Okay so here's my situation. 👇
I'm a first-year Electronics & Communication Engineering (ECE) student at a smaller private college in Kerala, India. I have almost FOUR YEARS before I need to pick anything for real, which is a massive advantage! Enough time to either study hard for a big exam or build real skills.
I already know I want to do embedded systems. What I'm curious about is how to spend these four years to get there.
Path 1: GATE -> IIT/NIT
For anyone outside India: GATE is a tough national exam, and IITs/NITs are India's top engineering colleges. The plan is to study hard, pass the exam, get the bigger name on my resume, plus an M.tech degree & strong campus placements. The "safe" path, as people keep reminding me 🤔
Path 2: Skip it, go all-in on building
Spend these years on real embedded projects and maybe a hands-on internship. Enter the job market with a GitHub full of real work instead of an exam score.
Path 3: Try both
Probably not for me. I focus best on one thing at a time. Curious if it's worked for anyone else though.
Questions for embedded folks anywhere, especially those who've been through the Indian system:
- If you picked either path, what did the time before your decision and the years after actually feel like?
- For embedded jobs, does a top college name or campus placements matter, or does a solid GitHub do the same job? (Curious how this differs by country.)
I've got passion for BOTH routes, equally 😎 That's why I am asking for advice here. If you've got even one sentence to share, drop it below. I promise I'll read every single one of them just like I did for my previous "Should I learn C" post (unless I get flooded with comments lol). Thanks @unitbuilds @francistrdev (both always helps me 😊) @fm (Very long & detailed advice. Respect 🫡) @build996 @aniruddhaadak @elanatframework @lucascz @robertpaschal and @nikkhielseath for your advices!
(@technogamerz you only wished me luck. You are the best person to ask this. If you're reading, please give me advice on this one 🥹🙏)
Top comments (20)
@xulingfeng is here! 🥳 What's your opinion!?
How about roll the dice? 🎲🤣
Bro you are alllways joking... Please say something thing time
The practical approach would be to ask seniors from your major how they’re doing now — especially those who’ve graduated and started working. Try to reach out and connect with them. 🎲
The seniors from my major are dumb (I am not joking I mean literally not to offend anyone but it's the reality unfortunately 🤣). They don't have any idea what they are doing. I mean seniors in my specific college 😝
Oof, that’s tricky when local seniors aren’t helpful. Maybe reach out to ECE alumni from other institutes on LinkedIn or Dev.to. You can get diverse perspectives from people outside your college bubble.
And you can see @hemapriya_kanagala her Radar series posts closely; they should be really helpful for you.
Okay I followed her... but it seems like she's doing other stuff? I saw "Python, SQL, Web3, and backend" in the skills section.
dev.to/devengers/dev-opportunity-r...
Nothing related to embedded systems. But maybe we'll get something later?
Right. Just keep an eye on her posts for general‑career insights, while you hunt for embedded‑focused creators elsewhere 😊
Yup. Now let's wait for other people to comment (hopefully).
I believe university plays a very important role in one's career path, although a GitHub profile—filled with valuable repositories—is also a great indicator of an individual's high caliber.
Attend a good university and connect with high-quality peers. At a good university, you will find friends who know the path to professional growth. Surround yourself with people who are at a higher level than you—or, at the very least, on par with you.
But going for M.tech means extra 2 years of study while I could be earning money (sorry I didn't add that in the post I completely forgot it 😣). So with that in the equation, what do you think?
In terms of life experience, at a young age, two years is a long time; but as you get older, two years isn't that long!
For now, you have plenty of time to make a decision.
In the coming years, I’d love to see robotic gadgets on your GitHub that can be controlled via a client (through a web browser).
Thanks! 😊 Yeah when I think about it 2 years is kind of short, right? 🤔 The thing is whether it's worth it. Do you think I can make it within those 2 years if I learn myself? Or do you think the M.tech path will be better? Is getting a core job without campus placements realistic?
@akhourianmolkumar I know you're 13 but what's your opinion?
Idk 😂
Bruh ☹️