Embedded C Programming

How do I go about becoming an expert embedded C programmer and how do I do it without purchasing all the hardware necessary to test them with?

I am doing this because I want to get a job as an embedded C programmer and makes lots of money and being really respected.

>>19
An AVR + SATA-IDE converter + MP3 decoder (optional if you're fine with WAV) + DAC would be enough.

Or if you want a solution with less hardware, a PIC32MX is enough to decode MP3 without an external decoder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHz8sEbGpQQ