Microcontroller Embedded C Programming
Absolute Beginners

Thanks! I was just looking at this course, I think it might be a good starting point.

I was in your shoes a few months ago. I got my start with a few courses from Udemy. Particularly, the courses from FastBit Academy. They also have a good recommended order that makes sense. Let me list the courses below

1. Microcontroller Embedded C Programming: absolute beginners(Embedded C)
2. Embedded Systems Programming on ARM Cortex-M3/M4 Processor(ARM Cortex M4 Processor specific)
3. Mastering Microcontroller with Embedded Driver Development(MCU1)
4. Mastering Microcontroller: TIMERS, PWM, CAN, RTC,LOW POWER(MCU2)
5. Mastering RTOS: Hands-on FreeRTOS and STM32Fx with Debugging(RTOS)
6. ARM Cortex M Microcontroller DMA Programming Demystified(DMA)
7. STM32Fx Microcontroller Custom Bootloader Development(Bootloader)
8. Embedded Linux Step by Step using Beaglebone Black(Linux)

Coming from an analog hardware design background and knowing some C, but having little embedded programming experience, I found this course to be very concise and valuable: https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/

Well worth the $20 or so I spent on it.

May I ask you which beginner course you're referring to? I assume the absolute beginners course?

https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/

If yes, then you're absolutely right. This is an excellent course as well, focusing on the C language for embedded applications. Definitely a good resource to have.

Cheers,

I would suggest you to buy some board, for e.g. STM32 and if you have possibility take courses from FastBit Academy. You can get them for $10 and they're pretty good if you're interested in embedded. They have range from Embedded-C which is intro course to Embedded-Linux.

Udemy provides these amazing set of courses under Embedded systems and over 14k people have used these. They have good rating too.

Two days back, I enrolled to the first four courses from this list of courses as per my friend's suggestion. He felt these were better than the embedded system course provided by coursera. Also, since I am a new user in udemy, i got almost 60 to 70% off on each of these course.

Check them out Embedded C course for absolute beginners

> What would you recommend here?

There are courses on Udemy and other sources that are specifically about embedded/microcontroller programming, although i'd still recommend being comfortable with C before diving in.

Here are a few examples -

https://www.udemy.com/course/embedded-programming-with-atmega328/

https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/

Need help to start learning Embedded Systems.

I want to study and build my career in Embedded systems. I have done some really cool projects with Arduino and Raspberry Pi, but I want to dig deeper and study the Embedded System in detail.

I researched a lot and made a list of topics that one can follow to master Embedded systems (not in order) and also linked some courses from Udemy. The list below has some unnecessary courses (for ES), and it is possible that it doesn't have important ones. That's why it needs to be modified by experts.

I will be thankful to the community if they help me to find out where should I start and what order I should follow to improve my ES skills. This will help all the students who want to start their career in Embedded Systems.

1. Embedded C. Course Link
2. PCB Design.
3. Operating System.
4. Computer Architecture and Organization.
5. ASICs and FPGA.
6. Verilog/VHDL programming.
7. Embedded Linux. Course Link
8. ARM Cortex M Microcontroller DMA Programming Demystified. Course Link
9. Microcontroller with Embedded Driver Development. Course Link
10. Embedded Systems Programming on ARM Cortex-M3/M4 Processor. Course Link
11. PLC Programming. Course Link
12. Embedded Systems Bare-Metal Programming (STM32). Course Link
13. Mastering RTOS: Hands-on FreeRTOS and STM32Fx with Debugging. Course Link

I just finished this course on Udemy the guy does a really good job explaining C programming for embedded systems. You can get a Blue Pill on Amazon with a STLink v2 to follow the course for about $10usd.

https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/

If you look on the guys website he has coupon codes on the link to get it cheaper.

http://fastbitlab.com

I suggest looking up the courses for first and second year of the computer engineer program at the college or university you plan on attending and begin studying topics from each of the syllabuses. If you don't have time before school starts, don't worry about getting through all the content; just focus on ANY topic and be effective with your studying to get as much covered as possible (I do suggest covering your calculus courses first though; everything else is heavily based on mathematics.)

Furthermore, if you have a lot of time on your hand, then I suggest learning to program. Try learning one high level language like c++ and one low level language like embedded c .https://app.pluralsight.com/paths/skills/c-plus-plus -c++https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/ - embedded c

edit: if somehow you have a year or two before school starts and you are a fast learner start looking into your third and fourth year courses as well!

I know people who got through computer engineering with very little prior knowledge but I know some people who really struggled despite having a lot of prior knowledge. I suggest to be safe rather than sorry and to get a step ahead whenever you have the chance. This will ensure your success at school. Good luck!

I agree entirely,

You might be beyond the below course , wanted to list it just in case you are not.

Dont pay full price for these, use a coupon or wait for sale.

https://www.udemy.com/course/advanced-c-programming-course/

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This may interest, I dont have the equipmet so I have skipped it. equipment

https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/

There are few courses like:

https://www.udemy.com/course/embedded-systems-bare-metal-programming/

https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/

After you master the basics, you start with trying out capture/compare modes, and a bunch of other registers to master the f4 uC.

I didn't jump into HAL right away as well, you need to master the register level, to understand all the interfaces like CAN, SPI, I2C, I2S and stuff like that which is often used in Automotive industry i am working at.

Just do some coding daily, but let me warn you, little to non register level coding is done in professional work. I suggest you to have HAL and RTOS knowledge as well.

Do I have enough for Entry level (+Where to go next)?

First of all, apologies for the long post: So i've been doing QA for about 10 years at a Web-Dev Company. I have a C.S. degree and at my work I do mostly Automated testing (Mostly coding in Ruby/JavaScript). I don't code all the time at work, but I understand for the most part general programming basis (OO Design, Inheritance, etc...). I'm not an expert but I can generally pick up a language/framework and make "something" with it pretty quickly.

I've had an interest in Embedded for a long time, but I tend to wax and wane on it because I constantly feel like I can never get a job in it for a few reasons:

1. I have a C.S. degree (and not a CE/EE degree), but from what i've read this doesn't really matter.
2. I am a QA (Technically my title is "Senior Quality Assurance Engineer") and not an SE, so I feel like this really limits me (despite me still knowing how to code).
3. I've been in a Web-Dev job and not any sort of embedded job + it seems like there is very few embedded jobs.
4. I have "basic" electronics experience. I understand what different components do and can solder ok. But designing a bit complicated circuit....I wouldn't know where to begin.
5. Lastly, I feel like there is SO much to learn with embedded I feel like i'll never catch up at my age (34) so I should just accept it and stay in web-dev land.

I have however spent time learning embedded. Some things i've done:

• Went through about half of the Fastbit academy Udemy course I see recommended here (That uses the STM32 discovery board). It's been a bit and it looks like it's been updated so i plan on restarting this.
• Really dove into learning how SPI/UART/I2C learns. Implemented (a SUPER basic) SPI bitbang for AVR just to make sure I understood it. I also worked with all of these protocol's at least in the most basic level.
• Read through and implemented code from the entire Make: Programming AVR Book
• Wrote an HD44780 LED Driver from scratch (it actually worked!). Just from reading the datasheet (and looking up a few tips online, since some of the delays were poorly explained in the datasheet). This one I was proud of (despite it only handling 4 bit mode) but it was cool to see it work at a basic level.
• Various Arduino toy projects (To me these don't count since arduino basically holds your hand)
• Completed Part I of the UT Austin edx course: https://www.edx.org/course/embedded-systems-shape-the-world-microcontroller-i (Got the certificate and everything, this was awhile back)
• Im currently working on a project this involved gathering sensor data on an ESP32 to send to a Rails API which is shown on a React front-end. (This uses MQTT to send sensor data from the ESP32, but I literally just got the ESP32). I have the API and React portion done.

My plan for the future:

• Go through the FastBit Academy C Course (I know C, but am def. a bit rusty on more in-depth knowledge on it, especially since I don't use C often): https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/ (not sure if this is worth it, but I figure it can't hurt)
• Go back through the STM32 course from FastBit Academy, along with the youtube channel Quantum Leaps, LLC on their embedded playlist: https://www.youtube.com/user/StateMachineCOM
• Finish my ESP32 project
• ?????

Does this put me at least at a "Entry Level". As in would you hire someone like me for an entry level position? And as far as my study plan goes does this seem legit or a good path?

I get a bit stuck on "big enough" projects to work on. I hope my ESP32 project will be somewhat impressive to employers (Since it uses multiple technologies). But I would really like to find another project to implement more in-depth on the Embedded side (since the ESP32 will only really be reading some basic sensor values and using a library to publish MQTT information)

Again, sorry for the long post. Thanks!

FastBit Embedded Brain Academy has really amazing courses on Udemy that cover the detailed specifics of the ARM Cortex M3/M4. This course is a great starting point - https://www.udemy.com/course/embedded-system-programming-on-arm-cortex-m3m4/

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I'm also a CS undergrad who's into embedded and this course was the perfect solution for me. Since you have already taken classes on digital logic and comp arch, you won't feel lost and this course will bridge the gap between theoretical-processor-agnostic knowledge and real-world industry microcontrollers.

You will not only learn to program a STM32 board using the STM32CubeIDE but also write every single file from scratch (start-up code, linker script, makefile etc.).

PS: If you aren't comfortable with C programming or low-level bit operations etc., take this course first - https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/