I’m trying to bootstrap some robotics knowledge for myself to try and start building a portfolio of robotics projects and then go look for jobs. I’ve got an industry background in SE, from distributed cloud computing to low level embedded systems & os driver development, plus a background in higher maths & physics (diffeq+group theory, qm), and a familiarity with the SOTA of ML from 2022.

Is this book a good starting place for theory, or would I be better served looking elsewhere? Is my approach of trying to build a small private portfolio stupid, can I get hired without a degree? I’m interested in trying to get into industrial automation.