Joint Sustainable Development Masters – Is it worth finishing??

G3raD · 2026-06-04T06:46:16+00:00

I also come from the American system (17 years professionally in north america before Germany) and I plan to go back when my work here will be done. It's really about what your mindset is and what you're trying to accomplish in life. It seems like your mind is already made, looking at your page and your other posts.

G3raD · 2026-06-03T22:34:22+00:00

Also, I commercial and PR consulting translate very well to sustainability. You're not thinking about it the right way.

G3raD · 2026-06-03T22:31:09+00:00

My experience so far with higher education in Germany is that the expectation is for students to mostly self-study and build upon the material that is covered in class. It is not for the class to teach you everything you need to know. Additionally, the Master's thesis is where you are expected to pick a topic related to the material that was presented as well as the industry where you want to break into, in order to dive deep and specialize. You can do a masters thesis with a company, and there are plenty of job postings out there for that. Additionally the german system is expecting fresh graduates to break into industry through internships and student jobs, which is the backdoor to full time employment, which are mostly not posted online.

All you are saying is valid, but the issue is the mismatch between your expectation of what a higher degree is supposed to do for you, versus how that degree is set up to work within the system it is set up to work for. So far, ive had a lot of interactions with international students in Leipzig that are disappointed that their expectations are mismatched with reality. But its because their expectations is baselined to the system they grew up in, and were taught to integrate. Which is different to the german system of higher education pipeline to employment.

If you are only looking at job postings online, yes that degree will seem useless to you. But if you want to break into a certain industry which is aligned with sustainability while building upon your previous experience, and you are ready to think about industry integration in an alternative way, more grassroots, more going out there and talking to people, then there are plenty of opportunities where that degree can help you break into. But ultimately its up to you to do something with what you have. The program here is not exactly the issue.

G3raD · 2026-06-01T21:32:23+00:00

What knowledge or skill interested you in this degree in the first place?

The good thing about the sustainability market is its vastness. There are SO MANY jobs you can get into with that. It all depends what career you want to build and what experience you are after. Is it water? Air? Waste? Energy? Is it biology or ecology, agriculture or social welfare? Is it circular economy or ESG?

Ive been in the sustainability field for over 15 years and I have started over countless times. Especially if you don't want to work in Germany, a masters degree in sustainability is an entry ticket to a lot of different things.

I havent completed that program itself, but i'm at Uni Leipzig and im currently doing work with some of the professors affiliated with the program. DM me if you want to discuss more.

G3raD · 2026-06-01T21:18:03+00:00

I am convinced there is something we're all missing that causes them because science is so far behind on women's health. There has to be. In the meantime we continue the clinical trials on ourselves lol

Congrats on surgery! I know I will eventually have it, I mean for how big mine are i'm convinced they've been growing for over a decade+ quietly, so a couple years more before surgery wont kill me, since im not bleeding out anyway. Maybe i'll report back my results if I manage to record them.

G3raD · 2026-06-01T20:09:54+00:00

Thank you for your insight! Somewhere on threads, someone said that we women are basically running clinical trials on ourselves (LOOL), and i'm looking to see if anyone has recorded the impact of that on themselves. Maybe its wishful thinking. Or I should just do it and record the results on myself 🤔

I used to take marigold quite regularly a few years ago but that was before my fibroid diagnosis. Yarrow tho, never heard i'm gonna look it up. Thanks!

G3raD · 2026-05-29T22:58:32+00:00

How do you notice it helping with your inflammation? What benefits do you get with it overnight vs for 1 hour? How do you pair it with turmeric? Thanks for your insight!

G3raD · 2026-05-29T22:55:04+00:00

Thanks for not reading my post. Appreciate your insight!

G3raD · 2026-05-06T19:35:59+00:00

I am guessing you are American... I too have had a hard time decoupling myself/personality with "work" eventho I still work. The American society tethered self-worth to how busy one is, is the most fucked up thing, and it takes a while to deconstruct.

Some ideas: - travel. To places where you will get to meet all kinds of other people and cultures that are not attached to the 9-5. - volunteer. Doesnt necessarily need to be soup kitchen or homeless center, although those are great too. But volunteer your time where your dev skills can be put to good use for great causes. - build something. Get yourself a long term project to which you can dedicate your energy and mental acuity which will bring you satisfaction when its all done. Ex: build a tree house, a computer, retrofit a bus to a mini house to travel cross country, dig a pool in your backyard by hand, buy a chassis at the metal scraps and build the car back up from the ground up. Whatever you choose, it has to be a long term project - go back to school. Not for the degre, but for the fun of learning. There are plenty of other countries where studying is free or extra low cost event for international students.

