Are there any other jobs/applications that C attributes to. Something other than embedded systems.
I would like to go into embedded systems because I enjoy this language but I feel that being an embedded systems engineer/developer is more along the lines of an Electrical Engineer/Computer Engineering job (where as I am majoring in Software Engineering). I feel that I do not have the proper training in SE to go into such low level design.
Thoughts or career advice?
Low level stuff, like kernels, garbage collectors, drivers, some networking, some heavy number crunching, and almost anything with hard realtime constraints.
As just one example, Qualcomm still does a ton of C code, mostly kernel stuff (both the Android Linux kernel and their own RTOSes which run on their proprietary chipsets). It's low level stuff, which is what you're going to get with C, but it's not EE-low-level. You aren't worrying about gates and voltages. It's kernel work.Originally Posted by new2C-
However, the idea of choosing career path based on how much you prefer some computer language is a bit nuts. The language is a tool, it is the end result that should guide you.
Code://try //{ if (a) do { f( b); } while(1); else do { f(!b); } while(1); //}
Agreed. Figure out what you want to do with your life, and learn the tools based on that, rather than the reverse. In looking at my life, there's actually a pretty poor correlation between how much I liked a job and how much I liked the programming language(s) the job required me to use. I've had some great jobs where the languages have been a bit blah, and some terrible jobs where I was working in my favorite language at the time. I enjoy my current job, even if the main language I work with is considered to be a crummy language by some*.
I'd also recommend never pigeonholing yourself into a single language or small number of languages. Learn to program in many languages, and be flexible. I may be biased because I have used many languages, but the wider your experience is, the faster you learn new languages. I don't even worry about applying for jobs where I've never used the language (though of course I don't misrepresent myself in CV or interviews). I'm fine with learning another language if the job is good.
* Though I think this article greatly exaggerates the eccentricities of the language. Modern M code is probably a bit easier to read and write than C.
Last edited by Cat; 03-22-2014 at 07:19 PM.
You ever try a pink golf ball, Wally? Why, the wind shear on a pink ball alone can take the head clean off a 90 pound midget at 300 yards.
I've seen job listings for Cryptic Studios looking for C programmers. Not sure if that's what they actually program their games in or not though. But it sure isn't embedded systems.
Also, it's definitely possible for people without EE/CE background to work on embedded stuff. It's true that most of us have EE/CE background, but in our group for example, about 10-20% came from computer science.
What cyberfish said; I have no EE background but now my job consists of quite alot of embedded work. I also do some PC stuff and a bit of embedded Linux stuff as well but mostly I program for AVR microcontrollers. I have yet to feel that it is a problem that I don't have any EE experience.
Thank you all for your input.
