Learning a new programming language -- really learning it, and understanding how the ecosystem works -- is a three- to six-month process for most programmers.
Let's say my team needed a new developer for a hardware project. I would probably not hire an experienced Ruby or Python dev that had no C experience.
A few months of hacking C in their spare time on a personal project with an Arduino? Now I'm interested.
Initiative and self-teaching are hugely important traits.
Learning a new programming language -- really learning it, and understanding how the ecosystem works -- is a three- to six-month process for most programmers.
Let's say my team needed a new developer for a hardware project. I would probably not hire an experienced Ruby or Python dev that had no C experience.
A few months of hacking C in their spare time on a personal project with an Arduino? Now I'm interested.
Initiative and self-teaching are hugely important traits.