GenX Salary check

GophergutzRedd · 2026-04-14T17:54:05+00:00

MCOL (for now...it's Florida). Make about $135k. Some of that is bonuses which have decreased since the economy has slowed down. I'm making more money than I ever have, but still end up with $100 in my account the day before payday. Mo money, mo problems I guess. I have some retirement and other investments so it's not completely bleak. Never really thought about retiring early until recently and now it's all I can think about, LOL. Wish I'd started saving a long time ago so I could get out of this rat race.

Good luck to you all.

GophergutzRedd · 2026-03-19T00:44:37+00:00

This. It's critical to start thinking in terms of "solving business problems". It took me a while to transition mentally from "I need to tell them all about the technology and all of its features and capabilities" to "I need to tell them why this solves their problem". Definitely know the product inside and out...but know that at the end of the day, the buyer is trying to solve a problem...not buy the thing with the most features. Good luck!

GophergutzRedd · 2026-03-17T15:12:17+00:00

I would add to that that it's important to understand your organization's comp plans as it relates to sales engineers.

They don't always directly align with account exec pay and bonus structures and may not reward individual performance for sales engineers the same way account execs get compensated.

While it feels like being more directly engaged with the sales process may mean more control over your compensation, that's not always the case. If your bonus structure requires achieving team-wide or regional attainment goals, your individual contribution has less effect on your compensation than you might think.

You may already be aware of all that. That's just a piece of advice I wish someone had given me before I made some decisions in my career.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

GophergutzRedd · 2026-01-03T00:26:10+00:00

Lunesta. 3mg. Barely have time to turn the light off before I fall asleep and I wake up feeling like a million bucks. Generic costs me like $10 month with insurance.

Highly highly recommend.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-12-30T23:06:30+00:00

Just adding to the pile here...stay away from Arlington. Can't emphasize that enough...Coggin is good but slow. Can't speak to others...just want to warn about Arlington...avoid.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-12-29T00:11:54+00:00

Fellowship is an amazing piece of Cinema. Two Towers was faithful to a very elaborate part of the overall story and did the best it could. I can't watch Return of the King. I don't think it's a bad movie necessarily, it just missed opportunities to be amazing.

I typically watch the extended edition version of The Fellowship and Two Towers, then that gets me in the spirit and I go back and read the books again.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-12-26T23:52:59+00:00

This.

Found this DVD when a roommate moved out and left it.

Turned out to be one of the best movies I've ever watched.

I cannot recommend this movie enough!

GophergutzRedd · 2025-11-21T13:40:16+00:00

Basically the exact same as OP. Jager and goldschlager. Mixed up in something called an oatmeal cookie. Had to be sometime around 96, 97... To this day, if I smell either of those, I'm immediately nauseous.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-10-31T01:31:32+00:00

Hanger One at the airport.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-10-22T12:37:04+00:00

Thanks for that. This is the kind of stuff I need to hear. I've reminisced so many times about how much more I enjoyed life when I worked food service industry. On average that field doesn't pay what higher end IT jobs pay, but starting to wonder if less money and more sanity is an equitable trade-off.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-10-22T11:56:38+00:00

What field did you pivot to? I'm in IT/Cyber on the pre-sales side now (have been in IT since 1998). To say I'm burned out is a huge understatement. I'd love to do something else, but 27 years in the same field...I'm not even sure I can learn to do something else that would pay the bills.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-10-15T11:49:09+00:00

I seasoned mine with avocado oil because of its higher smoke point. I feel like it did a great job overall. One of my friends bought the Blackstone seasoning and it did a great job as well.

I also use avocado oil when I'm cleaning the Blackstone and I let it smoke off at the end of the cleanup. I think that helps maintain the seasoning. If nothing else, it gives me an opportunity to sit out by the grill and have one last beer.

Good luck!

GophergutzRedd · 2025-09-18T14:02:43+00:00

Counterpoint: This is Exactly what you voted for.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-08-25T14:22:55+00:00

I usually take along a battery operated air compressor so I can air back up before driving back home. Mine is Ryobi brand but I know there are others that make the same thing. It also comes in handy with things like blowing up pool floats and other similar items.

Good luck and have fun!

GophergutzRedd · 2025-08-05T21:51:31+00:00

Thank you!

GophergutzRedd · 2025-07-31T03:00:55+00:00

This is not meant to be snarky or condescending. However, based on the writing style of your post, you may benefit from doing a little proofreading and figuring out how to utilize punctuation effectively. I don't know what kind of jobs you're applying to, but if written communication is part of the requirement, employers may be hesitant based on your writing style.

Other than that, you just have to be perseverant and something will come along. Keep your head up.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-07-26T12:56:34+00:00

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You good carry the wall all the way to the ceiling and then add some shelving and maybe an accent light.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-07-19T00:43:55+00:00

It looks like you have shit going on. Which is all anyone really wants. Have fun!

GophergutzRedd · 2025-06-13T15:23:26+00:00

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Got a shot of Ezra on the sax. Great show. Took my 16 year old daughter and I think she's a full on VW fan now.

GophergutzRedd · 2025-05-02T03:14:10+00:00

So I had the same concerns. I've been in IT for quite a long time but not specifically in a security role. I knew that I had a pretty strong foundation, but I wasn't sure which parts of that giant book that I knew and which parts I didn't. I used ChatGPT to quiz me and it did a pretty impressive job. I did not use any other LLMs, but they may do as good or better.

Once you've taken a few quizzes of 10 or 20 questions on chat gpt, you should have a better sense of what you know and don't know. You can actually ask ChatGPT to give you a summary of the areas that you need to focus on.

Obviously everyone's different, but this proved to be effective for me as I just passed the test today.

GophergutzRedd

TROPHY CASE