MCU firmware dev, ~5 yrs. Embedded Linux or RTL/FPGA next? Kind of stuck
Hi everyone, first time posting here (and on Reddit in general), so go easy on me.
I have been doing firmware for almost 5 years now. Mostly bare metal STM32 (register level), FreeRTOS, some Zephyr on nRF52, RS-485/Modbus, LoRaWAN, did a secure OTA implementation once. Currently doing my masters on the side.
I'm trying to decide where to go next and honestly I keep flip flopping.
Embedded Linux feels like the obvious move. It builds on what I already know, there are way more jobs, and industrial gateway type stuff (Yocto, drivers, secure boot, OTA, Modbus/OPC UA) seems like a decent niche. But part of me thinks a lot of the routine Linux work is going to get eaten by AI tools first.
Other option is RTL. My uni has a 4 month full time chip design course with a placement drive at the end, and for my semester project I'm designing a custom ASIC, basically a small AI accelerator. RTL seems to be growing a lot, but I'd be starting from junior level and there are way fewer jobs.
Right now my plan is to do the course, get the accelerator running on an FPGA, write my own Linux driver and Yocto image for it, and then move more into Embedded Linux after that.
For people actually working in these areas:
- is firmware + Linux + some RTL actually a useful combination in real jobs, or am I just spreading myself too thin?
- would a course and one solid project mean anything to an RTL hiring manager with no industry RTL experience?
- if you moved from MCU stuff to Embedded Linux, how long did it take before you were actually competitive?
- what would you do in my place?
Would really appreciate hearing what you've seen work in actual hiring. Thanks