Recommended projects for getting a graduate job? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Chris_R
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2010, 02:21:18 pm
content: So I'm literally a few days away from finishing my Masters in electronic engineering and unfortunately I haven't been able to find a job yet! As Dave says it's always important to take projects in to show off your skills but the unfortunate thing is that the biggest projects that I've done as part of my degree have all been assigned to me instead of being my own choice, and therefore haven't been a good example of my own personal skills.So my plan is to take a few months out of work and to get a decent sized project together to show off at interviews, but as of yet I don't know what to do and would be grateful if someone in the EE industry could recommend a decent project that would impress.My main interest is in embedded systems and I'm very much more interested in digital than analogue electronics (so I'd rather not apply for jobs in analogue at this early stage in my career). I was thinking that maybe I could design a little linux computer of sorts using an ARM9 microcontroller controlled through RS232, and then when that's running write some software to demonstrate using hardware DSP or something else.My main issue is that as my projects have never required systems of huge complexity I've never designed PCBs with more than 40 pin DIPs and so it'll be a learning experience for me as well! I was looking at the AT91RM9200 ARM9 microcontroller from Atmel, but as I've never designed such a complex PCB I think a 208 pin QFP may be making things a bit too complex for myself, or maybe not? Let me know!So if anyone has any recommendations or any past experiences then I am happy to listen.

author: KTP
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2010, 03:18:29 pm
content: What type of digital work do you want to do? I don't think designing a generic microcontroller board or mini-computer is nearly as interesting as targetting some specific application and designing a product for it. Especially if you are going to use outdated RS232 instead of USB or ethernet. (I still like RS232, but it is going the way of the dodo).I am already thinking about a senior project for my BSEE degree even though it is a year away. I have quite a bit of self taught digital experience and want to focus on analog (RF) in my coursework.

author: kc1980
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2010, 07:37:46 pm
content: Your description reminds me of this product:http://www.gumstix.com/ARM processor, loads of memory, low power consumption, and it runs Linux. I think some people have a GUI up and running on it. What about a Real-Time OS project? But this is all embedded software stuff. I wouldn't call it digital.What kind of digital design would you like to do? Maybe design an FPGA board and emulate a 8-bit micro core.

author: Valhallasmith
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2010, 08:23:48 pm
content: Embedded design is always a hard one, since it usually boils down to "I made a computer". Which alone isn't necessarily that impressive these days.Things that tend to impress most are things that haven't been done well before. I don't know what your ancillary skills are but everyone like a well done robot. Radar really hasn't been done on a amateur level yet. Maybe a software platform for RC scale UAVs. I can't think of anything outrageously impressive that doesn't involve skills outside embedded design though. Or budget considerations.

author: KTP
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2010, 08:40:12 pm
content: Solve a problem you think the company might have with your embedded design...that could be a shoe-in for a job if they are hiring.If you are interviewing for a machine vision company, maybe a embedded smart camera to identify defects in a product as it passes by a digital camera.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2010, 10:20:57 pm
content: That's a tough one. But by showing anything at all you are already a step ahead of the other interviewees.I'd say it's best to have a project that has some practical (or just fun) application. So if you emulate an old arcade game console in an FPGA, that's more impressive than just demonstrating getting Linux running on an ARM and LCD. But of course it's always going to be job dependent. There are plenty of jobs out their that might greatly value your ability to simply get Linux running on an embedded system for example.Internet enabling is big these days, so anything that talk to the web is impressive.GPS, GSM, and WiFi are always impressive technologies to play with too.Dave.

author: KTP
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2010, 12:36:45 am
content: Ok, I thought of one for you. I haven't looked up to see if this product actually exists, but how about a small solar powered weather station using your embedded controller of choice that has a prepaid cell phone interface. Possibly even a cheapo webcam could be interfaced to the controller also. You could then place this in a remote location and call in to get a update on current conditions and request a camera shot of the area. It probably sounds a bit silly but I think it might be useful for owners of remote property, or boat owners, etc.bonus points if you also design an app for a smartphone to call into this weather station and download the data to the smartphone itself!

author: rossmoffett
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2010, 07:36:23 am
content: I see neat projects occasionally that are PCB business cards with some functionality.One had USB connectors printed on the board, and you could break off two pieces to plug it into a PC. It had the designer's resume and project info on it as a USB mass storage device.Web server on a business cardAugmented reality business cardCome up with something creative and give it to the interviewer to keep to remind them of how skilled you are. This sort of thing will cost at least a few bucks a pop too, so it lets them know you're serious.I think it would be cool to have a business card with a color screen to show a sort of slideshow about yourself, maybe not for keeps though because of expense!

author: Chris_R
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2010, 05:01:43 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 01, 2010, 10:20:57 pmHmmm it's an interesting point. I suppose showing off a project that really caters to my interests will be slightly more impressive than an equally difficult yet generic project. Luckily I am very much into my retro games so maybe an FPGA based handheld would be a good idea.I should also emphasise that this project is not for applying to just one job so it's difficult to cater the project to the interview when all the jobs are slightly different.So if I design an FPGA handheld would that go well in an interview or has anyone else got any thoughts?

author: mukulkhairatkar
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2010, 05:47:20 pm
content: Chris,My advice would be, don't just look into Electronics and IT industry, try for MFG. industry or medical or even transportation. There are many other areas where people need Embedded System Engineers. I was in same situation 8 months ago and found out that many other industry requires computer board developer with sharp knowledge of system design, software programming and time or event triggered embedded system.