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For example in the field of networks there are CISCO, JUNIPER, CCNA, etc., and in the field of databases there are oracle certificates and so on.

What about the developers of Embedded systems (Hardware & software): are there any certificates for them?

xsari3x
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    I believe the certifications you are referring to simply mean that you've received training from those companies on how to use their products. It doesn't really mean anything. – Jon L Nov 10 '11 at 01:05
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    Can anyone explain the downvotes here? The only reason for them that I see would be culture clash, but that that would also be a reason for upvotes, since this is a good chance to explain why there certificates aren't common in embedded design. – AndrejaKo Nov 10 '11 at 09:26
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    @Jon L You're definitely wrong there. While the vendor backed certificates expect you to use their own equipment an important part of them is the actual knowledge of the field to which the certificate applies and that isn't actually related to the equipment used. Your statement is something like saying that since Ohm's law knowledge is required to get a certificate for designing PCB's for for example Altera's FPGAs, person who has the certificate only know to apply Ohm's law when working with working with them and in all other cases magically forgets it. – AndrejaKo Nov 10 '11 at 09:32
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    @Jon L There are also numerous certificates which aren't provided by vendors, like CompTIA certificates for technicians. – AndrejaKo Nov 10 '11 at 09:34
  • I wish I could put a bounty on this question. – xsari3x Nov 10 '11 at 10:59
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    @AndrejaKo, CompTIA A+ is certainly valid and my comment was not directed towards certifications like that. The OP listed vendors in his question. Had he mentioned A+ I would not have made that comment. We don't have vendor specific certifications because any capable designer is able to read a datasheet from any vendor and choose what will work best for their application. Vendor certifications works well in IT because it is common for a company to buy an entire proven solution from 1 or 2 vendors to simplify their network deployment. This would not be favourable in embedded systems. – Jon L Nov 10 '11 at 17:36
  • @AndrejaKo, The point is that I don't need to see a certificate to determine if somebody knows VHDL or Ohms law or not - I'm going to test them on it instead. To go with your analogy - chances are you're not going to learn these fundamentals from a hypothetical "Altera Certification". This is knowledge you need to bring as a pre-requisite before the certificate either through experience, rigorous schooling, or both. – Jon L Nov 10 '11 at 17:38
  • @JustJeff Interesting points. Have you considered making an answer out of them? – AndrejaKo Nov 10 '11 at 19:19
  • so what's your answer guys ? – xsari3x Nov 10 '11 at 23:09
  • There are no useful certificates in the programming side of IT at all beyond vendor-specific ones that prove not much more than that you paid them the money. Anyone asserting anything different is probably trying to sell you one. I've been both interviewed and interviewing for over thirty years of IT and I've never been either asked for one or shown one. – user207421 Mar 27 '13 at 10:42
  • Does anyone have any reference as regards the potential relevance of the OCRES (Real-Time and Embedded Systems) certifications of the Object Management Group? – user1975053 Mar 29 '13 at 20:35
  • I’m voting to close this question because this is an old question and it is off topic for this site – Voltage Spike Jun 21 '21 at 20:25

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No, not really. There are some courses you can take, but as a interviewer, I really wouldn't care. In fact, if someone came to a interview and proudly showed some certificate about having complete a course, I'd immediately suspect he doesn't know anything. Of coures I'll find out soon enough for sure after asking a few questions. It's about what you can do, how you think about things, and what you know. I don't care how that got into your head, only that it did.

That all said, I do look at education level. I have found from experience that the best embedded engineers have a masters degree in EE. I don't think their better performance is about the extra education, but about the attitude that caused them to seek the higher degree in the first place. At the BS level you still find candidates that got there just by going thru the motions. Some of these may get good grades, which only shows how little grades mean. Instead of learning electronics and developing some good intuitions and accumulating a few design practises, they have learned how to answer test questions well. Obviously they don't make good EEs. By the masters level, these people have been weeded out.

So the bottom line is, BS EE is a must, and masters EE will put your resume to the top of the pile. If you list lots of other certifications you just make yourself look like a weenie and I wouldn't know what all that alphabet soup means anyway.

