1. What could I do in Robotics?

You've probably asked the question above multiple times already. Getting started in an interdisciplinary field like robotics isn't exactly straightforward. However, because of this, you have the benefit of multiple options and paths to enter the field. In addition, after you have attained your first robotics role, you have near endless opportunities for career growth moving forward.

Robotics is also a growing field, where job titles change and industry needs shift. It is your responsibility to learn about the different career opportunities and immerse yourself in the robotics community online and, if possible, in-person.

2. Do I need an engineering background?

Having a computer science, mechanical, or electrical engineering background can only help you in your career transition to robotics. As an engineer, you work with many concepts and procedures that a roboticist would on the job.

However, an engineering background is not necessary to become a roboticist due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field.

Think of a team building a human-interaction robot. They may have just one or two software engineers, but five psychologists to work on the robot's behavior. When working on speech recognition, having a linguist is vital.

3. What are common job titles in Robotics?

Tip: Remember that there are so many roles available in robotics. Instead of searching for job titles, consider finding robotics companies and looking at their overall jobs page.

A short list of common job titles are:

• Data Scientist, Natural Language Processing
• Computer Vision Engineer
• NLP (neural-linguistic programming) Scientist
• Watson Machine Learning Engineer
• Software Engineer
• Deep Learning Engineer
• Software Engineer - Vision

4. What is the difference between Robotics and Machine Learning/AI jobs?

Robotics depends on machine learning and artificial intelligence, so it's common to see a lot of overlap in those fields. Think of robotics as one of the many applications of machine learning and AI. A machine learning expert may write algorithms to make movie recommendations, or they may write algorithms to support a self-supervising robot.

When you graduate from this program, depending on your background, you may be qualified for many machine learning and AI roles.

5. Could I become a mechanical engineer? What is the difference between automatic vs autonomous machine Jobs?

This Nanodegree program does not teach you how to become a mechanical engineer. If you come from an engineering background, robotics knowledge can make you a better engineering candidate.

Think of mechanical engineers as working to build automatic machines - such as a printer or portion of a factory assembly line. You tell the machine what to do, and it will do it until you tell it differently. In robotics, you'll be building autonomous machines - machines that learn over time and can perform functions without your input. These two fields can overlap.

6. Okay, I know all of this now. What should I do next?

Right now, you are learning the foundational skills for a career in robotics. Focus on your learning, and imagine yourself in different roles. We recommend performing a job search to see what's out there.

We'll help you get started. We searched for "robotics" jobs worldwide on LinkedIn. Click the button below to see the search results. Change your search terms and apply filters. Once you have an idea of which jobs or companies you may be interested in, read about the companies or find personal blogs by people working in those roles. You can even reach out to people for informational interviews.

After you spend some time looking at various jobs available to you, come back to the Classroom to continue.