Starting from the applications that you have in mind, select the PIC µcontrollers and search, on www.microchip.com, the evaluation boards that are built for those µC's. There are a lot, with a very affordable price. Plenty of programming examples, too. Go to the Forum for discussions on lots of subjects concerning their products.
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Bridge rule #1: Nobody is as good as he thinks about himself nor as dumb, as his partner thinks...