Is a Master's in Electronic Systems for Smart Environments Worth It at Age 42?

Hi all, I am new to this forum. Sorry for my english, it is not my mother tongue.

I have got a degee in electronics, but unfortunately I have not worked in this sector. Now I am 42 and I would like to change and look for a job in electronic sector. I would like to ask you for advice about what are the correct steps to be succesful.

It's been a long time since I finished my studies at university, and first I need to refresh my knowledge on fundamentals in electronics and programming. That is what I am doing right now.

Then I see I need to specialize in an area. I see embedded electronics seems to be a interesting area where I could find a job, so I am planning to study a master in Electronic Systems for Smarts environments. The master contents include:

Microcontrollers (MPS430), Embedded systems using FPGA, Embedded systems using microkernels, Embedded Micropocessors, Sensors, PCB design, Usability Engineering, Human-Computer Interaction, Modelling, Monitoring and Control, Computer Vision.



Software in electronics is another area I think I will need to update. I see Altium is a very popular software that I could use.

What do you think? are these good steps?

I know it is not going to be easy at my age, but I am stubborn and disciplined. My target is to to find a job in maximum two years time.

Thank you in advance

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Good luck.
Companies only hire cheap labor from India.
The Indian governement stated, last year, that only about 3% of University graduates were really graduates ( SOURCE:
Wall Street Journal).
The Indian government stated that when students were not doing well in class it is common to discreetly offer the professor money. Problem taken care.
These are ones that come to the U.S. and work for $30 K/yr.
However there are some of the 3% real graduates that do work in the U.S. but they are paid at least what U.S. engineers are paid.
Over all the H1-B law states that they are to be paid what U.S. engineers are paid. It doesn't happen.
So much for Congress looking out for the American people.

If you truly find embedded electronics to be an interesting area, then it looks like you're taking the right classes for it.

In the long run, it's more important to follow a true interest than just taking courses to "find a job." Embedded can definitely be challenging and fun.

D. Soson is right about the Indian connection (assuming you will be looking in the US for work). Do a web search for 'h1b visa cringely' and read the horror stories.

Still, there are many smaller, growing companies that don't play the H1B game who are always looking for good people.

Good luck!

Start your own business That’s my advice with qualifications like that you could for example identify a problem Solve that problem Produce a an effective design to tackle that challenge Finally Market it produce your next design

Constitutions and laws and by laws , countries so on don’t count when it comes to jobs to be honest
You either can or you cant That’s what most companies want They couldn’t really care less about red tape they more interested in how they can get the job done That’s what counts at the end of the day

So you can have all the qualifications under the sun but when it comes to practical Can you do it That’s all their is too it I’ve met , dealt with , employed people myself brilliant on paper , really clever , put them in front of a real life problem They cant do it !! That’s people with degrees fresh out of uni and I mean very clever people only its all on paper No good to me I don’t make money out of paper Id like too I’d very rich by now but unfortunately it’s the practical side of this

Can you design it on paper brilliant Can you write the software for it brilliant Can you make , manufacture it excellent Do you understand what your doing superb , can you explain it , can you sort it out if it goes wrong Just what I need

Couldn’t care less about what the government or the bureaucratic say as long as I can see you know what your doing or anyone else can see that That’s all that counts in my book

So it’s the best man win regardless of qualifications age , beauty , sex or anything else They get paid as much as the person on paper who says he can but cant That simple

So I hope that answers your question for you

Thank you all.

I am looking for a job in Europe.

I understand your view Mark, knowing how to do things is the key, and because of that I am sure companies rely more in previous experience in the matter than a lot of academic qualifications.

Start my own business is a smart advice, but you need some money or financial to do it. I will think about it.

How to acquire that real world knowledge and be able to demonstrate it to companies? Maybe I could do a lot of "do it yourself" projects and show them to companies to demonstrate my abilities. Maybe this is more effective than showing academic certifications, do you agree?

You don’t have to have that much money Daniel What you need is common sense, a bit up of get up and go , be prepared to do anything to get some capital , that means sweep floors , wash dishes , put up fences , do gardening , cut hedges , small jobs to gain the capital , you need and some , brains and just a willingness to make it work Although I must admit its not easy especially with some cretins that we have around these days You don’t let them put you off If you think you can do it JUST DO IT if they made half this lot go to work which they don’t then we wouldn’t have a recession If they put some people in charge who dui know what they were on about we wouldn’t have half the businesses we see go bust either That’s another story all on its own plus the trouble makers well you will always get that unfortunately so you have to press on regardless Again you don’t let them put you off half of this you will find is jealousy anyway

Thank you for your words Mark, I really appreciated it.