Chances for MS in Embedded Systems by fall of 2012

[Niju Alex]

hi everybody...i am new to this forum and hence i would start off with an explanation of my background.

i did my B.Tech in Electronics and Communications in NIT (National Institute of Technology) Warangal, India.it is one of the top twenty colleges for btech in India.i recieved a cgpa of 7.64/10 by the end of my btech.I would like to join for MS in Embedded Systems by the fall of 2012...but the sad part is that i havent done any projects or research activities so far....i got placed in a company that is focussed in telecommunication and am supposed to join it on monday (4th of july) ,next week...but one of my friends (who also has applied for ms in a different field) has told me that working in a field that is different to the field i am trying for ms in wont help in improving the chances of my admission to any good universities...i thought of doing a course in embedded systems from some private insitituion,but i am told nw that even that wont help in my ms application as they dont have any renowned people in such institutes.

Also,i havent got any Lor's so far and would like to knw if a proffesor workin in a different field such as communication would help me to get an ms in Embedded Systems...frankly, i havent been one of the brightest students in my class but i do have a great interest in learning more about wat i like...

i did my gre test and got a score of 790Q and 610V but unfortunately, 3.0 for my AWA test....is the AWA score going to affect my application?

can anyone tell me which are the top twenty universities that offer MS in Embedded Systems and if i have any chance of getting into one of them?moreover, i'd like to know if the degree provided by a college, which is not among the top twenty colleges would help me to get a good job in USA or back in India, if i performed well during the ms? i.e. if the degree provided by the top colleges and low ranking universities are same or not?