How much does prior automotive/aerospace experience actually transfer to this field?

[smartinez]

Genuine beginner question - A commonly cited skill gap in new-grad applicants is practical systems integration experience - many candidates are individually strong in ML or in mechanical design, but comparatively few have hands-on experience getting perception, planning, and control to work together reliably on real hardware under time pressure. Totally unrelated but has anyone else noticed how fast component costs are dropping this year.

[arjunsanchez]

Slightly off-topic, but related: RSS (Robotics: Science and Systems), ICRA, and the IEEE-RAS Humanoids conference are commonly cited as the most directly relevant venues for someone specifically interested in legged locomotion and humanoid control research, as opposed to broader AI/ML conferences. Anyway, good thread - following for more.