Looking for work!

Hey,

Not trying to burst your bubble but you might want to stick with the programming side of things if that's your area of expertise.
There is a LOT more to PCB layout than just taking an atmel dev board design (like this "arduino"), copying, it, and rearranging things or adding a few well-documented peripherals. From the looks of it, you added a few things that have been added a million times over by other hobbyists who are playing with these boards.
Designing to reduce EMI/RFI, designing for high-power/high-frequency switchers, etc are all things that require years(even decades) of knowledge to do right (and to therefore provide a design that is actually worth paying for). All of this is not to mention the basic electrical theory that you must apply to every PCB you design.

This "arduino" movement does not necessarily promote the knowledge that you need - This community is mostly comprised of individuals who are just getting started in the world of electronics (or are at that knowledge level in general) and just want to copy things that have already been done by others.

I would suggest that you take this programming skill - it sounds like after 20 years you might be very good at it - and use this to your advantage. Move away from the beginner level (arduino) and get some real development boards - Go get a board from digilent or microchip or whatever - Get a decent C compiler - learn this platform. You don't need to limit yourself to Atmel or Microchip controllers, either - There are literally a million and one options out there.

It's all about finding out what your strong point is and using that to your advantage. If you try to make it in the layout/design world with little to no experience, you're starting from scratch and unless you have some amazing ability to become an EE design engineer overnight, you're going to lose money and waste time in the long run. On the other hand, if you use your strong point to your advantage and focus on it, you might get lucky and find some good work.

I've been doing schematic & layout design for high-power DC-DC converters for years, and I started with a pretty solid knowledge of EE in general - And I would still consider myself a beginner. Good luck. If you haven't already, get some decent EE textbooks and start reading them cover to cover. The best way to become good at design and layout is to be mentored by someone who knows what they are doing... Learning by yourself, in a vacuum, will not be productive in the long run. Also, remember - don't be afraid to step out of the beginner level and get out into the "real world" of microcontrollers.