OT: Big Mac's Bar & Lounge: Coffee Talk with Linda Richman

[TNT87]

I need to start acting like an adult and set up a primary vet for my cat. She's fine, but I haven't taken her to the vet yet and I adopted her about 11 months ago. I'm just weird with talking to people on the phone, I don't know why

So I'm not the only one?

 

[Empoleon8771]

@Empoleon8771

Squirrel Hill ranks among nation's most desirable neighborhoods

"Sowers said she often found herself recommending Squirrel Hill, Shadyside and Mt. Lebanon to her coastal transplant clients."

She's basically spot on with this, so I can't doubt the validity of it. Squirrel Hill isn't perfect, but damn, it's really close to it. The only issues I've seen so far is that there isn't much of a bar scene in Squirrel Hill (but that's what Oakland, Southside and Shadyside are for) and it's super expensive.

I was actually misled about the price of my new apartment, I was told that singles for the complex I was looking at range from $1065-$1085 based on sizes (either 580, 600 or 650 square feet), but it's even more expensive than that. Only two units have become available so far, but both are $1100 plus $80 for having a cat and a parking spot, with one being the smallest unit they have (580 square feet) and the other one being a basement unit (650 square feet). I'm concerned that they might actually be too rich for me, at least too rich for me to not cut costs elsewhere. I'm concerned that when they make the bigger units that aren't basement units available, they'll be close to $1150, which is way too much for me to justify paying.

This all would be a lot easier if freaking Westinghouse would actually reply to my application (have been on "Status: Applied" since September 19th), because I'd definitely get paid more at Westinghouse than I currently will make once I start working full time.

 

[Winger for Hire]

So I'm not the only one?

*stands up*

You two are not alone

 

[Daeni10]

I'm about to watch Slapshot for the first time. I am f***ing hyped

 

[Randy Butternubs]

"Sowers said she often found herself recommending Squirrel Hill, Shadyside and Mt. Lebanon to her coastal transplant clients."

She's basically spot on with this, so I can't doubt the validity of it. Squirrel Hill isn't perfect, but damn, it's really close to it. The only issues I've seen so far is that there isn't much of a bar scene in Squirrel Hill (but that's what Oakland, Southside and Shadyside are for) and it's super expensive.

I was actually misled about the price of my new apartment, I was told that singles for the complex I was looking at range from $1065-$1085 based on sizes (either 580, 600 or 650 square feet), but it's even more expensive than that. Only two units have become available so far, but both are $1100 plus $80 for having a cat and a parking spot, with one being the smallest unit they have (580 square feet) and the other one being a basement unit (650 square feet). I'm concerned that they might actually be too rich for me, at least too rich for me to not cut costs elsewhere. I'm concerned that when they make the bigger units that aren't basement units available, they'll be close to $1150, which is way too much for me to justify paying.

This all would be a lot easier if freaking Westinghouse would actually reply to my application (have been on "Status: Applied" since September 19th), because I'd definitely get paid more at Westinghouse than I currently will make once I start working full time.

Ew. Don't do Westinghouse. Especially for engineering. I have current co-workers who basically cried tears of joy when they got to leave Westinghouse.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Ew. Don't do Westinghouse. Especially for engineering. I have current co-workers who basically cried tears of joy when they got to leave Westinghouse.

I have certainly heard bad things about Westinghouse, but $$$$. They pay entry level mechanical engineers north of $70k very often, it's not a surprise they're bankrupt

 

[Tom Hanks]

I have certainly heard bad things about Westinghouse, but $$$$. They pay entry level mechanical engineers north of $70k very often, it's not a surprise they're bankrupt

If you find a good employer but they pay a little less it’s still worth it. You’ll spend a lot of time there.

 

[Empoleon8771]

If you find a good employer but they pay a little less it’s still worth it. You’ll spend a lot of time there.

Yeah this is true for sure. I don't think my current employer is what I see myself staying at for a long time, hence why I'm considering other options. Money isn't everything, but if 2 options aren't particularly attractive, I'll go with the one that pays more. I don't see any company I'm looking at right now as a long term place to work.

It might be a bad way of planning for the future, but I've had the mindset of "wait a couple of years and then reevaluate" when it comes to post graduation. Somewhat related, I know there's a stereotype about millennials constantly job hopping and not being loyal to employers, but can you honestly blame them when companies don't usually show the same loyalty either? I've gotten that piece of advice a lot of people actually, if companies won't be loyal to you, why be loyal to them?

 

[Tom Hanks]

Yeah this is true for sure. I don't think my current employer is what I see myself staying at for a long time, hence why I'm considering other options. Money isn't everything, but if 2 options aren't particularly attractive, I'll go with the one that pays more. I don't see any company I'm looking at right now as a long term place to work.

