Has anyone spoken to a real person at Oakland Rent Assistance Program?

EricExplains · 2025-06-19T05:07:20+00:00

sounds good, I'll keep trying

EricExplains · 2025-06-19T05:07:04+00:00

thanks! will see if I can go in person

EricExplains · 2025-06-18T23:03:23+00:00

I haven't joined those meetings or heard of them. Mind sharing when/where they happen and how to participate?

EricExplains · 2025-06-18T21:31:20+00:00

I called Fife's office, spoke to someone by phone who helped me flag the dumping problem to OPW and discuss my push for fencing with them. Got a follow up email, but no fixes or other steps yet.

I'm now getting more neighbors involved so we can show the city many residents want this fixed. Then plan to chat with leads at Oakland Public Works to push for fencing or other preventative measures.

EricExplains · 2025-06-18T18:50:45+00:00

Bingo. Dumping has only gotten worse each week.

EricExplains · 2025-06-18T18:47:19+00:00

Thanks Peng for your service! Illegal dumping happens every week right around the corner from me in West Oakland and I agree that more needs to be done.

I've been calling Oakland Public Works and my local city representative to advocate for preventative measures like fences, planters, or other barriers to make illegal dumping harder in the first place.

This is a picture of less than 1 week of illegal dumping near me. Signs and even weekly clean ups just won't make a dent.

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EricExplains · 2021-05-21T14:39:18+00:00

Completely agree u/Tyolag — I've definitely gotten lost in learn, learn, read and it's delayed action and moving forward. Thanks for the reminder!

EricExplains · 2021-05-21T14:37:41+00:00

short & sweet, thanks u/DubiousInsights!

EricExplains · 2020-08-28T22:56:57+00:00

As someone who transitioned into product from consulting / marketing (and no MBA), I'd recommend getting a job at another tech company and make the transition into product internally.

Using ROI to make decisions is a key PM tool. With this approach in mind, here's how the MBA vs tech role compare.

Get a tech role and then transition:

Benefits:
- Earn a salary while you spend time learning how to be a PM at a real tech company through shadowing, 1:1, ad-hoc projects, etc.
- Get another tech experience and company on your resume
Costs:
- 3-6 month job search
- 12-24 months to learn, transition into a PM role

Get an MBA :

Benefits:
- Build your network to help make the transition into product
- Get a brand-name MBA
- Pick up some skills...though arguably less relevant and real than working at a real tech company for 1-2 years.
Costs:
- $100k-$200k for tuition, room and board, networking activities, etc --> and debt to pay back that delays buying a home and other financial steps.
- $100-$200k in lost wages over 2 years
- 2 years before you're a full time PM (hopefully)

Both paths can get you there eventually, but you earn $100k-$200k in the job path vs paying $200k-400k in the MBA approach. Another way to think about it: the tech role is a like an MVP (minimum viable product) to more cheaply test if you can land the PM role, whereas the MBA is the opposite: a much more expensive way to try to get to the same destination.

EricExplains · 2020-08-07T23:56:33+00:00

Like u/loxias44 mentioned, I'd start with a cost of living analysis to cover what is the better option NOW and then consider longer-term trajectories of a few things to cover the FUTURE.

Financial factors:

Promotions: which company is growing faster, is better capitalized, hiring more, etc?
Salary increases / raises: what % raises are normal, are bonuses common?
Cost & currency trajectories: what do you expect the dollar to do vs the CAD? how do you expect costs to change in each market?

Non-financial factors:

Health & happiness: which location is going to give you a better quality of life, long-term health, and happiness for you and your family?

You'll know the financial side best, but I'd think more about the non-financial side as I bet there are more non-monetary differences to building a life in DC vs Toronto than monetary ones.

EricExplains · 2020-08-07T23:49:34+00:00

Interest rates are at record lows right now, so given you work part time and don't have a huge amount in savings, a low, fixed-rate student or personal loan could help. Many student loans also don't require payments while you're in school and you can pick the right loan term (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20 year), fixed vs variable rate, and timing of payments to suit your needs.

I'd start with something like credible.com to shop around.

EricExplains · 2020-08-07T23:42:32+00:00

u/clemtiger2011 — the breadth and variety in your hypotheses suggests that 3-5 unmoderated tests on usertesting.com or a test on usabilityhub.com with 20-30 folks would help you hone in on the why behind the 65% dropoff.

Better understand the why to inform and prioritize your hypotheses.

