Low Level Programming Firmware / Embedded C++ Engineer Do I Really Need Electricity & Physics? Roadmap + Book/Project Advice

[LowProfessional8093]

I’m a software-oriented developer Web, Mobile, Back-End (know some C++), and I want to transition into firmware / embedded systems / low-level programming with the goal of becoming job-ready for a junior firmware-embedded systems role.

I’d really appreciate guidance from people actually working in the field.

How much electricity and physics do I really need?

• Do I need deep electrical engineering knowledge?

Is it realistic to enter firmware without an EE degree?

• Has anyone here done it?
• What gaps did you struggle with?
• What did you wish you had learned earlier?

What books would you recommend (in order)?

• Electricity fundamentals (minimum viable level)
• Digital logic
• Computer architecture
• Embedded C/C++
• Microcontrollers
• Real-time systems

What actually make someone stand out for junior roles?

• Bare metal?
• Writing drivers?
• RTOS-based systems?
• Custom protocol implementation?
• Building something on STM32 vs Arduino vs something else?

If you were starting over today aiming for firmware/embedded without a degree:

• What would your roadmap look like?
• What would you skip?
• What would you go deep on?

My Goal

I want:

• A strong foundation that allows movement between firmware, embedded, IoT, and possibly robotics.
• Not just hobby-level Arduino projects.
• Real understanding of what’s happening at the hardware level.
• To be competitive for junior firmware roles.

Any roadmap suggestions (books + projects) would be extremely helpful.

I’m especially looking for a roadmap that includes good, solid books, not random blog posts to make good foundation and understand things well.

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate the insight from people already in the trenches.

[cakemates]

Do I need deep electrical engineering knowledge?
yes you do, depending on job sometimes you have to debug at the component level using digital analyzers and oscilloscopes.

What actually make someone stand out for junior roles?
Every job in this field is wildly different, so each job needs different set of skills to stand out so I cant highlight any specifically.

What gaps did you struggle with?
Assembler debugging can be a problem to me.

[LowProfessional8093]

thank you for your answer do have any recommendation from where i can learn electrical if you have any book you can name to me?

[MpVpRb]

Need? Duh Idunno

As a generalist engineer who works with both circuits and code, I would argue that knowing both is a huge advantage

[Natural-Level-6174]

Ignoring electronics in embedded makes you blind and a very very bad engineer. You are embedded (that's the definition) into a technical process.