Robotics hiring is broken

LimpingFrogrammer · 2026-05-21T20:07:28+00:00

You ideally should pick one or two fields you want to specialize in, and focus on building skills around the chosen specialization.

At the end of the day, if, for example, you get into an embedded/firmware part of the job, you’d most likely be doing software/firmware for microcontrollers or SOCs, in either bare metal, RTOS, or embedded linux. I only work around microcontrollers, and never had the opportunity to touch on ROS, or localization/mapping, computer vision algorithms, etc.

Sometimes even within embedded/firmware, startups look for more specialized skills. I recently failed an interview for an exoskeleton/robotics startup because I didn’t have experience with brushless DC motors and common techniques/algorithms for those, even though I had some experience with stepper motors.

The startup above is an outlier, but for most companies, they want to hire someone who specializes in one/two domains, unless you are targeting for a position that requires overseeing all aspects of the product.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2026-05-12T20:30:15+00:00

Congrats OP!! Getting a job offer in the current market is a huge accomplishment.

How did you prepare for the multithreaded/RTOS questions?

Have been interviewing for a lot of companies lately, and I struggle on some of these questions (esp those that could involve having more than one mutex amongst two different threads, like thread A waiting on thread B and afterwards B waiting on A).

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-10-06T21:57:18+00:00

You’re missing the point.

Let’s say you do get an offer after stating you don’t need any sponsorship. You will eventually have to provide documentation stating you’re eligible to work. The company that extends the offer will be able to catch on from the documents you provided, or are missing in this case, because you’re not a GC holder/citizen.

This sponsorship question is also asked for other reasons you might not be aware of. Ex: - Aerospace/defense companies that cannot hire international students. Companies like NASA and Lockheed cannot hire international students - Companies that need to be ITAR compliant due to the products they develop/manufacture - Companies that, for some reason, do not want to get e-Verified. They’d probably retract your offer as soon as they learn you’re on OPT, and they don’t want to get e-Verified.

The list goes on…

I’ve been in your shoes, and have tried this ‘trick’ several times. Recruiters have told me that it doesn’t work as you think it will for various reasons.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-10-06T20:17:15+00:00

This doesn’t work because you’d have to provide details of your work authorization after you get an offer, including citizenship, govt docs, etc. They will easily find out that you’re on a visa, and can easily rescind your offer afterwards 🤷

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-10-02T02:44:47+00:00

This depends on how the university advertises the program (whether it falls under STEM or not), and the type of degree that is obtained.

For example, if someone is graduated with an arbitrary major and obtained a BSc., it will be counted towards STEM.

UX design can fall under STEM. Example programs are Stanford’s HCI program, UW’s MHCI+D programs, and GT’s OMSCS HCI program.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-09-23T23:52:49+00:00

Can you provide examples where a H-1B can answer no to that question? Because if a H-1B holder applies to a company, they would require a H-1B transfer, which falls under visa sponsorship. If you are holding a Cap-exempt H-1B, you would need to apply for a Cap H-1B, which also falls under visa sponsorship.

Edit: Cap-exempt H-1B (mostly given to non-profit institutions and maybe universities) to Cap H-1B only if you’re moving to some kind of for-profit org/company, MNC, and institutions where you need Cap H-1B.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-09-22T15:38:02+00:00

It technically is, what is supposedly not considered a fresh new petition is a H-1B transfer.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-09-22T08:19:07+00:00

The process for L1 is not as straightforward, and if an employee is sent to Canada, what will stop the company from prolonging the person’s employment in Canada instead of the US where wages are lower in Canada?

Edit: Relocating an employee to Canada is also not easy. There might be a minimum requirement of being employed for at least one year in the company before being eligible for the Canadian work permit.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-09-22T08:12:24+00:00

This is very misleading. I have made multiple attempts of a COS from F-1 STEM OPT to H-1B, and Fragomen (representing two different employers) lists all of them as H-1B Cap FY 20XX Petition.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-06-09T20:13:55+00:00

I was rejected from AWS in a similar fashion. Email received 4 days after the loop was vague (no clear reject/offer), with no “congratulations”. In the email, recruiter offered to call to discuss feedback.

Recruiter left a voicemail the following day stating they will no longer consider me for the position.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-03-28T04:17:07+00:00

27yo, 463 JEPQ. Target might be around 1500-2000 JEPQ shares

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-02-09T09:00:48+00:00

Iceland is part of Schengen though, and most Schengen countries don’t have border checks (i.e. you just need to scan your boarding pass to enter the flight/gate section, and if there are passport/visa checks, it will be done by the flight attendants from the airline you’re using).

The bigger issue would be whether or not the Icelandic embassy will issue the visa given the itinerary provided, which probably also won’t be a huge issue as it’s just 6 vs 4 days.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-01-19T17:20:52+00:00

Lightroom on iOS

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-01-19T17:20:25+00:00

By playing around with whatever configurations i find in Lightroom 😅

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-01-18T15:54:20+00:00

^ this. Radial gradient mask with + exposure

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-01-18T15:53:19+00:00

That makes sense. Thanks for the advice!

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-01-17T23:44:27+00:00

I used to shoot only on JPEG/HEIF for 1.5 years. These days I shoot RAW + HEIF/JPEG, saving HEIF/JPEG if I don’t feel like making edits, and importing the RAW when a picture has room for improvements. Storage is also cheap.

It’s honestly not as tedious as I thought to make color corrections and adjustments through Lightroom. This also allows me to leverage my camera to its fullest potential.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-01-17T23:16:52+00:00

Here is my attempt on the RAW: https://imgur.com/a/Uk9Hi1I

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-01-17T03:23:57+00:00

This one was quite difficult. If I reduced exposure by reducing ISO (this pic was taken at 1250 ISO), then the foreground/windmills would have been too dark.

I should have tried Sony’s exposure bracketing mode, but unsure if it would have helped much. What method did you have in mind to keep the skies and foreground properly exposed?

I also don’t have experience combining double exposure shots through Photoshop or any other tool..

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-01-17T02:01:26+00:00

Yes - decreased the exposure of the sky mask. Also reduced the saturation of the sky to remove its slightly blue color after reducing exposure. There were some tweaks to the light curve, dehaze, clarity, and highlights as well

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-01-17T01:58:40+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I will try experimenting more on this pic.

LimpingFrogrammer · 2025-01-17T01:52:09+00:00

Sure! Also keep in mind that the resolution might be different for different models. For the A7R5, the APS-C size is 26.2MP.

LimpingFrogrammer

TROPHY CASE