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I like cars and electronics. On what should I focus?
hans:
There is also a huge market for after market modifications of vehicles, not only cars.
I used to work on after-market GPS steering systems in precision agriculture. Those systems in itself are quite complex. Although many customer-facing features end up in software, it also requires the necessary hardware to support it. And since tractor manufacturers, like John Deere, try to digitize and protect their own systems increasingly more often.. it was an interesting mix of analog/digital design, firmware and some reverse engineering here and there..
I also have seen people starting companies specialized in extension battery packs and high power chargers for said packs. Some electric cars grossly oversell their capable range, to the point that a '300km range' car can practically only get you to the shops in next Town when it's winter time. Again here, places to do own analog/digital/firmware design, but also some measures needed to maintain compatibility.
One risk with these kinds of business is perhaps insurance. As an engineer I was only involved in the ethics & safe design, but not necessarily in when it does go wrong. I heard stories from previous years where tractors drove of the road (luckily no other traffic) or into locks when they booted the GPS computer while driving (+a glitch in the hardware/firmware). There was a disclaimer etc. with the system, but I don't want to imagine what happens if you do hit something..
tszaboo:
--- Quote from: mrburnzie on January 19, 2021, 08:06:08 am ---To clarify, I want to work professionally on cars.
" All those companies need EEs and firmware engineers". I love this. I love working on firmware and that is where I would aim for.
--- End quote ---
So I went for a job interview at Bosch. They told me that they want to hire me to this group of 15 people, who were working on this project that is supposed to take 3 years to compete. It was a battery management system, for the 12 V lead acid battery. It measures the voltage, current, and sends it through CAN bus.
It is something that a half competent electronics engineer can do in two weeks. But the solution from the 15 people will probably be 0.5 EUR cheaper, and if you sell 10 million of it, it is worth to do.
Dont work in the automotive industry, if you like cars.
Buy an old Toyota Supra if you like cars.
Circlotron:
--- Quote from: mrburnzie on January 19, 2021, 08:06:46 am ---"who already runs a business", what do you mean exactly? What kind of business?
--- End quote ---
Something related to motorsport. That was implied in the initial sentence.
mrburnzie:
Haha, oh yes I would like a toyota supra. 8)
That is exactly what I'm afraid of. If I like cars, I think when I get a job in the auto industry I will just start slowly disliking cars...
I love to design custom stuff. What are the best branches where I can work (and not get bored) or even start a business that involves custom design stuff. The first thing that pops into my mind is freelancing, but we all know how it can be a pain in the ass (I have been doing it a while now and I got good and bad experiences). I'm looking for something where I don't really have to deal with the customers, only a dozen of customers. I have experience in manufacturing as well (last project I had 50K units built :-+ ), which is a plus.
This is slowly turning into a career advice topic... :-DD
gussy:
--- Quote from: mrburnzie on January 19, 2021, 08:06:46 am ---"who already runs a business", what do you mean exactly? What kind of business?
--- End quote ---
If you were going to design your own custom niche gadgets then you could target motorsport workshops, the businesses who build track toy cars for their clients. Real race shops will mostly want to use expensive but proven, name brand, off-the-shelf systems, but people who are taking their car to the track once a month are less particular about brand names.
One recent example that comes to mind was a group Porsche owners wanted a way to make their exhaust quieter during a specific turn at a specific race track (to "pass" the sound meter check). These cars already have "make the exhaust quieter" valves actuated by a button on the inside of the car. Someone built a box that was essentially a GPS module, an ardunio, and FET to trigger the button/valve whenever you came within X meters of a hard-coded location. These were selling for around $500 ea. So although volume is very low, margins are crazy high. If you can find enough niches like that you could do well, but you will be dealing directly with customers.
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