like how you made chips in college.

Do what you love to do. Even if it doesn't get you the job, you'll have fun doing it, and learn things.

Expecting that a single "whiz-bang" project will get you hired is a mistake. It will carry a lot more weight if it is one of many projects in various areas and of varying complexity.

Ed

You made chips in college? Any others here?

Since they came out? The Lego set must have been found in the closet.

mike

in

Check out

or

that.

You haven't seen the LEGO robot modules powered by ARM processors?

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