15+ Best Embedded Systems Courses & Certifications Online in 2023

How long does it take to master embedded systems programming?

Often you’ll hear embedded systems mentioned among IoT programmers and microcontrollers.

Similar to Raspberry Pi, an embedded system is a small computer that forms part of a larger system, device, or machine.

That means when learning embedded systems programming online, the objective is to be able to control this device so that a user can interact with it, to perform a particular task or a limited set of tasks.

So as a programmer, the best way to launch a career in embedded systems programming is by taking the best embedded systems courses online to teach how to code these microcontrollers to help in the operation of machinery and equipment.

In this article, I have listed the best embedded systems courses and certifications online to help you master microcontroller and embedded driver development.

You’ll also get to learn IoT foundations, state machines, and HID firmware development as you prepare for an embedded system job interview.

1. Mastering Microcontroller and Embedded Driver Development | Udemy 

If you are a professional interested in exploring embedded systems, then you should definitely learn bare metal driver development using Embedded C.

This is in fact one of the best embedded systems courses online for beginners who want to quickly acquire advanced concepts in embedded systems development.

By learning embedded systems programming using this training, you’ll quickly demystify the internal working of the microcontroller and its peripherals.

To kick it off, the course instructor takes you through the coding peripherals where you’ll develop software drivers entirely from scratch by extracting maximum information from datasheets, reference manuals, and specifications.

There are also lessons on protocol decoding using logic analyzers, debugging, and testing, which are extremely essential skills if you want to become an embedded systems developer and land an embedded system developer job.

Lastly, even though learning embedded systems programming online can be really challenging, this course makes it easier through the easy to follow lectures.

2. Foundation of Embedded Systems with ARM Cortex and STM32 | Udemy 

Trying to learn programming on the ARM Cortex-M platform can prove really tough, especially if you are a beginner. However, it is a very essential skill if you want to get a higher paying career in embedded systems programming.

So I strongly recommend this foundations of embedded systems course with ARM Cortex where you’ll get to learn embedded systems development from some of the best brains in the industry.

In fact, the instructor of this course, Akshay, has over 10+ years of solid experience working for companies like Tesla, on crucial projects for the Model S, X and 3 cars.

From his passion for teaching, you’ll quickly agree that this is the best embedded systems programming course on Udemy for beginners as well as advanced programmers.

Note that he uses a STM32 Nucleo development board for this course. However, you are free to choose any ARM Cortex board you wish to. 

3. Introduction to Embedded Systems Software and Development Environments | Coursera 

Starting to learn embedded systems through an introductory course is a great move especially if you are new to this kind of programming.

In this embedded systems course on Coursera you’ll get to acquire real world coding experience, while working on hands-on projects with ARM based microcontrollers. 

Along the way, you’ll also learn how to implement software configuration management, as well as develop embedded software applications through very detailed course assignments that aim to bring out the best in what you’ve learned.

Some of these interesting assignments involve building systems using the GNU Toolchain GCC, using Git version control, and developing software in Linux on a Virtual Machine. 

To make it an even more practical resource for learning embedded systems, this course concludes with a practical project where you will create your own build system and firmware that can manipulate memory.

4. Embedded Software and Hardware Architecture | Coursera 

Just like the previous embedded systems course on Coursera that I mentioned, this is another one of the best courses for advancing your career in embedded systems.

However, it is pretty much an advanced embedded systems course for learning embedded software and hardware architecture, so you should already have some basics, either from the previous course or elsewhere.

Here you’ll get to understand embedded architectures while writing software to manipulate this hardware. As a result of this, you’ll gain experience writing low-level firmware to directly interface hardware with highly efficient, readable and portable software design practices. 

To make you even more prepared for an embedded systems job, you’ll transition from the Host Linux Machine where you build and run your code in a simulated environment to an Integrated Development Environment where you will build and install code directly on your ARM Cortex-M4 Microcontroller. 

Finally, there is an assignment involving writing firmware to interact with the underlying ARM architecture. 

5. Unit Testing & Other Embedded Software Catalysts | Udemy 

There only to ensure that your software is stable and dependable is by first unit testing it before deploying.

So if you are a C developer seeking to learn unit testing and test driven development for embedded systems, then I strongly recommend this course to get you started.

However, it is not a great embedded systems course for beginners because the instructor and the general direction of the course assumes you are already proficient in this kind of programming. I mean, you don’t learn software testing before learning software development.

By getting started with embedded software testing using this training, you’ll be able to create robust, reliable, and maintainable software that lets you sleep soundly at night. You’ll apply all these concepts to embedded code and system software in C.

At the end of this embedded systems course on Udemy, you’ll be familiar with both TDD and xUnit frameworks.