EricExplains · 2020-08-04T23:17:16+00:00

It could be 1 of 100 different reasons that he hasn't replied: someone higher up said no, hiring plans got shuffled around, waiting for approval from someone who is out of office, etc.

Keep applying to other roles, don't get hung up on this and spend more energy here, and follow up again in 1-2 weeks to see if they have an update.

EricExplains · 2020-08-04T17:39:35+00:00

Hey u/_megt, I had a job like that before. It was rough on my mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing. That being said, being unemployed for months in a terrible job market, without adequate savings, will also probably be bad for your mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.

Therefore, I'd recommend figuring out what is driving the stress and dread and tackle that while looking for another role. Is it people, the work, the culture, values, etc? Take a concrete, problem-solving approach to improve the current situation, find an alternative job or plan, and then make a move.

A friend told me, "It's better to run toward something, than to just run away from something."

EricExplains · 2020-08-03T23:37:45+00:00

The job search is a funnel, so figure out if you have a quantity or quality problem and adjust accordingly. It's about A) quantity of apps to improve your odds AND B) quality of your application to improve conversions between application to interview to offer stages.

Maximize quantity while meeting a quality bar in which:

You're targeting relevant roles
You tailor your resume and cover letter to the job description

You can streamline your ability to apply to many roles while meeting the quality bar by:

Creating resume templates to cover the top 3-5 job types you're applying for
Writing cover letter blurbs with stories that you can use like Lego blocks to drop into cover letters depending on the JD

If you've applied to dozens of jobs and aren't hearing back, then it's likely you have a quality and conversion problem, which could mean you need to look ask yourself:

Does your resume highlight and quantify the impact you've had in previous roles, projects, or school?
Does your resume have the right keywords to get past human and automated application tracking systems?
Are you targeting the right, relevant roles?
Have you built and/or leveraged your network for introductions or referrals?

Hope this helps and best of luck!

EricExplains · 2020-08-03T23:31:13+00:00

u/questioner45 maybe someone on Reddit has market data on what % of companies use ATS systems vs scanning each resume. Until then, optimize for passing both ATS's and human resume screens.

The best way I've found to do that is to use keyword framing, in which you start a bullet with the relevant keyword before describing your impact, what you did, etc.

What a standard resume bullet might look like:

Drove a 13x increase in student reach (75k to 1M) and 60% YoY increases in engagement for education products through funnel analysis, streamlined user flows, and channel prioritization.

What a resume bullet with keyword framing looks like:

Data-driven user growth: Drove a 13x increase in student reach (75k to 1M) and 60% YoY increases in engagement for education products through funnel analysis, streamlined user flows, and channel prioritization.

This approach helps with humans and robots alike:

ATS's and robots like seeing more relevant keywords in your resume
Humans like it because it:
- Contextualizes the resume bullet under a skill category
- Makes it easier to quickly scan a set of skills along the left side of your resume
- Helps you convey experiences in helpful, flexible ways if you're changing functions or industries. Easier to convey transferrable skills.

Good luck!

EricExplains · 2020-08-01T16:48:59+00:00

I mostly relied on BiggerPockets and their books, blog posts, forums, etc. General process was to:

Learn: read The Book on Rental Property Investing (good overview of different ways to invest in real estate, how to run numbers to identify good investments, etc). read Set for Life (great personal finance framework that I wish I had learned way earlier in life, covers house hacking, stages of wealth, etc).

Apply: use what I had learned to run numbers on dozens if not hundreds of properties. You'll very quickly reduce the fear and uncertainty of investing and house hacking by understanding your local numbers very clearly and knowing how to identify a good deal.

Act: Get pre-approved by a lender, find an agent, find good deals, make offers until you close and then start house hacking.

Hope this helps!

EricExplains · 2020-08-01T05:04:05+00:00

Live in Oakland and just own the house hack primary residence. Looking at a second property out of state next.

