I went from software engineering to navigating people through German bureaucracy. It started as a simple blog, but applied a lot of software engineering knowledge to the problems I face. Simple things like using calculated variables in my content, monitoring German legal texts for changes, and building calculators and letter generators for my readers. I also implement more complex things like a custom static site generator that lints content. It keeps the work varied and fun.

More and more, I also build contacts in and around Berlin's government to effect change at a lower level, instead of building a nice layer on top of a crap bureaucracy.

It has been my full time job since 2020, and it's still going pretty solid. I absolutely love it, in part because the work itself is fun, and in part because I have a kind and grateful audience.

I describe the why and the how here: https://nicolasbouliane.com/projects/all-about-berlin

I really enjoyed being a DevOps consultant some years ago. Traveling to many different states (and that one time I traveled to India), spending time in different workplaces, and giving engineers an excuse to work on some really cool shit while leveling them (and myself) up in the process was deeply satisfying.

Traveling and working with others face to face was a big part of the job I enjoyed; COVID destroyed that.