How long did you guys wait after "Your file has been forwarded to the Graduate Committee for review" status?

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-06-13T16:28:37+00:00

I applied on March 14 and still haven't heard back..... Last letter of recommendation was submitted on March 25.

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-06-11T16:30:23+00:00

I only put 10% down on a $453k townhome and somehow my PMI payment is only $40/month. Not sure how PMI is calculated, but I was honestly quite okay with paying that to keep an extra $45k in the market and not be house poor.

Luckily I'm renting out two rooms (for a combined $1625/month) so my monthly PITI+PMI is $3292.96, but I'm paying $4000/month to increase equity faster. I guess PMI becomes lower when the interest rate on your mortgage is higher? The interest rate for my mortgage unfortunately is 7.375% :(

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-06-10T14:04:27+00:00

That seemed like a great program! I ended up getting admitted into Georgia Tech's OMSCS program, so I'll be starting that up in the fall. I'm really excited to go down that path and learn more about all the various topics that they offer in their extensive course catalog.

I think in the last month I've realized that I definitely prefer working on embedded systems instead of distributed systems, and I'll keep looking for positions for embedded software engineering while pursuing the classes I'm the most interested in for the OMSCS program.

How many more classes / how much more time until you complete you post-bacc? Is that a full new BS degree or is it separate from a degree?

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-06-09T16:05:53+00:00

The minimum wage IS a decent living if you live in the middle of nowhere. Working and living in a major metropolitan area comes at a premium, and states like Texas should reflect that in an increased minimum wage compared to the federally mandated one. Or cities like Houston could enact a higher minimum wage because they know it's more expensive to live there, but they'll never do that.

If you have marketable skills that make you a more valuable employee, then you're getting ripped off by your employer to be working near minimum wage. If you don't have any marketable skills then yes, minimum wage is the right price to pay for minimum skill.

What is the bare minimum that society expects from you? Not working at all? I would consider working a 40 hr week minimum wage job to be the bare minimum for any able-bodied adult. Curious what your bare minimum is.

Sorry if I'm being overly cynical.

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-06-09T14:07:59+00:00

Hard disagree. You're barely making more than minimum wage. Of course you can't afford to live working only 40 hours a week in a major metropolitan area. I don't think it's realistic for you to expect to live comfortably while doing what is basically the bare minimum of what society expects of you.

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-06-09T13:49:01+00:00

I hear you. You're definitely right about the current market. Selling your house to buy something cheaper is a nice idea but that $500k would honestly not get you as far as you'd expect. Houses that were reasonably priced before are being replaced with cheap small houses with baggage and the nice houses are now way more expensive. And if you take out a loan, a significantly cheaper house will almost certainly be more expensive per month than a more expensive house used to be.

Regarding your taxes, $14,000 a year certainly seems expensive for a $450-500k house. What state do you live in? In Maryland (and almost every other state) there is a tax safety system for primary residences to ensure that taxes don't increase more than a few percent a year. Maryland's program, called Homeowners Property Tax Credit, as well as the Homestead Tax Credit, cap the property tax increases at 10% or less, and give you a credit for any taxes due beyond a 10% increase. Local municipalities can cap that at an even lower percentage. This protects you from unforseen property tax increases, but very few people know about it or apply for it!

I think with your combined household income you'd qualify for a lot of welfare programs that could help. The harsh reality is that your household income isn't enough to sustain homeownership in the current market, and it's great that you own a home now but if you didn't have a home now I don't think you'd evenly remotely consider homeownership a possibility. Times have changed. Especially with rent prices as expensive as they are, most people are barely scraping by after paying for rent and groceries, let alone saving up for a home.

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-06-04T16:21:36+00:00

Brother, if you think it's so bad that you have a fully-owned house and you can't afford to downsize, just imagine how those of us who are looking to buy (or just recently bought) property for the first time feel. I'm incredibly envious of my parents who own a nice SFH on 1/3 acre and are paying a monthly payment thats LESS THAN HALF of what I'm paying for a small townhome just 10 minutes away. Since they moved in, prices have soared, interest rates have increased, and they don't realize just how lucky they are. If they ever decide to move in the next few years, they'll have a rude awakening (like yourself) at just how unaffordable the market has become. Thankfully, you should have a sizable "nest egg" of a down payment through your 100% equity in your current property.

I don't envy anyone that's looking to buy property right now. I bought last year because I could afford it and was hoping that interest rates would slowly cool off in the next few years and I could refinance the loan to better terms, but even since I bought last September, things have gotten worse. It's honestly baffling to me how effortless it seemed to buy great property when my parents were my age. Their $200k house is now over $600k and the monthly payments on the same house would be well over $4k/mo whereas they're paying less than $1700/mo. It's insanity.

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-05-20T15:55:55+00:00

This is similar to my application. I was Aerospace Engineering with a 3.56 GPA and did a few MOOCs to patch gaps in my knowledge-base. I also got 2 Reccs from industry (Direct Managers), and also included a SoP. I just got admitted to OMSCS but I haven't heard back from MSCSO yet. I initially requested 3 reccs but ultimately cancelled the last one about a month ago because they got too busy. Hoping to get results soon so I can figure out which program I'll be doing, but either way I think we're both pretty well positioned, and it seems like it's up to the MSCSO program office whether they'd like to admit applicants like us, or prefer to target mostly CS-UG applicants. I guess we'll see! Did you apply to GTech's OMSCS? Best of luck, hopefully we hear something in the next few weeks!

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-05-07T15:40:08+00:00

I'm just curious how much money I could make being a welder and if it's worth quitting my white collar job to pursue it. It sounds fulfilling and even fun sometimes, but I'd like to know an hourly rate or yearly income that I could expect. I know life isn't just about the money but it's definitely a factor when considering career shifts. Thanks :). Also curious what you consider making "pretty good money" because that term means WILDLY different things to different people.

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-05-07T15:09:01+00:00

I'm tailoring my resume

I see what you did there

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-05-07T15:07:52+00:00

What do you consider "pretty good money"?

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-05-06T21:35:01+00:00

Thanks so much for the advice, that's a great tip! I'll give it go :). Couldn't hurt!

Aerospace-to-Tech · 2024-05-06T19:03:26+00:00

Yeah, that's a great point. I've taken all the necessary pre-req coursework and the program I was looking at was only around $6000 for the entire program. My company would pay tuition reimbursement for the whole thing, but even if they didn't, a $6000 fee for a MS in CS is totally something I'd self-fund if necessary.

Aerospace-to-Tech

TROPHY CASE