It might be a bad way of planning for the future, but I've had the mindset of "wait a couple of years and then reevaluate" when it comes to post graduation. Somewhat related, I know there's a stereotype about millennials constantly job hopping and not being loyal to employers, but can you honestly blame them when companies don't usually show the same loyalty either? I've gotten that piece of advice a lot of people actually, if companies won't be loyal to you, why be loyal to them?

I completely agree with you. It’s harder to find those good companies these days so you might as well just go where the top money is until you do find one.

I’m lucky with my employer they are very accomodating with my brain injury. I was on construction sites doing landscaping but got hit in the head and I can’t do it anymore so they promoted me into the office doing the estimating. They are even going to let me work from home 2-3 days a week to help my fatigue. I have a mattress set up in the storage room so I can lie down on my breaks as well lol

 

[ColePens]

DISAGREE! Boy do I disagree! Hunt down companies who have a great culture and work-life balance, and you will make more money than you ever thought you would. Why? You may start off a little less at first, but your passion and work will pay off because you actually get to enjoy a good culture and a great work-life balance. The Google culture isn't just for google. Other companies adapt it as well. Put in the research and make the right decision.

 

[Tom Hanks]

DISAGREE! Boy do I disagree! Hunt down companies who have a great culture and work-life balance, and you will make more money than you ever thought you would. Why? You may start off a little less at first, but your passion and work will pay off because you actually get to enjoy a good culture and a great work-life balance. The Google culture isn't just for google. Other companies adapt it as well. Put in the research and make the right decision.

I think he agrees with you Cole but if there are only a couple options and they aren’t the best you go with the money for now.

EDIT: I do agree with your post though. You need to be happy. I moved cities and my yearly wage dropped $15-20,000 a year but I was happier where I was and I knew I’d get pay rises because I was good at my job and worked hard/efficiently. Got 2 pay rises in the first 4 months.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Don't forget about the commute. That certainly adds to the stress. Squirrel Hill to Cranberry has the potential to blow. At least you'd be going opposite traffic.

I remembered when I loved my job. 10 minute bus commute, really liked my boss, every other Friday off. Hell, I'd go in on Saturdays to work a few hours (and use the gym).

Now I'm considering taking a significant pay decrease (~$30k) just to get away from it.

 

[Ogrezilla]

DISAGREE! Boy do I disagree! Hunt down companies who have a great culture and work-life balance, and you will make more money than you ever thought you would. Why? You may start off a little less at first, but your passion and work will pay off because you actually get to enjoy a good culture and a great work-life balance. The Google culture isn't just for google. Other companies adapt it as well. Put in the research and make the right decision.

in theory I agree. But it's not always as easy as just looking, sometimes the right job just isn't available right away.

 

[UnrealMachine]

DISAGREE! Boy do I disagree! Hunt down companies who have a great culture and work-life balance, and you will make more money than you ever thought you would. Why? You may start off a little less at first, but your passion and work will pay off because you actually get to enjoy a good culture and a great work-life balance. The Google culture isn't just for google. Other companies adapt it as well. Put in the research and make the right decision.

Yep, 100% on board with work/life balance. I have a 35hr work week and am able to do strength training in my office at lunch. Without work taking up the majority of my day/energy (I was a 50+hr/week person at my old entry-level position) I am able to devote 20-25hr/week to competitive offroad cycling, rock climbing and acro-yoga. And it's not as if I have a bad salary either. For a thrifty engineer with no family I am by all accounts "Pittsburgh Rich".

 

[Beauner]

How does one track down what complaines have a great culture and work/life balance? Is it as simple as reading reviews on glassdoor and related websites?

 

[Empoleon8771]

DISAGREE! Boy do I disagree! Hunt down companies who have a great culture and work-life balance, and you will make more money than you ever thought you would. Why? You may start off a little less at first, but your passion and work will pay off because you actually get to enjoy a good culture and a great work-life balance. The Google culture isn't just for google. Other companies adapt it as well. Put in the research and make the right decision.

I agree with this in theory, but the problem is that there aren't many jobs available like this. I consider myself to have a pretty fantastic resume personally, and I'm still getting rejected or companies are not responding to me. It's just hard to find a job right out of school, which causes students to settle at the best option they can get.

What also restricts me is that I have to work for 2 years in the nuclear industry because of a scholarship I have, so that limits my options even further. I'd prefer to not go into the field because it's a declining field.

Don't forget about the commute. That certainly adds to the stress. Squirrel Hill to Cranberry has the potential to blow. At least you'd be going opposite traffic.