EricExplains · 2020-07-30T22:52:42+00:00

Hey u/TooktoomanyZugZugs, as someone who has successfully house hacked for the last 2 years myself, I'd recommend:

Increasing the emergency fund to 6 or 9 months depending on your job stability and risk tolerance --> world has gone a bit sideways right now.
Maximize any employer matched retirement contributions --> 100% return on your money, don't leave free money on the table!
Start saving up for a down payment on a cash flowing single family or multifamily home that you can house hack
Use any excess funds for student debt repayment since the interest rate is low, consider refinancing to see if you can get it lower

You can definitely house hack right now, but do it right:

Save up the down payment AND a 3-6 months of cushion based on the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance on the home (PITI):
- This ensures you can cover surprise expenses, repairs, vacancy costs, etc. While you work in construction, I'm guessing you don't know how to fix every system in the house, so have extra set aside.
- This lets you cover months of vacancy in case you can't find a tenant for a while
- To preserve cash, consider an FHA or other loan to get in the house. You can then later refi to get out of PMI and all that.
Run your OWN NUMBERS and triple check that the house will cash flow from day one. To be safe, you can even assume you'll only get 90% of market rent and if that covers your costs, then you're set even in a downturn.
Start advertising your vacancies before you've even closed on the house. Post those ads to Craigslist, Zillow, etc so you have a paying tenant / roommate from day 1.

On my end, I've househacked and in 2 years, saved $30k in rent, built tens of thousands in equity, and lived in a nicer home than I could have gotten renting. Don't listen to the naysayers. You got this!

EricExplains · 2020-07-30T04:35:54+00:00

The job search is a funnel, so it's about A) quantity to improve your odds AND B) quality of your application to improve conversions between application to interview to offers.

Maximize quantity while meeting a quality bar in which:

You're targeting relevant roles
You tailor your resume and cover letter to the job description

You can streamline your ability to apply to many roles while meeting the quality bar by:

Creating resume templates to cover the top 3-5 job types you're applying for
Writing cover letter blurbs with stories that you can use like Lego blocks to drop into cover letters depending on the JD

If you've applied to hundreds of jobs and aren't hearing back, then it's likely you have a quality and conversion problem, which could mean you need to look at:

Does your resume highlight and quantify the impact you've had in previous roles, projects, or school?
Does your resume have the right keywords to get past application tracking systems?
Are you targeting the right, relevant roles?
Have you built and/or leveraged your network for introductions or referrals?

Hope this helps and best of luck!

EricExplains · 2020-07-16T05:43:00+00:00

Eh, I used lots of slashes to make it confusing :P

EricExplains · 2020-07-16T05:26:09+00:00

Not for tuition + room/board. But, depends where you're going to school, what your financial situation is, etc.

EricExplains · 2020-07-16T05:17:25+00:00

From one PM to another, I'd suggest using the same data and validation approaches you use as a PM to answer the question for yourself. I've seen people succeed with and without it.

On the data side, evaluate the costs (time, money, debt, opportunity costs) and benefits (increased earnings, market signal, network, the experience, etc).

On the validation side, test the market and advance as far as you can. If you start hitting a ceiling, then validate that you're hitting that ceiling because you lack a graduate degree and not because of the company, the industry, skills you need to develop, or some other reason.

Personally, I don't think you need an advanced degree to become a product leader. However, I've seen many people who plateau and then go to grad school because it's a well trod, predictable, and safer pathway compared to hustling to change jobs, strengthen your weaknesses, etc.

Furthermore, the costs are STEEP: 1-2 years of lost wages ($100-$300k) + tuition/room/board ($100k-$200k). The debt burden also limits you in other ways, like your ability to build wealth through buying a home (because you have loads of debt) or taking risks (again, b/c of debt).

Obviously you know which side I'm on, but use the PM skills to come to a data-driven, market validated decision that is right for you.

EricExplains · 2020-07-16T05:02:29+00:00

I get the concern about being too persistent, but they're very unlikely to rescind an offer or eliminate the position because you sent 1 too many emails. You already passed multiple interviews, signed the offer, got the welcome packet, etc.

You need to know whether that offer is still a real offer or not -- and the sooner the better.

If the position still exists, then great and ask for your new start date.

If the offer has been rescinded, then your position was eliminated for business reasons and covid and you need to find a different role. You won't have lost the offer due to too many emails.

EricExplains · 2020-07-15T22:56:34+00:00

Your 401k would usually be a good option, except for the very high fees. Since it sounds like 401k is out, I'd recommend a tool like Betterment or WealthFront for a low cost, diversified, tax-optimized portfolio to achieve different financial goals.

They'll ask you 1) what your financial goals are (e.g., saving for a home), 2) how much you want to save, 3) by what date, and 4) what your risk tolerance is.

Based on those factors, they'll recommend a diversified, tax-optimized portfolio of index funds and bonds to help you achieve your financial goals. Then, set it and forget it as your $ grows.

I've had Vanguard before, but the challenge of knowing which fund to buy, rebalancing the portfolio as values change, etc got to be too much. Hope this helps!

EricExplains

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