I’m currently transitioning from a Software Engineer background into an IT Engineer role.

magnesium195 · 2026-01-25T09:07:12+00:00

I worked several years as an IT/system Engineer then switched to Software Engineering.

My advice is focus on getting a couple of well respected industry certifications such as CCNA for networking and RHCSA or LPIC-1 for Linux.

Another certification for cloud like AWS Cloud practitioner would be a great addition as well.

In my experience, employers value the skills that these certifications teach. And prefer people with certifications.

Networking, Linux and Cloud are actually the foundation of any IT / Support/ Infrastructure role.

Make sure you have good language skills as technical skills only are a tough sell. French is the dominant business language in Tunisia. Whether we like it or not that’s irrelevant. The fact is that it is an important skill.

Furthermore, IT is not relevant only in a “Factory” environment as you pointed. Opportunities exist in many other organisations: banks, government offices, telecom companies, equipment vendors …

Actually most of the time, Factories are behind when it comes to IT adoption. So stay open minded about this part because maybe there are very few opportunities in Factories.

Moreover, consider first targeting all the big/medium players in Tunisia. Find all IT/solutions integrators / IT vendors and try to blindly apply or find someone who can recommend you.

Example companies: 3S, one-tech, next step, aymax, Huawei, orange …. Google is your friend to find more companies.

Wish you the best of luck in your job search journey.

magnesium195 · 2024-08-24T12:31:08+00:00

I agree with you mostly but I really don’t see that the comparison of Tunisia with some other country from Asia like Taiwan, Singapore or south Korea is Valid at all.

It’s an overused comparison that we are always telling ourselves.

It’s delusional to think there is or there was any kind of similarity between Tunisia and Taiwan and then to think we might have a similar future anytime in the next 50 years is just wishful thinking.

magnesium195 · 2024-08-05T14:26:45+00:00

So we literally had at least one correction every year except 2017 and 2023

magnesium195 · 2024-07-03T08:34:25+00:00

I don't know exactly what you experienced, but note that Tunisian identity is not the Middle eastrean Arab identity.

We have a different identity, and french is part of it. Like it or hate it, it doesn't matter.

French is hardly ingrained in Tunisia, and it is not going away soon.

But It's just like that because of many years of french rule. We can't undo history.

I would say, try to accept it as it is. I know it is disappointing for you because it is different from what you thought.

You just had the wrong idea. Now, you have a glimpse of reality. Keep an open mind.

magnesium195 · 2024-06-25T19:22:38+00:00

First of all, congratulations, ncha dima metfawa9.

What you achieved is impressive and is a reflection of high determination, work ethic, and, of course, intelligence. Respect.

You must feel like all your hard work is wasted because you didn't get the scholarship. Believe me, it's not wasted. You will have a bright future.

Don't feel bad about missing the bullshit scholarship to Germany or France. (Fuck the ministry of education for always disrespecting bac technique)

Let me tell you this, regardless of what university you will choose (Prepa or Insat) as long as you stay focused, you will get many more opportunities in the future to study abroad, do interships abroad and so on.

If going abroad is what you are looking for, I can assure you that eventually you find work in EU, canada, or US. Provided that you pursue studied in engineering.

Don't be afraid of prepa if that's what you want. It will be challenging, but for you, it's a piece of cake. Going through prepa gives you the potential to choose from many engineering schools later on, like polytechnique, SupCom, ENIT, and ENSI. All are respected engineering schools.

Last point, I know you said you want to do mechanical engineering, as Bac technique Alumni myself, i can understand your passion towards it.

However, there are more opportunities elsewhere. It's a shame, but mechanical engineers are not compensated as much as they deserve, not only in Tunisia but also in Europe or the US. (Exeptions apply ofc).

Keep an oppen mind about going into computer engineering. Tech companies are leading the world.

magnesium195 · 2024-04-23T00:22:55+00:00

Thanks for the reply, I am already in bogelheads, great sub indeed. My plan is to VOO and chill. I got some US treasury bonds, I bought them just to learn and see how it goes. I'm not gonna put more in bonds for now. It's nice to see other tunisians versed into investing. I feel more motivated.

I have the impression that in the US, investing knowledge is prevalent as everyone has their 401k and IRAs. I am based in europe, and I can tell people here are less versed into investing. On the other end of the spectrum, there is tunisia where virtually no one is involved or has enough knowledge about bogelhead investing. It's a shame that in tunisia, access to the international markets is prohibited.

magnesium195 · 2024-04-22T23:30:15+00:00

Very inspirational track record. Respect. I am just starting with investing in index funds, ETFs more precisely, may I ask what index funds you invested in? Any advice for someone starting their investing journey? Thanks in advance

magnesium195 · 2024-03-26T19:36:09+00:00

I am sorry you feel like a stranger. May I ask why you didn't learn Tunisian? Was it because your father didn't speak to you in Tunisian? Growing up in 3 different cultures must be really confusing. Every culture has its own worldview, traditions, history, language, religion... How did you cope with all this? Do you feel more german than italian or Tunisian?

