I have kind of narrowed down what I want to do in graduate school. Kind of, and maybe that's the issue.
I want to study sensor networks and embedded programming. But I really want to build things, or work with a team that is doing so. I've done some cool projects (for example, I took a wireless sensor networks class on SunSPOTs) and realize that building things - creating physical components, combining them with electronic components, driving it with software, and getting feedback with sensors - is the kind of thing I want to do.
Okay great.
I can think of a few schools which do this kind of thing - have teams of people from different disciplines doing hands-on projects and taking courses in this sort of thing. For example, MIT's Media Lab, Georgia Tech's Music Technology program, and Carnegie Mellon's HCII program would be a good fit. These examples are also world-class programs - it's not even "certain" that I'd get in.
Does SO have suggestions for other schools (in the US, but really, why not abroad?) that hover around this kind of thing? I don't even know what to query in google, and obviously no one program will Do Everything That I Want, but this is the field of work I want to be in a couple of years from now.
At that, is there a demand for jobs in this field? How would I go about trying to find out?
I have recently graduated and am working full-time; so I don't quite have a career counselor to ask, and while I'm asking my professors these same questions, it's a little harder to meet with them in office hours now.
What kinds of things should I be doing now - on my own - to be a ripe candidate? (I don't know much about hardware! Or much about any of the things I want to know more about.)