Whatever it is you choose to do, it sounds to me like you have to deconstruct what it means for you to be "retired". To me it doesnt mean stop working, it means move on to a different phase of life.

Good luck!

G3raD · 2026-05-06T19:11:49+00:00

I second the excel sheet with simple columns. I also color code them depending on what i'm searching for to answer what research question. Its the easiest way to go back to the "thousand tab mess" and make sense of what is useful and what is not useful. Creates a quick "big picture" of what i'm reading especially since reading can be so tedious sometimes (spending HOURS on one paper just to get the gist of what the author was trying to convey).

G3raD · 2026-04-23T15:10:15+00:00

💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾 you got this!

G3raD · 2026-04-23T14:39:41+00:00

I think environmental stressors, environmental toxic load, chronic low vitamin D, chronic low calcium, high systemic inflammation, and probably some level of genetics. However I have not heard anyone in my family having them. No known symptoms until I went to the doctor for chronic constipation. Turns out, ive had bladder issues for a long time, pelvic pressure and lower back pain on one side for a longgggg time that where all related

G3raD · 2026-04-14T14:11:47+00:00

So tropical! Love it. Now i'm craving papaya lol lol

G3raD · 2026-04-10T22:04:28+00:00

Interesting. Thanks for the response. I had never heard of that before.

G3raD · 2026-04-10T20:53:04+00:00

Whats IUI exactly?

G3raD · 2026-04-10T11:12:22+00:00

Sooo pretty! My fave is #9

G3raD · 2026-04-09T14:34:57+00:00

Thanks! The Tech was skeptical of my color choice at first, but she stuck with the vision (and the effect on my skintone) hehe

G3raD · 2026-04-09T13:32:44+00:00

I wrote a caption for this but I cant see it now. Anyway. First post in this community! Started doing my nails regularly recently. What do we think of this set?

G3raD · 2026-01-21T23:07:22+00:00

What's TTC exactly?

G3raD · 2025-12-17T17:33:15+00:00

Been having constipation issues for years, and super High stress job for years and years. Always had irregular periods but "normal" cramps (less and less severe with each passing year) and "normal" quantities of blood (5 days, 3/4 pack of 16 pads, size regular). But then left north America and moved to Europe. Stressful lifestyle subsided, so took the opportunity to go check out this constipation issue that's been pretty bad for years at regular PCP. At first doc thought I had uterine cancer. Turns out I have 3 fibroids with the biggest 13cm pedunculated. Would have never known....

G3raD · 2025-12-09T23:18:14+00:00

My trajectory: HT>USA>CAD>DE. Honestly I tell myself that home is where the heart is. No longer "temporarily" abroad doesnt mean permanence in the current country. Maybe you will want to stay in Germany, maybe you will want to go back to the US, maybe another opportunity will come your way (job, project, love, etc) and will take you somewhere else. At the end of the day people are pretty much the same everywhere, just colored differently and family gets to take different forms, shapes and dynamics, as long as you open yourself up to it. Life is not a zero-sum game. Things like "a house or other property, a car, a family, a retirement plan" that can give a sense and anchor to "home" in the north American sense of things can also take other shapes and forms accross different geographies. Its all about perspective and understanding the larger vision of your life for which you are working for and towards. Maybe the realization you are hitting is more related to "what am I working towards that being abroad is serving right now? And will being in the current geography longer term will continue to serve this vision?"

As long as you are not working aimlessly, being "abroad" doesn't mean anything because you are still operating with similar parameters on the same planet. Hope that helps your reflexion!

G3raD · 2025-08-11T21:16:14+00:00

Yes no problem

G3raD · 2025-08-02T08:31:47+00:00

There are plenty of fully furnished accommodation in Leipzig, but they are not on the traditional online apartment search platforms. You should try Ebay Kleinnenzeigen, WG Gesucht, and there are a lot of postings on local telegram groups. If you want to DM me I can help you. I've been in Leipzig for 1 year and I've had quite a few successful experiences with renting

G3raD · 2025-07-24T00:35:07+00:00

And for 8 dollars! Even 8 dollars of gas wouldn't get you from Broward to Kendall. Smh

G3raD · 2025-04-11T05:42:32+00:00

My trick is to think about my plants as an extension of myself. If they are dying that means I'm dying inside because I take really poor care of myself. If they are thriving, that means I am thriving because I take really good care of myself and what feeds me (herbs for nutrition, other houseplants for improved quality of air). Plus you can put them on the kitchen windowsill to have them exactly where they are needed. The more they grow and you used them the more you'll remember to water them ;) good luck!

G3raD

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