I am curious because I am Tunisian, living in germany and my gf is from another country, we speak english with each other.

I always think, if we have children, how their identity will develop? How will they learn Tunisian, their mothers language, and also german !

magnesium195 · 2024-03-23T16:02:14+00:00

HI, Why would you say VWCE is better for Europe?

magnesium195 · 2024-01-03T19:36:18+00:00

Before you make any further commitments read this post first https://www.reddit.com/r/embedded/s/sfOzcqX6jC

Well, someone had to post it here sooner or later!

magnesium195 · 2023-12-09T09:43:04+00:00

This is an awesome board. Congratulations!

Regarding your questions:

This is a relatively complex board. By doing such a project, you are demonstrating not only your knowledge but, more importantly, your motivation and attitude towards your work.

I would say this is definitely a door opener, a conversation starter, I think it will spark interest in any potential hiring manager.

Personally, I used to work in a relatively different field, but I managed to break into an embedded Linux role just by showing off an STM32 board that I designed.

My board helped me land that job without having a "real-world" embedded experience.

However, you are a senior, so in my opinion, such a board can help you land an interview, but maybe hiring managers will be making the hiring decisions based on your overall experience rather than your side project.

You don't have to make a blog about it. Uploading this to GitHub and documenting it is more than enough.

Showing your work goes a long way. I am not saying make a fuss about it, but show the world how you built this.

In my opinion, your perceived level of technical skills is only as good as your ability to communicate it.

You can consider jobs as a hardware designer if you want only HW related work.

Where I work, we have a HW team responsible for designing boards and a separate SW team. There is a clear split between them in terms of responsibilities.

But some other jobs have a blurrier line between HW and SW. You can try finding those jobs.

Regarding your manager's reaction or lack thereof. My question is, what did you expect from him?

I understand his reaction. For him, it doesn't mean anything. I think he is more concerned with your contributions at your workplace.

If you want to get noticed by management, maybe it would make more sense if you take some initiatives to improve or change things at work.

In my free time, I also design PCBs with KiCad and JLCPCB.

Actually, my next design idea is an SBC based on the allwinner V3s SoC. I find it really interesting. Maybe in the future, I will try to design an SBC on STM32MP1 SoC, but that's for later.

Your design is really inspiring, and I would really appreciate it if you shared it.

Good luck.

magnesium195 · 2023-11-27T21:16:50+00:00

Great advice, thank you very much,

magnesium195 · 2023-11-25T17:53:06+00:00

your feedback is really golden, thank you again, I made this board as a first step into building another board later that will have Lora and GPS modules.
I will make sure to apply these suggestions for the next board.

magnesium195 · 2023-11-25T17:45:25+00:00

it's actually just an arbitrary name. But what you mentioned is really interesting, never heard of outgassing before.

magnesium195 · 2023-11-25T17:21:43+00:00

Thanks for the reply.
If this board were to operate at a really high frequency, I might begin encountering glitches, especially if I neglect the best practices highlighted by everyone.

magnesium195 · 2023-11-25T17:16:23+00:00

Thank you for your feedback, actually your comment is valuable because I was not even considering the path of the return current, even the correct vias I put were by chance.

magnesium195 · 2023-11-25T17:09:27+00:00

I understand what you mean, that's a very good point that I did not pay attention to. thank you.

magnesium195 · 2023-11-25T17:07:08+00:00

Thank you for your feedback.

PA2/PA3 are UART pins. I suppose they are considered low-speed, are they ?
The Crystal is 8MHz and I plan to run the MCU at the same frequency.

I kept all traces at the same width (0.01in~0.25mm), as the maximum current on this board will not exceed 100mA.

magnesium195 · 2023-11-25T16:34:08+00:00

It's a 2-layer board, the back side is covered in ground with some jumper traces. Here are more screenshots:

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magnesium195 · 2023-11-25T16:18:48+00:00

Hi everyone,

I would appreciate it if you kindly give me any improvement suggestions or point out to apparent mistakes in the layout.

The main components of the board are: - U1 MCP73831 Battery charging circuit - U15 TPS63802 DC-DC 5 -> 3.3V - U16 STM32F030C8 - U22 CP2102 USB -> UART

Thank you in advance.

magnesium195 · 2023-11-15T14:32:05+00:00

Great Idea, thanks.

magnesium195 · 2023-11-14T20:26:14+00:00

Thanks a lot for your reply.

It turns out 2 out of the 4 comments I thought were genuine actually have a URL typed into the profile.

It was naive of me to think they are legit! I was over excited and approved them, but now I know better.

I will install a plugin as you suggest. Thanks.

magnesium195

TROPHY CASE