The Journey of an EEE Engineer “Lost” and Finding Himself in Embedded Systems
Hello there, visitor of this little corner of the internet!
If you accidentally stumbled upon this page—whether from a shared source code snippet, a hardware design project, or simply out of curiosity about who is behind this website—welcome, I am glad you are here.
I am an Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) engineer. But if I have to define myself right now, I prefer to call myself a dreamer who is figuring things out, trying to reignite his passion in the world of embedded systems and technology.
1. How It All Began: Why EEE?
Let’s rewind to my younger, more energetic years when “Electrical and Electronic Engineering” sounded like a world of complex microchips, intricate circuit boards, high and low voltages, and dry mathematical equations. Why did I choose it?
Simply put, I had an endless curiosity about the physical world around me. I wanted to know why a remote control could change TV channels from several meters away. I wanted to understand how a machine could operate autonomously without direct human intervention. That curiosity led me through the doors of university to study EEE, where I laid my first foundational bricks in currents, semiconductors, signals, and automation.
Back then, everything was vibrant. I spent hours etching printed circuit boards (PCBs), soldering tiny surface-mount devices (SMDs), and watching the very first LED blink on a board after hours of sweating over debugging. Technology felt like a magical puzzle, and I wanted to be a part of it.
2. The Quiet Phase: Losing Myself
Life, however, is not always as smooth as a crystal oscillator clock.
Step out of the university lecture halls and into the harsh currents of the job market, and things change. The pressure of making a living, tight deadlines, and commercial projects running against the clock gradually choked my initial creativity. Engineering shifted from a pure passion into a pure job: dealing with schematics, fixing product bugs, and optimizing costs for manufacturers.
I worked hard, but inside, there was a vast, hollow void.
There were nights sitting in front of a computer screen with long lines of C/C++ code or complex hardware designs, when I asked myself: What am I doing all of this for? Where is that childlike thrill of making a microcontroller run for the first time?
I realized I had fallen into the trap of “technological survival mode.” I had lost myself—losing the curious, eager, and freely creative engineer I used to be. The prolonged fatigue and burnout even made me consider walking away completely from this circuit-driven world to find an easier path.
3. Finding My True Self: Enter the “Chill Engineer”
Yet, my bond with the industry wasn’t broken. After a long break—allowing myself to slow down and view things from a different perspective—I realized a fundamental truth: The problem wasn’t embedded systems; it was how I approached them.
I didn’t need to force myself into becoming a cold, unfeeling machine chasing endless KPIs. I am an engineer, and the art of engineering is creativity. Why couldn’t I slow things down? Why not turn every line of code and every hardware design into a playground of thought, where I could freely experiment without fear of judgment?
And that was when the “chill engineer” mindset was born inside me.
Chill doesn’t mean being lazy, doing sloppy work, or surrendering to fate.
Chill means working with a calm state of mind, enjoying every moment of fixing a tricky bug, sipping a warm cup of coffee while waiting for code to compile, and appreciating failures because they are valuable lessons.
I chose to return to embedded systems—that magical intersection between cold hardware and flexible software. I wanted to go slower, go more steadily, and above all, find back that pure joy I once had.
4. What Is the Purpose of This Website?
This website is my journey diary, a living portfolio documenting my healing process, learning, and daily work.
I built this space not to prove I am a grand expert, but to do the following:
Archive What I Am Doing: Personal side projects ranging from Internet of Things (IoT), custom PCB design, microcontroller programming (ARM Cortex-M, ESP32, STM32…), to integrating artificial intelligence into edge devices (Edge AI).
Share What I Learn: Technology moves relentlessly. Every day brings a new stream of knowledge. I write down tutorials, troubleshooting tips & tricks, and hard-earned lessons from reality so anyone walking this path can find a useful reference—or at least save themselves from fumbling in the dark like I once did.
Build a Small Community for Like-Minded Souls: A place where we can sit together, discuss an optimized piece of code, an interesting component, or simply vent about a stubborn bug before sharing a laugh over a cup of hot tea.
5. My Philosophy on Life and Work
Along my current path, I hold onto a few small principles to keep my mind light and clear:
“Don’t just rush blindly to the finish line. Pay attention to the scenery along the way, enjoy the rhythm of every component’s heartbeat, and learn to love even your mistakes.”
Curiosity is the root of knowledge: Don’t be afraid to ask “Why?”. Even if others assume it is obvious, verifying it yourself gives you the deepest understanding.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication: In circuit design or programming, cleaner code, less board noise, and minimalist thinking yield more robust and maintainable systems. Life is the same—the fewer clouds, the clearer the mind.
Sharing is the fastest way to learn: When you teach or write something down for others to understand, you master it best. Don’t keep knowledge to yourself.
6. Conclusion: The Journey Continues…
My journey of rediscovery in the embedded technology world is far from over. Every time I open my laptop is a fresh blank page, a new challenge waiting to be decoded.
Thank you for stopping by, for taking the time to read these thoughts. I hope that through the writings and projects shared on this website, you find a bit of inspiration, positive energy, or at least a fellow traveler who understands your passion for technology.
If you share the same wavelength—loving to solder, writing embedded code, or simply looking for a place to “chill” amidst the tech noise—feel free to connect or drop me a message!
Wishing you a productive and peaceful day ahead. Cheers!
- GitHub: docute123cat
- Currently learning: STM32 bare-metal, FreeRTOS
- Next up: Embedded Linux, kernel drivers, Yocto