Engineering Education Roadmap
Start here: The Engineering Mind Map — three invariant principles (abstraction layers, constraints as tradeoffs, design for failure), the universal sense-process-act-feedback loop, five fundamental tradeoffs, and the recurring patterns across all systems. Read this first, return to it often.
Self-directed path from CS fundamentals through embedded systems, control theory, and robotics. Focus on understanding how things work underneath — no web frameworks, no application glue.
Phase 1 — CS Fundamentals, Data Structures, Algorithms
Build the mental model: how computers represent data, how algorithms use resources.
Exit criteria: implement a hash table and mergesort in C from memory, reason about O(n log n) vs O(n^2) tradeoffs.
Phase 2 — Systems Programming, OS, Networking
Write C that talks to the kernel. Understand virtual memory, processes, sockets, and the syscall boundary.
Exit criteria: write a TCP echo server in C, debug a segfault with GDB, explain what fork() actually does.
Phase 3 — EE Foundations, Embedded Systems
Cross into hardware. Read datasheets, drive GPIO, talk to sensors over SPI/I2C, understand power supply design.
Exit criteria: wire up an MCU, write bare-metal blinky, explain what a MOSFET does in an H-bridge.
Phase 4 — Control Theory, Robotics and Drones
Close the loop. PID, Kalman filters, sensor fusion, path planning, quadcopter dynamics.
Exit criteria: simulate a PID controller, implement a 1D Kalman filter, explain quadcopter attitude control.
Phase 5 — Projects
Apply everything. Each project combines multiple domains.
Quick Links
- Tutorials Roadmap — hands-on implementations (12 tutorials)
- Engineering Glossary — key terms across all topics