Transitioning from software to hardware

[webslinga]

Hey all,
First of all, thank you for the great advice on this forum. I really have learned a lot as a software developer. I just graduated in december with my BS in Electrical and another one in Computer Engineering. I started on with this great property management company as a software person. Although I am proficient in software, I really would like to use some of my EE skills.
I am working with web-based languages mostly like PHP and .NET. We are also going to develop a mobile solution using VB. My ideal job would be as an embedded software engineer working with communication systems.
The path from here to there seems kind of convoluted. Anyone have any ideas on how to start?

 

[jshurst]

If you guys are going to start developing a mobile solution then I would stick with that for the time being, only because you said that you wanted to work with communication systems. Perhaps that would give you a little experience in that direction.
I've found in my (short) career that you will naturally gravitate to what you like (and are good at). Also, since you just graduated, you are probably pretty young. My point being...don't feel like you are stuck at any job. You might as well try some new things out now. If you see an opportunity that you are interested in then go for it and don't look back (but certainly don't burn bridges if you don't have to ;-) ). If you don't like it then there are plenty of other jobs out there, especially with the degrees/experience that you already have.

Good luck and keep coming back to tek-tips, it's the best forum that I've found in the web.

 

[webslinga]

Thank you much for the good word jshurst. I guess we'll see what happens down the line. You're absolutely right however about everyone ending up with what they like and what they're good at. I just want to keep my options open since I am young and have very little strings attached. I want to "find my niche" before shift my life into second gear (with life, having children, and all that fun stuff). Anyway, thanks again.

 

[jshurst]

I'm in the same boat, but I love being a programmer and hopefully a college professor someday.