If you've landed on this site from YouTube — welcome. And if you've been reading my writing here and didn't know I had a channel — now you do.
The channel is in Persian
Let me say this upfront: SiaExplains on YouTube is entirely in Persian (Farsi). The website you're reading right now is in English, but the YouTube content is aimed at Iranian engineers — people in Iran, or Iranians who've already made the move abroad and are navigating a new country.
That's an intentional choice. There's a lot of advice online for people learning to code. There's very little for experienced Iranian engineers who want to understand what moving to Germany actually feels like — the citizenship process, the banking system, what changes after year one vs year five.
That gap is what I'm trying to fill.
What I cover
Immigration & life in Germany — the real version. I've done episodes on getting German citizenship (10K views), the five-year mark (40K views — my most-watched video by a wide margin), and what the layoffs of 2024 felt like living here. No sugarcoating.
Career and engineering lessons — I summarised 17 years of experience as a software engineer into 14 key lessons. It's one of the most shared videos I've made. The audience for this is engineers at any stage, but especially those transitioning from senior to principal or lead roles.
AI tools and certifications — which ones are worth your time, which are hype. I went through 7 AI certifications and gave honest takes on each.
Finance and expat tips — practical stuff about banking, saving, and navigating the German financial system as a foreigner.
The most-watched video
"Five Years Living in Germany" hit 40K views and I still don't entirely know why that one broke through. My guess: people don't just want the highlights. They want to know if the trade-offs are worth it after the honeymoon phase is over. That video is an honest answer to that question.
Why I started
I launched the channel in 2022 after years of getting DMs asking "how did you do it?" from engineers in Iran who wanted to move abroad. At some point it made more sense to answer once, well, in a video — than to repeat myself in a hundred DMs.
The response surprised me. The community that formed around it — Iranians in Berlin, in other European cities, still in Tehran planning their move — made it one of the things I'm most glad I started.
Where to find it
Or head to the YouTube page on this site for a curated list of featured videos with English translations of each title.
If you're an Iranian engineer thinking about moving abroad, or already here and trying to figure things out — subscribe. New videos go up regularly.