[sown]

I worked as a linux kernel programmer for a time. All I really did was work slowly on bugs. It seems that there are always neat features that need implementing but the number of engineers with the now specialized skills required is relatively small compared to the general population of embedded engineers. It seems rare to find someone willing to cultivate an embedded engineer into a kernel developer. They're not hard and fast separations, but still, this division remains.

So, if you can, try to connect with actual kernel engineers, do an interesting project in school for a professor doing hardware work, etc.

One project that might help out is to re-write the 8150 USB network adapter project. The devices that have this chipset are easy and cheap to find and the data sheet is easily available. There's a PCI version of this chip, the 8139, too.