I have been working as an RF engineer for the past 15 years and employed with different units of QUALCOMM in the Bay Area - first SnapTracs, then QCA, for a short time remotely with QCT but in Bay Area and then back to QCA over the last 8 years. I am actually quite good in programming with C and Python and would love to do QA SW automation. Trouble is no one will pay me anywhere close to the money I make now with QCA at senior staff level as a junior level software engineer and I do have family commitments and bills to pay. I however do think that RF hardware jobs are going to be tough to find if let go right now. In quite a quandary really.....
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There are quite a few smaller companies who seem to need C, Python, Linux skills but who also require knowledge or RF. Many are local (SD) defense contractors. If you can qualify for a DOD clearance, you may have a shot at entering software in that manner.
Actually I think your RF skills can be lot more worthy in the right marketplace, than many software jobs. There are millions of programmers but only a limited no of good RF engineers.
If u are black go to McDonalds plenty of work for you there!!!
True, in San Diego too many RF folks looking for work - casualty of the wireless meltdown with Nokia, Broadcom, Samsung and now QUALCOMM. The trouble it's such specialization is that these skills are reunited in only too few places
whatever you do avoid San Diego, we have a huge glut of laid of commercial RF people looking for work
@Anonymous189196, u lost all credibility with that last line
Start writing test drivers for your hardware. Make them a test suite, and automate them. Get to know some of the SW folks who program your hardware, find out what they want. Have them look at your code and tell you what's wrong with it (no offense, but I've never seen a HW person who writes good code. It's usually a hacked up mess). Take their comments to heart and modify your code. Learn how to use SCM (QC used Perforce when I was there). With a little bit of luck you can gradually transition to where you spend more time writing software than designing hardware and can apply for a change.
Good Luck!
write useful code, post it on GH, get it reviewed - this should help you.
Actually lots of developers don't even have college degree; it's more about experience and knowledge, passion
@8878 Thanks
I am the OP.
Perhaps, I could have articulated my queries better.
1) I have learned C and Python myself over the past several years through courses and online training(Lynda that QC provides for free is pretty good for Python) though truth be told hardly ever use it at work.
2) It is not easy to find a full time job as a software developer if you have been an RF engineer for the past 15 years like me. I have actually interviewed at the usual well known companies for SW dev jobs, but have found that there is a bias that I only have EE degrees and not a CS degrees.
I would like to get a good break, but cannot quit my well paying job currently to focus full time on finding another job.
Would like to know if people have done it this late in their careers.
I am more interested in software developer positions rather than embedded firmware positions.
Oops, looks like a genuine question. I recommend posting more specific questions on better forums like Quota where users have a reputation. These anonymous replies from lunatics are mostly hijacks.
I also recommend picking up small projects on github to work on. Many Linux employers ask you to show any open source contributions on github during the interview.
EWW AS IF!!!
if you are good at C and Python what's the problem? you're an engineer! fake it til you make it, like most SW "engineers"
So funny HAHAHA!