Microcontroller Job Prospects: Skills, Demand, and Salary

Microcontrollers emerged with the invention of the first microcontroller, the TMS 1000, by TI engineers in 1971. It was the first 4-bit microcontroller with built-in RAM/ROM.

Later, in 1974, it was offered to the electronics industry with various RAM/ROM sizes. The microcontroller became more popular with the introduction of the 8051 microcontroller by Intel in 1980. It has been widely used across industries for various applications, and versions of the 8051 family are still being developed today.

A basic Microcontroller consists of a CPU, Memory (RAM/ROM), timers, and peripheral devices (ports, ADC, DAC). Various applications of microcontrollers include lighting devices, sensors, safety devices, process control devices, instruments, hand-held test and measurement devices, medical devices, consumer electronics (remotes), monitoring and control of various parameters, and so on.

Due to these numerous applications, microcontroller engineers are always in demand for both programming and hardware-related jobs. Microcontroller jobs require skills based on hardware or software profiles.

Skills Required

As a microcontroller programmer, you need to have a strong knowledge of the C language, as most microcontroller programs are written in embedded C, which is similar to the C language. After writing the embedded C code, it is converted to a loadable binary file using a cross-compiler. For hardware jobs, you need to have knowledge of PCB design, troubleshooting, and so on. They need to be proficient in electronic circuits and the interfacing of microcontrollers with external interfacing ICs.

Industry Demand

Microcontroller engineers are in demand across various industries, including:

• Automotive domain
• Aerospace
• Consumer electronics
• Data acquisition/test and measurement

Desired Skills

• Microcontroller or embedded basics
• C language programming with emphasis on real-time concepts
• Embedded software programming/debugging skills

Companies Hiring

Companies that frequently hire for microcontroller jobs include:

• CSR India
• Texas Instruments
• Microchip
• Silicon Labs
• Renesas Technology Corp.
• Intel Corporation
• Analog Devices
• Atmel Corporation
• Dallas Semiconductor
• Fujitsu Semiconductor
• National Semiconductor
• STMicroelectronics
• ZiLog
• Freescale Semiconductor
• Infineon Technologies
• Netsilicon
• Rabbit Semiconductor
• STC
• Fairchild

Expected Salary Range

The following are payscales for microcontroller manufacturing-related jobs:

The following are the payscales of Lead Software Engineers for PIC or other microcontroller-related jobs: