Texas Instruments is having a workshop showcasing their new MSP430 mcu in
Porland, OR. For a low price of $49, their giving a hands-on demo their
product, plus, "An MSP430 starter kit consisting of a demo board, the
simulation environment, assembler, compiler and the MSP430 documentation is
included in the workshop price."
Now, I love embedded technology and microcontroller project development. I
called Ti and asked if there were age restrictions -- they said no. Being
that I'm 17, would it look weird or be out of place for me to sign up and
attend? I think it would be a great opportunity to see what the embedded
market is like, plus learn a bit along the way. I understand that this
workshop is intended for engineers and such (I am considering a career in the
field), but their not losing much and I'm gaining a lot.
So, I appreciate your guys's thoughts on this as most of you ARE in this
industry.
Not weird at all! I see young kids at lots
of trade events. It is good. If you are
real clever, you will collect biz cards from
folks and you may get yourself an internship,
part time or summer job. We have a guy
here we have been nurturing since he was
16. He goes to college now and still works
for us part time. We make sure he does not
work too much because we want him to learn
and get As. It is an investment for us and
him. He knows our products, lives close and,
most importantly: fits in and we like him.
He is (almost :-)) treated as an equal
(he's been here 4 or 5 years) and knows
his stuff. He gives us fresh ideas and
finishes all the pizza at meetings.
Most of the promos like this are sold for 49 or 99 bucks, simply to recoup a
piece of the investment on their part. The reality is that the tools that they
designed, from assemblers to compliers, probably cost a total of millions of
dollars. The cost of the hardware is insignificant, and they want one thing.
Get you to use their parts. You may be 17, but you are just a few years from
market. They know that, and if you come out of school with a big TI on your
forehead, they are happy.
Just don't utter the word hacker when you go.
Chris Eddy
Tim Hamel wrote:
> Hello all,
> I got a quick question for everyone...
>
> Being
> that I'm 17, would it look weird or be out of place for me to sign up and
> attend? I think it would be a great opportunity to see what the embedded
> market is like, plus learn a bit along the way.
I used to work for TI. The bottom line is they're trying to
sell their wares. One way to do this is to demonstrate them
to people in the industry. But their ultimate goal is profit.
It makes little difference whether you'er 17 or 70, if they
can possibly make a buck from you, that's good. I'd say,
'go for it'. At 17, and considering a career in electronics,
you're their future. Why would they discourage their future?
You may buy from them later on. And also, if you have some
experience using micros and such already, you'll be even more
attractive to potential employers too.
>
> Hello all,
> I got a quick question for everyone...
>
> Texas Instruments is having a workshop showcasing their new MSP430 mcu in
> Porland, OR. For a low price of $49, their giving a hands-on demo their
> product, plus, "An MSP430 starter kit consisting of a demo board, the
> simulation environment, assembler, compiler and the MSP430 documentation is
> included in the workshop price."
>
> Now, I love embedded technology and microcontroller project development. I
> called Ti and asked if there were age restrictions -- they said no. Being
> that I'm 17, would it look weird or be out of place for me to sign up and
> attend? I think it would be a great opportunity to see what the embedded
> market is like, plus learn a bit along the way. I understand that this
> workshop is intended for engineers and such (I am considering a career in the
> field), but their not losing much and I'm gaining a lot.
>
> So, I appreciate your guys's thoughts on this as most of you ARE in this
> industry.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Tim Hamel
Hell no! The only thing I really regret from my youth was not GOING FOR IT!
DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!
Now that I've got that off my chest... They will have gained a lot if you do
enter the embedded field and know their stuff better than anyone else's.
Lots of companies have made it big by getting trainers into schools so that
when the students graduated and were asked to design something, they went
with what they knew.
part 0 3616 bytes <P><FONT SIZE=2>Tim,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Who cares what other people would think.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>I wish I was thinking the way you are when I was 17!</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>I'm only 24 and didn't get into programming MCUs </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>until I was 21. I say good for you!!! You have to </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>respect a person with that type of enthusiasm!! Also,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>if you decide to go into electronics for a career, you </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>will be ahead of most (if not all)of your peers.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Keep it up!!</FONT>
</P>
You definitely have the right idea! Go to the seminar! The price is right,
the contacts and networking with other embedded designers is priceless, and
it will be great for your career.
I too, worked for "Tiny Income" for several years and can tell you that TI is
actually big on the "Education Thing!" This means you have everything to
gain and only $49.00 to lose. Besides you might run into a really kind
distributor or TI rep who might sponsor you sans the $49.00. It happens!
YES. Plead "Poor Student" and there is a good chance
it will be "on the house" for you. It is an investment
for them. Besides we all like to see new blood.
>
> Hello all,
> I got a quick question for everyone...
>
> Texas Instruments is having a workshop showcasing their new MSP430 mcu in
> Porland, OR. For a low price of $49, their giving a hands-on demo their
> product, plus, "An MSP430 starter kit consisting of a demo board, the
> simulation environment, assembler, compiler and the MSP430 documentation is
> included in the workshop price."
>
> Now, I love embedded technology and microcontroller project development. I
> called Ti and asked if there were age restrictions -- they said no. Being
> that I'm 17, would it look weird or be out of place for me to sign up and
> attend? I think it would be a great opportunity to see what the embedded
> market is like, plus learn a bit along the way. I understand that this
> workshop is intended for engineers and such (I am considering a career in the
> field), but their not losing much and I'm gaining a lot.
>
> So, I appreciate your guys's thoughts on this as most of you ARE in this
> industry.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Tim Hamel
=======================
Tim
I'm sure it'll be a little scary, but, if they said no age restrictions,
go for it. And never stop taking chances!
>
> Hello all,
> I got a quick question for everyone...
>
> Texas Instruments is having a workshop showcasing their new MSP430 mcu in
> Porland, OR. For a low price of $49, their giving a hands-on demo their
> product, plus, "An MSP430 starter kit consisting of a demo board, the
> simulation environment, assembler, compiler and the MSP430
> documentation is
> included in the workshop price."
>
> Now, I love embedded technology and microcontroller project development. I
> called Ti and asked if there were age restrictions -- they said no. Being
> that I'm 17, would it look weird or be out of place for me to sign up and
> attend? I think it would be a great opportunity to see what the embedded
> market is like, plus learn a bit along the way. I understand that this
> workshop is intended for engineers and such (I am considering a
> career in the
> field), but their not losing much and I'm gaining a lot.
>
> So, I appreciate your guys's thoughts on this as most of you ARE in this
> industry.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Tim Hamel
>
>
Tim, it's not weird at all! By the way, I'm also from Portland! I
went to Benson Polytech and I use to go to Tektronix seminars. They
supplied our school with scopes and curve tracers for tubes and
transistors. You might want to subscribe to TI's "Sine On" publication
as well as TI&Me. For more info:
At 12:46 PM 1/26/00 EST, Tim Hamel wrote: {Quote hidden}
>Hello all,
>I got a quick question for everyone...
>
>Texas Instruments is having a workshop showcasing their new MSP430 mcu in
>Porland, OR. For a low price of $49, their giving a hands-on demo their
>product, plus, "An MSP430 starter kit consisting of a demo board, the
>simulation environment, assembler, compiler and the MSP430 documentation is
>included in the workshop price."
>
>Now, I love embedded technology and microcontroller project development. I
>called Ti and asked if there were age restrictions -- they said no. Being
>that I'm 17, would it look weird or be out of place for me to sign up and
>attend? I think it would be a great opportunity to see what the embedded
>market is like, plus learn a bit along the way. I understand that this
>workshop is intended for engineers and such (I am considering a career in the
>field), but their not losing much and I'm gaining a lot.
>
>So, I appreciate your guys's thoughts on this as most of you ARE in this
>industry.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Tim Hamel
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Handley
New Age Communications
Since '75 before "New Age" and no one around here is waiting for UFOs ;-)
Yes, learn all you can. This is a doubled edged sword.
What you play with now WILL be obsolete by the time
you finish school (you WILL finish college!), but
the insights you get will be invaluable. These
insights will NOT be taught to you in school.
Those insights are more commonly referred to
as "experience." The more experience you have
the more seemingly magically feats you will be
able to perform. These will not only impress
your friends but will make you an indispensable
member of what ever lucky engineering group
gets you. Wanna work in San Diego??? :-) :-)
Thank you for the reply. I do realize the incredible speed of technology. The way I see it, the theories, principles, etc won't die out as fast. That's what I'm striving to learn.
Hey, I'd come to SD if I were 18 or so..only 6 more months. Where do you work and I'll drop by? =)
> Yes, learn all you can. This is a doubled edged sword.
> What you play with now WILL be obsolete by the time
> you finish school (you WILL finish college!), but
> the insights you get will be invaluable. These
> insights will NOT be taught to you in school.
> Those insights are more commonly referred to
> as "experience." The more experience you have
> the more seemingly magically feats you will be
> able to perform. These will not only impress
> your friends but will make you an indispensable
> member of what ever lucky engineering group
> gets you. Wanna work in San Diego??? :-) :-)
>
> "Go forth young......"
>
Thank you for the reply. I do realize the incredible speed of
technology. The way I see it, the theories, principles, etc won't
die out as fast. That's what I'm striving to learn.
Yep. If you learned to program a PIC 16C55 10 years or so ago, when it
first came out, that knowlege is still pretty useful. If you learned to
program a Z80 20 years ago, those principles are still valid. If you
learned both, and maybe a mainframe machine language, you can probably
learn to program any new microcontroller pretty quickly, which is very
valuable.
I'm signed up for my local (San Jose, CA) copy of the TI Class - it sounds
like an interesting processor (and besides, The distributer I tried had a
$50 minimum order for parts, so I couldn't buy the $49 development system,
but I COULD register for the $49 class that includes a development system.
(anybody else going to "SJ2"?)
The worst that can happen is that the rest of the class will be at a very
different level than you are - either relative experts (whom you can learn
from), or bored engineers wanting a day away from their normal place of
work (see if you can take home extra development systems!) As a "senior
engineer", I can say that it's frequently nice to have someone who is
willing to ask the "stupid" questions that everyone else is afraid to admit
that they don't know the answers to. (But you should watch this carefully,
so as not to be 'annoying' or hold up the class. It's a pretty thick line,
actually.)
On Fri, Jan 28, 2000 at 08:58:27PM -0800, William Chops Westfield wrote:
> The worst that can happen is that the rest of the class will be at a very
> different level than you are - either relative experts (whom you can learn
> from), or bored engineers wanting a day away from their normal place of
> work (see if you can take home extra development systems!) As a "senior
Especially if you get a free lunch (from a personal perspective anyway).
I went to a free seminar all day last year from a vendor and it was quite
boring, but the lunch was free. (Actually, the lunch wasn't very good
either.)
jpes.com
