You need to get your hands dirty. No one can do decent embedded without understanding the chip. Unless you are fluent in circuitry and assembler, your efforts in "C" will be at best bloated, slow but somewhat useable. I have seen projects coded by "programmers" that probably would work decent on a PC but did not have a chinamans change of running on a '51.

There is no back dooe, if you want to become great a MS will not help you any if you do not have the basics firmly embedded in your head.

Erik

PS read Hurley: "Logic" it will make you a better programmer than any computer book can.