The 2025 year was full of challenges and acheivments . In this first blog, I’ll highlight the key moments of the year and share my reflections on them.

I have always wanted to have my pesonal blog as a space to expres my humble ideas and push myself to think , read and write more. I’m not trying to showoff but rather heal my brainrot and deliver genuinely human content.

Important Events

Trust me , I’m an Engineer

After getting my BAC during the COVID pandemic in 2020, I joined the Higher National School of Computer Science (ESI) based on the success stories of its Alumnis. The eight semesters I had in Oued Smar were full of stressfull exam weeks, endless deadlines, and the concours nightmare, but life in the Bouraoui dorm made it better. Sleepless nights with friends, skipped lectures, and student activities were the best part of my university life.

My final year turned out to be my best so far , except the boring master classes I took (FOMO effect). I worked on my PFE with Islem.M , ‘Building a secure e-commerce payment gateway’ as we prefered a practical dev over AI research project. The internship was remote , giving flexibility but requiring me to wisely handle communication with my binome and my supervisors mr.Said and miss.Benkrid, The progress started well slowed when faced with some challenges, the final contribution seemed blury and our vision wasn’t clear at the start.

I graduated on July 1st, 2025. The month before graduation was extremely stressful, with a late report, a limited implementation, and a growing load of work duties. There was a lot to handle in a very short time, but in the end, everything worked out alhamdullah. I am grateful to my family, my friends, and everyone who supported us during this journey. Really proud of all the friends who survived ESI , wishing everyone a successfull career ahead.

Putting a Hobby on hold

I have always been a running person. I even had a @moncef.runs Instagram page and was more active on Strava than LinkedIn. Last season was my best yet. I followed a strict program from The Daniel Running Formula book, finished a strong half marathon in Algiers, and built a good network of fellow athletes. It was rewarding, even if it took a lot of my time.

This year, I had to step back. A minor calf injury gave me a few days off, but once I started my first job and got more responsibilities, long runs became hard to fit in. Even with a premium Strava subscription, I did not have the time or energy, so I focused on what mattered most. No regrets. I still get the occasional run and one day I will break my marathon personal record. I am still dreaming of that sub-3.

First Professional Experience

In my fourth year, I chose SIL, Software Engineering, as my specialty. I always wanted to code more and work on real projects, but impostor syndrome often held me back. At the end of the year, I landed a web development internship with Basseer. I took the initiative to learn new technologies, work on a real product, and deliver results I was proud of. After that, I continued for a few weeks as a freelancer, then stepped back to focus on my PFE. I later regretted that choice during moments when progress felt slow.

I kept applying for jobs and doing interviews. I declined one offer because I felt it was underpaid, but that decision left me unemployed for almost two months with little progress on my PFE. I eventually rejoined Basseer as a part-time developer and worked on the same project. I am grateful to mr.Hamid and mr.Farid for their trust, and to my coworker Ilyes for the time we worked together. This experience gave me a strong boost in my software engineering career and thought me a lot.

Later that year, I was referred by my binôme Islem for a freelance job at MDM. The opportunity was extremely valuable in terms of technical knowledge and the nature of the project, which covered e-commerce, inventory, and delivery services. I really appreciated the quality of the software and how well tasks were organized. Given the size of the project, I initially found it challenging to understand the domain and made several mistakes, often getting stuck. However, seeking the right feedback and maintaining clear communication helped me overcome these obstacles. I truly value the experience.

No more Hackathons

I have been an active member of student activities. During my third year, I was the GDG logistics co-manager, and that season was legendary. Shoutout to the Zombo team. Despite that, I never really enjoyed hackathons. Sleepless weekends, long task sheets, and endless preparation were not my favorite. I did participate in a few just for fun, and last year we surprisingly won two hackathons: the Agrisolution Hackathon with team Innopivot (Sifeddine and Abderrahmene) and the IsDB Hackathon with team Khilan (Ayoub, Fouad, and Chakib).

I still think hackathons have lost some of their original spirit. Their subjective judging can be frustrating, and some may prefer CTFs, problem-solving contests, or datathons, where objective scoring feels more logical. Hackathons remain a great way to connect with others, learn, and have fun.

A new chapter Abroad

During my final year, I decided, like many of my classmates, to go through the Campus France process. The group mindset played a big role, and I spent a lot of time hesitating. In the end, I joined the University of Montpellier in September 2025 as an M2 student in Software Engineering. I did not come mainly for academics, as I already had enough of that in Algiers. My main goal was to gain professional experience, live independently, and build a stronger mindset.

After more than five months in France, I have learned things you can only understand by living alone or abraod. Managing daily life, long administrative procedures, studying and working, internship rejections, shopping, and cooking , facing the cultural shock, financial management, language barrier all shaped this experience.I am deeply grateful to my friends who supported me through the early months and shared both the struggles and the laughs. This is an ongoing experience, and I hope to keep learning and growing from it inshallah.