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Discussion on: I am working as a software developer on autonomous driving, Ask Me Anything!

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marlonjcloete profile image
marlonjcloete

Hi Marcell, hope you are doing well, don't know if you are still active on this platform, but I would like to pick your brain about autonomous driving.

I am a software development student from South Africa, I'm not studying towards a computer science degree rather I'm at a private college that provides practical software training and I get national certificates and international ones as well provided I pass the exams. So far I've covered Python, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL Server, Java and C#. From what I'm reading C++ seems like the main language you need to know for this industry. I finish my studies in June 2022, I don't know if I can go into that field as a junior developer, but it really has peaked my interest and is something I would like to consider. If you could give me any advice on how to get started I would appreciate it alot. What can I do know to prepare myself? Also I see Nvidia has a lot of job openings for this type of role, what other companies should I be looking at, especially in Germany as well?
Thank you.

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rlxdprogrammer profile image
Marcell Lipp

Hi, sorry for the late reply.
Yes, you realized it properly, the main language is C/C++, Python is an advantage. So these are the languages you should learn first. Next to that it's a good idea to learn a bit about robotics.
Regarding companies: there's a a lot of them, like: Bosch, Daimler, BMW, Tesla etc. Practically any OEM. As a beginner you have a better chance to join a smaller company.

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marlonjcloete profile image
marlonjcloete

No problem, and thanks for getting back to me I really appreciate it. One thing I also read up on was the mathematical aspect, especially for AI. I have long since forgotten my high school math and the calculus and algebra I did at University when I left school. How important is it that I know these concepts if I want to be a self driving car engineer?

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rlxdprogrammer profile image
Marcell Lipp

There are different roles in such projects. In case of some of them it's not that necessary, but I you'd like to be really good there, then it's better to fresh up your knowledge.

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marlonjcloete profile image
marlonjcloete

Alright, thank you. Do you have any advice on which projects I should focus on for my portfolio, to get a job in this industry.

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rlxdprogrammer profile image
Marcell Lipp

It costs some money, but I can really propose you the Self Driving Cars nanodegree of Udacity. That gives a really good overview on this domain.

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marlonjcloete profile image
marlonjcloete

Ah, okay. At this moment it won't be possible for me to do that, but thank you for answering my questions. For now I'll look for some free resources if there are any.