My sister also works at Westinghouse and she commutes from East Liberty to Waltz Mill (out near New Stanton). She has always said she likes her commute. I do know the commute from Pittsburgh to Cranberry sucks, I had to drive to the Lemieux Ice Complex in the past from Oakland and it was an awful drive.

How does one track down what complaines have a great culture and work/life balance? Is it as simple as reading reviews on glassdoor and related websites?

I'd love to have an answer to this too. I'm not sure glassdoor ratings are the best, I feel like people only post those whenever their experience is really bad or really good.

 

[Winger for Hire]

You can usually tell from Glassdoor reviews which ones were from disgruntled employees or from ones who are overly praising the company. Also, like when looking at Amazon reviews, I think the 4,3,2 star reviews are way more informative than most of the 1 and 5 star ones.

If there's enough reviews, you can usually see a pattern of pros and cons emerge. I also go to Indeed.com and see if there's any reviews there and do the same thing. Other than actually knowing a person who works there and asking, this has been the main way I've done it.

 

[ColePens]

Yep, 100% on board with work/life balance. I have a 35hr work week and am able to do strength training in my office at lunch. Without work taking up the majority of my day/energy (I was a 50+hr/week person at my old entry-level position) I am able to devote 20-25hr/week to competitive offroad cycling, rock climbing and acro-yoga. And it's not as if I have a bad salary either. For a thrifty engineer with no family I am by all accounts "Pittsburgh Rich".

I'm stealing that term - Pittsburgh Rich. That's my level.

How does one track down what complaines have a great culture and work/life balance? Is it as simple as reading reviews on glassdoor and related websites?

You can also check best places to work. There are tons of articles that can tell you why. It's part of the research.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I would say that not every field has the option for a place that fits the kind of culture you want, has the pay you want, in a type of job you are qualified for, in the city you want to live in. And I think it's going to take some damn incredible luck to find that place coming out of school. I don't mean to be pessimistic, but I just don't think everyone has that option regardless of research. It sounds great to say to wait and find the right fit, but eventually you just need a job.

I'm somewhere in the middle of this all, and I am happy with that. I used to absolutely hate my job pretty much every day, so this is a big improvement. I also didn't get paid for shit at my old job, so this is a double improvement. Working 50-60 hours a week as a teacher and coming home to decide which bill I can't afford to pay this month is a really shitty place to be. But even now I'm still nowhere near rich, even Pittsburgh rich. But I generally like my job, and I don't have to check my bank account before I stop at redbox to rent a movie, so overall things are good.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I would say that not every field has the option for a place that fits the kind of culture you want, has the pay you want, in a type of job you are qualified for, in the city you want to live in. And I think it's going to take some damn incredible luck to find that place coming out of school. I don't mean to be pessimistic, but I just don't think everyone has that option regardless of research. It sounds great to say to wait and find the right fit, but eventually you just need a job.

I don't consider this pessimistic, I consider this to be realistic.

If we're being honest, I could probably find something that Cole is talking about in here, it just involves putting in a ton of effort shopping around for companies and possibly involves me owing the government $15k (if I go to a non-nuclear company). But then again, I thought my resume was good enough that companies would be falling over to get me and I've had no luck finding anything new. I almost didn't even find a job at where I got my full time offer, I lucked into that one. I talked to about 9 different managers and a lot of them weren't hiring.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I also just can't imagine what field of work I could be in where my passion would be a legitimate asset to how well I do my job. I cannot think of a single career that I would actually be passionate about like that.

 

[66-30-33]

Goddamnit! I FINALLY stop coughing from my bronchitis after 3 WEEKS NON STOP!!! I'm 90% better, start cold showers and BAM!! sick again.....coughing non stop again until I can feel the puke coming on. This time I'm not going to tough it out for 3 weeks, going to see the doc. This time I'll wait until I am 100% better before attempting the cold showers. I'll miss them in the meantime.

 

[Winger for Hire]

 

[Ogrezilla]

Goddamnit! I FINALLY stop coughing from my bronchitis after 3 WEEKS NON STOP!!! I'm 90% better, start cold showers and BAM!! sick again.....coughing non stop again until I can feel the puke coming on. This time I'm not going to tough it out for 3 weeks, going to see the doc. This time I'll wait until I am 100% better before attempting the cold showers. I'll miss them in the meantime.

or stick with warm showers as if you aren't a psychopath

but that sucks about being sick

 

[66-30-33]

or stick with warm showers as if you aren't a psychopath

but that sucks about being sick

Hey man look up Wim Hof, I'm trying to be able to withstand the cold like him and a bunch of others are. It's torture but you feel awesome after a cold shower and over time build up an immunity to the cold. One day I'll be cold resistant to the outside, and wont get any more colds.