Olin Lathrop
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  • Great points, Olin. I can add that I look for a section describing skills, and then some evidence in the experience history that those skills have been practically applied. If a resume can show a complete story like that, it might even get its own special pile! – Scott Seidman Mar 27 '13 at 17:45
  • Maybe in the future having a high rep on sites like EE.SE will also be beneficial? – geometrikal Mar 29 '13 at 23:08
  • Although an MSEE would certainly be a good background for embedded system design, I think a combination of EE and CS degrees is even better, since embedded systems combine the two disciplines. – tcrosley Mar 30 '13 at 07:06
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Currently there exist no formal certifications that a person can attain in Embedded Systems, like there are for Network Engineering professionals.

The best equivalent study or credits, you can attain, that I am aware of are: CEU's or Continuing Education Units, which is recognized method (in the U.S) of quantifying the time spent in a classroom during professional development and training activities. Ten hours of instruction equal to 1 CEU. See more information on CEU's here:

Good Embedded Courses that I am aware of are:

  1. Jack Ganssle's - How to Develop Better Firmware faster. For more information see How to develop Better Firmware Faster
  2. Michael Barr's Embedded Software Boot Camp. More information on this below: Embedded Software Boot Camp

In addition to this, it always good to examine your motivation for wanting to do a particular course/certification. If the aim is to become a top Embedded Engineer, there is no substitute for a Bachelor's Engineering degree combined with practical experience. I believe the combination of the two, coupled with a passion for Embedded Systems in general, will give you the best platform going forward if you want to build a career doing Embedded Systems Development.

Finally, if you can, get a development board with a microcontroller and some peripherals and play with it.

IntelliChick
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  • In the UK, there is the Feabhas training courses. From the description they sound thorough, but I haven't been on one to judge it personally. – Martin Nov 10 '11 at 08:32
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Recently, I came to know that ARM provides a certification called ARM Accredited MCU Engineer mainly for people working in the micro controller realm.

Nick Alexeev
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Balaguru H
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As of November 2015, the University of California at Irvine is offering a program that can be completed online in embedded systems design intended for "Working professionals who are interested in transitioning into the embedded systems/system-on-chip (SoC) industry." The program has a certificate option.

Overview: http://unex.uci.edu/areas/engineering/embedded/

Courses: http://unex.uci.edu/areas/engineering/embedded/courses.aspx

Kev Bo
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Virtually all professional hardware developers have a BSEE or better. Any certificate, if one exists, would be at best a minor help when getting a job. More likely it would hurt.

Brian Carlton
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    Debatable! Several of the best hardware designers I know have nothing more then a High-School graduation certificate. – Connor Wolf Nov 10 '11 at 05:02
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    @Connor: First, you are arguing against something Brian didn't say. His first sentence is correct whether a few have only HS diplomas or not. Second, I have run into those. They are usually remarkable at solving basic problems but suck at the theory, which is a serious handicap when a problem shows up that requires some real analisys. You can have one person like that in a larger group maybe, but in a small company or small group you need people that know stuff in addition to being able to use it. – Olin Lathrop Mar 27 '13 at 13:11
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    I'd like to add that my first taste of electronics was in 1986 and I've been at it ever since. With two 4.0 honors associate's in CS and EE, AND experience, no company will give me a chance. I've resorted to a start-up company. So the BS isn't optional. – rdtsc Aug 21 '15 at 23:51
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Specifically for Embedded Systems Programming there are two good institutes:

  1. http://www.depik.com/index.php
  2. http://www.techveda.org/techveda/
user2067125
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To start with, we must consider the difference between a certificate and a certification. Certificates are pieces of paper that may be offered for simply sitting through a course. Few of them mean much. Certifications sometimes means a bit more, such as passing an examination after taking some training. But note that a certification is only as good as the organization that offers it -- many of them are worth very little. The most important question is whether there is something that employers recognize and value - I suspect not at the moment for embedded systems short of a college degree in a computing or engineering field.

In terms of certifications outside of the college realm, I know of nothing in the embedded systems area that satisfies the rigorous international standards for certification programs (such as exist for things like the IEEE-CS's CSDP or the American Society for Quality's Certified SW Development Professional or various medical board certifications).

Let's consider what is out there. There are many tool-specific certifications, a number of certificate programs offered by universities, and there are rumors that some of the professional societies may be getting into the act (for example, IEEE Computer Society). I'd be careful to research who is doing the certifying and what standards they live up to before spending a lot of time and/or money.

And, by the way, quite a few embedded system developers these days are software development professionals. It isn't just for EE's any more.

user35518
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