Stop getting caught up in the hype; microcontrollers and embedded Linux are not the factors that determine your ceiling.
Some students see job postings for Linux positions offering monthly salaries of 20,000 to 30,000 and get excited, thinking they can earn that much too. However, they fail to consider the cost of getting from their starting point to that endpoint, and they overlook the competition, which consists of graduates with solid computer science backgrounds.
I know many people have a technical hierarchy mindset, often thinking that microcontroller technology is low-level and has a low ceiling. This is a typical technical thinking error.
The reality is that many smart hardware products on the market are fundamentally based on a microcontroller. Being able to take a product in a specific industry to the extreme, handling everything from hardware to software by yourself, and being able to withstand mass production validation is far more valuable than those engineers who only know how to tweak modules in Linux.
Once you have 7 to 8 years of experience as an engineer, you will deeply understand that technology is merely a tool. What truly sets you apart is your understanding of the product, industry, and market. Many competitive barriers for products are not technical but rather related to supply chains and channels.
Below, I will provide some advice for three main groups of people.
First group: Fresh graduates or those transitioning from non-technical fields, such as electrical or mechanical engineering. My advice is to start with microcontrollers. Don’t underestimate their simplicity. Microcontrollers can help you establish a complete knowledge loop and monetization path in the shortest time. From understanding schematics to writing code to light up your first LED, and finally creating a small functional device, you don’t need to spend a lot of time understanding complex concepts. The positive feedback and foundational logic you gain from this process cannot be matched by diving straight into Linux.
Second group: Graduates with a solid computer science background. You can pursue embedded Linux. The core courses like operating systems, data structures, and computer networks provide a solid foundation, making the embedded Linux direction a natural upward extension rather than a cross-domain challenge.
Your task is to apply your existing software skills to the specific hardware context to solve more complex application problems.
Third group: Engineers who have been working in the microcontroller field for several years. If you find yourself doing repetitive tasks at your company without changing your technology stack, you may feel stuck, and your salary may not increase.
At this point, it’s easy to feel lost. I have often considered switching to Linux development.
However, my thought process is to not rush into switching to Linux. First, I need to reflect on whether I have truly mastered microcontrollers. Can you independently complete a product from hardware design to program development? For complex functions, can you design a good program architecture that ensures functionality while maintaining code portability and scalability? If not, your primary task should still be to deepen your understanding of microcontrollers rather than casting a wide net.
Therefore, I have always focused solely on microcontroller development, and now, after 14 years, I have only worked on microcontroller-related projects, from being an employee to starting my own business.
Now, I actually don’t want to learn Linux anymore. As I mentioned earlier, I have come to realize that technology is just a tool. Having many skills doesn’t mean much to me; being able to use them to solve problems and make money is what truly matters.
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