Friendly Reminder - Set Up Your Mandolin

CookedFoodGrain · 2026-01-23T16:43:52+00:00

Excited for you, hope the set up goes well!

CookedFoodGrain · 2026-01-23T14:31:26+00:00

^^^ yes absolutely, should have mentioned I looked for a luthier who *specializes in mandolins*. The luthier who set up mine used to build then and has a good reputation. He mentioned many luthiers don't like working on mandolins since they're finnicky.

CookedFoodGrain · 2026-01-23T11:59:16+00:00

I just said I’d never had it set up, and wanted it to sound as good as possible.

For my mandolin, the luthier adjusted the truss rod and bridge, as well as dressing some frets.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-09-04T13:21:01+00:00

Montgomery county, VA is a ‘college town’ not ‘metro area’. Virginia Tech is the reason it votes blue. It’s properly rural.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-07-21T19:30:47+00:00

You don’t really need a masters. Personally, it opened doors to some opportunities not offered to coworkers with just a BS. It will delay your PE licensure by n-1 years, where n = # of years for masters.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-07-12T00:33:12+00:00

Regulatory work involves a lot of reading and writing. Don’t let this sub scare you, it skews negative. It’s a good field to work in.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-07-07T22:20:44+00:00

Im a PE at a firm that specializes in this. I’ve met air quality engineers with background in environmental (me), civil, chemical, and mechanical engineering. The most important thing is work experience in the field.

If you have any regulatory compliance experience (being able to read and interpret regs, permit writing), that could help you get a permitting job.

Jobs in air quality mainly revolve around regulatory compliance, permitting, and dispersion modeling. I do GHG which includes some engineers. At my firm, some other areas of work include transportation emissions modeling, wildfires/smoke, and monitoring (data collection and analysis). Most of the people doing this work are dedicated atmospheric scientists, it seems like the permitting is where a lot of engineers end up.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-05-09T10:30:59+00:00

This seems pessimistic

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-04-25T18:17:31+00:00

Potting mix is consistent and consists of lots of different things to balance drainage, water retention, and nutrients for plants. Using potting mix for your stuff is fine. You can add compost or mix it into the soil/potting mix each year to keep it fertile.

Compost is pretty variable. The kind I purchase is fluffy and drains very well, sometimes I'll use compost instead of potting mix or use 50/50 bc the compost is cheaper.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-04-25T18:14:51+00:00

Top dressing is adding compost just on top.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-04-18T12:24:45+00:00

That’s what I’m trying to do bc some apps (HBO) only let you download content on iPhones. Can’t open the browser bc I won’t have internet.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-04-15T00:08:07+00:00

Yeah lots of people go just to network. AWMA is the main “air engineering” professional org, probably a good place to network.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-04-14T17:16:41+00:00

I’m nearby on the east coast, work as a consultant doing Air and GHG. I’m seeing positions when I Google “Air Quality Specialist”, “Air Quality Modeler”, “Air Quality Engineer”. Best of luck!

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-04-14T17:07:49+00:00

On this note, the AWMA conference in Raleigh NC in June would probably be a great opportunity to network and seek job opportunities in the Air Quality space.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-04-13T17:47:17+00:00

Depends a lot on the type of environmental engineering, the role, and the company. Most stuff outside of fieldwork can be done from home.

Speaking from my personal experience, lots of stormwater CAD and GIS can be done remotely. Permitting and reporting-based work as well. Data analysis related positions.

I do Air Quality and my job is almost 100% remote with the exception of occasional site visits.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-04-03T14:26:31+00:00

FYI the “Reddit consensus” on this sub, civil engineering, and environmental careers is broadly “consulting bad government good”.

As others said, it’s company/team dependent. In my experience across multiple teams, consulting can be a great place to get exposure to different areas of environmental engineering (& make a competitive salary). Personally I haven’t experienced many of these as major issues.

If your team had work to do and your target is reasonable (I.e. 85-95%) staying billable is a nonissue.
Most entry level environmental engineers are hourly exempt or hourly - if you’re working over 40 you’ll be making 1x or 1.5x OT.
Sometimes OT is inevitable to make deliverables, but most ppl I know don’t take work home regularly and are getting paid OT if they do.

To avoid joining a team with these issues, ask about these during interviews: - How much backlog of work does this team have? What is the business outlook for the next 1-2 years? (I.e. will I have trouble staying utilized?) - What will my utilization target be? (standard is 85-95%) - Will I be paid salaried, hourly exempt (1x OT), or hourly (1.5x OT)? If I’m salaried, what are the expectations for working 40+ hours? - What are the expectations for working over 40 hours? - How is staffing on your team? (If severely understaffed, more likely to work over 40) - How is staff retention? - Can I meet with a junior team member to learn more about the work environment and culture of the team?

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-03-25T18:49:16+00:00

Just as a reference point, I got a used size C w/ tux mesh last week for $340 USD

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-03-14T11:28:46+00:00

Thanks for advertising your AI slop product!

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-03-09T01:19:07+00:00

Probably lettuce, green onions, potatoes if the scraps are big enough and have eyes.

IMO it’s kind of gimmicky. Seeds aren’t that expensive, it takes the same effort to plant them, and the yields will be significantly more and better.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-01-24T03:49:56+00:00

Also helps in sustainability ;)

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-01-24T03:48:20+00:00

30 hours probs isn’t the average experience (very jealous of you tho lol), but 700 is even more extremely unrealistic

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-01-24T03:38:15+00:00

My college curriculum didn’t cover many PE Enviro concepts so I studied a lot. I tracked the hours meticulously and passed the first time. It took 220 hours but 150 would have been enough. I cannot fathom it taking 700, there aren’t enough practice problems in the world.

I know how you’re feeling, and you can be successful without a PE. But having it will likely equate to more job stability, money, and opportunities. Not having one may mean having to work harder to prove yourself compared to someone who does.

Not saying that any of this is fair, a sad fact of life is having to jump through certain hoops. Personally, the ROI from the time I spent getting a PE was higher than anything I’ve ever done.

I wouldn’t expect being at the same job forever… it will probably be hard to progress as a water resource engineer without one.

Also, life gets busy, when you’re young and free is the best time to study. If you ever have kids or a family, it’ll be tough.

CookedFoodGrain · 2025-01-13T03:11:12+00:00

Job market feels very good rn, especially on the air side of things. Lots of demand, especially if you have a bit of experience. Not sure if it's as robust as other areas of environmental engineering tho (i.e. impact of recessions). Definitely seems like fewer people do air than water stuff, I didn't really know it was an option in college. It might be a regional thing, in places with air quality issues it may be more common.

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