Hi, I’m Alexander! I’m a 25 year old (when you read this I’m probably older, but forgot to update this) guy living in Germany and an enthusiast of all things related to technology. Back in 2014 I finished my Abitur (high school diploma for my international friends). From there I went to study Aerospace Computer Science at the Julius Maximilians Universität in Würzburg. I learned a lot there and found it incredibly interesting. Unfortunately studying at university is really theory heavy. I’m a really practical person. I want to actually *do* things and try out the theoretical concepts, instead of just learning about them in theory. Turns out university really wasn’t for me. (yeah, yeah I know… who could have known that university is mostly theory…😅)

During university I started working as a teacher’s assistant for the courses Advanced Programming and Secure Software Systems. That’s where I found my interest in software security. Now, I’m by no means a software security professional, but I do know my way around a couple vulnerabilities. From there I was snatched away by a company called Innowep GmbH, who wanted me to work on the firmware of one of their devices. Unlike the university, Innowep offered free coffee, so the negotiations were short.

Remember how I studied? Yeah, I continued doing that even after I knew I wouldn’t want to finish university. Uni offers lot’s of interesting courses, so I chose those I was most interested in, took in all the knowledge I could and ran with it. That eventually stopped when I reached the maximum duration of 9 semesters at univeristy. Some people tell me it’s wasted time, I kinda disagree. I learned a lot and even though I didn’t get a degree I gained lots of knowledge, good professional and personal experience and made good friends.

After that I started an apprenticeship as an electronics technician for devices and systems (german: Elektroniker für Geräte und Systeme) at Leuze. It’s still ongoing and I’ll finish it in mid 2022.

What Can I Do?

My skills are pretty diverse, so here are a few examples of things I’ve done in the past:

I can design circuits, create schematics and lay out PCBs in KiCad. Then have the PCBs manufactured from Gerber files and choose appropriate components for the device. Of course I can also solder SMD and THT components (reliably down to 0603).
I can develop fully-fledged webapps with CI/CD pipelines, Docker-based setups, front- and backend. (Though I do prefer backend development). I use git as my version control software.
I can use CAD software to create 3D models of robots and machines (mostly Fusion 360, most other CAD software gives me a stroke). To rapidly prototype my designs I use a FDM (and rarely a mSLA-) 3D Printer or a CO2 Lasercutter. I know how to use manual mills, drills and lathes, but I rarely use those.
I can develop firmware for microcontrollers using C or C++, with or without an RTOS (mbed <3). ARM Assembly and Linkerscripts are things I’ve played around with, but haven’t actively modified a lot.

Contact

I’m not very active on most social media, but you can find my github here. I also have LinkedIn Account, I don’t use it much though.

I stronlgy prefer email over other options, so feel free email me: alexander.schramm96@gmail.com