I've long been interested in both software and hardware. My first computer was a Mac Plus, and I had to fix it myself at age 9 before I could start coding on it

I've long been interested in both software and hardware. My first computer was a Mac Plus, and I had to fix it myself at age 9 before I could start coding on it. That progressed into fixing iPods, and playing around with firmware: modding them with iPodLinux. I studied Electronic Systems Engineering at university, through to a first-class honours Masters degree. With the trend towards custom chips (Apple's A-series processors, Bitcoin ASICS, etc), I thought it's the future. However, I've only been able to find jobs in software. Usually for startup companies in IoT. From 2014-2018 I moved to Taiwan to work for a microSD card manufacturing company, but even then I ended up writing control systems software rather than actually designing chips. The designs are all made in America, the silicon at TSMC, so OSE's packaging business wasn't able to use that part of my interest. I'm not trying to move to the US, so I guess I can't be a chip designer. Hardware still interests me though, and I carry around a lot of gadgets to help me pursue projects when I think of them. Then I usually post them on Hackaday (e.g. KeyMouSerial, SMC Voltmeter). When I get a stable address (I've been wandering around the world for a year, and now I'm waiting for a visa), I'd like to learn KiCad, and get a PCB manufactured. I've been wanting to build an EspUSB [1] for years, but they're not available to purchase. The problem is I don't know what to write to PCBWay. The design files are online, but PCBWay couldn't understand them. I'd be guessing the BOM from the schematics, and I have only one chance to get it right - I probably can't reorder if I mess it up. So I've lived without it, only using my KeyMouSerial adaptor instead. Video is another area that's ripe for hardware hacking. HDMI input is expensive for computers. Some projectors have a Freeze button, but others don't. I'd like to build a hardware Freeze button for HDMI or VGA, probably using a CPLD or FPGA. In some ways, this is a project where circuit simulation is useful: clock timings are important, cost of manufacturing is high, I can't just buy an existing finished product. But I don't need a web app with some virtual transistors and blinking lights (though that's fun for education). I need a professional tool, and I'm not really sure what to use for this next step. Will I ever build these projects? I don't know. It depends as much on factors from my personal life as the availability of tools and educational materials towards this kind of project. I hope that even if I don't make it though, someone will, and will make their hardware easily available to purchase (not just a half-finished design file that PCBWay can't understand). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPBzOaLbWhM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPBzOaLbWhM