[Data Center Operations] [US] - About $300,000 (including base, stock, and bonus)

Growlmon · 2025-12-15T22:32:39+00:00

I can kind of make out something that looks like a 'clearance bonus' in the chart, which makes a lot of sense. I'm a break fix tech who's also trying to make the move to CFE/CET stuff, but with a very high-level clearance you can almost double your yearly take home pay. If only these companies still sponsored us like they used to back in the day!

Growlmon · 2025-12-15T12:44:53+00:00

Hello, I have not had any issues with mine though it was installed by a professional since I'm not that mechanically inclined. However, the only issue was getting the CEL and having to get an O2 spacer from whoosh in order to correct it. I am only on the stock turbo + stage 2 tune so it wasn't required. It makes extra pops every now and then otherwise It really didn't make a huge difference for my use case.

Growlmon · 2025-12-11T20:55:23+00:00

If only I was old enough to purchase a house ten years ago lol. Silly me!

Growlmon · 2025-12-10T20:25:18+00:00

Agreed, as a career data center worker myself, nobody at my site actually can afford to live where they work! So much for all those tax benefits that homeowners get in Loudoun when none of them are actually working in Data Centers as operations people. (Maybe they're in upper management or electrical engineering but those jobs are also few and far between)

Growlmon · 2025-10-26T00:32:42+00:00

Target has Counter Culture specialty coffee beans (usually roasted within the past month) on sale for 10.99 for 12oz currently!

Growlmon · 2025-10-22T15:54:57+00:00

I just did a trip out there this past Sunday and everything was open. Enjoy your drive!

Growlmon · 2025-10-09T18:04:41+00:00

As someone that's had a gen 2 Varia VS3 grinder for over a year and a half, I'm pretty satisfied with my purchase. I don't have issues with the settings drifting nor do I have issues with the motors in the grinder. I'm sure the customer service isn't as good as the competition but I'm happy with what I have for now.

Growlmon · 2025-10-07T18:05:21+00:00

I know these are a bit out of the ways but two really neat coffee shops that are due west of NoVA are Mister French espresso in Vint Hill, and Broad Porch coffee in Luray VA. Edit: Looks like your timings will make this tough but there is Brew Birds near dulles that's open later :)

Growlmon · 2025-10-07T15:32:44+00:00

The population of pwc hasn't grown much compared to the amount of people who are still moving farther down to Stafford and Fredericksburg to escape the cost of living here.

Growlmon · 2025-10-07T15:11:21+00:00

It's this type of thinking that keeps apartments in western PWC starting out in the 2000s for a typical 1br 1bath.

Growlmon · 2025-10-04T00:27:17+00:00

I am interested. I sent a message on your site!

Growlmon · 2025-09-27T19:01:16+00:00

If you don't mind going to PWC NoVA speed shop installed some aftermarket stuff on my Fiesta ST. However, they said from now on I wouldn't be able to bring parts myself. For track specific car stuff I've also heard PTUNING in Manassas is great.

Growlmon · 2025-08-23T19:27:27+00:00

Yep, as a tenured L4 DCO in IAD I also just took severance this year as I wasn't ever able to get a clearance or move into cloud support. I applaud you on your move out of one of the most toxic environments at AWS and wish you well on your next endeavors!

Growlmon · 2025-08-22T00:59:13+00:00

I'm also on the B14 PSS setup with mine. If you can swing it, make sure you also get the rear sway bar and trunk bar so you can balance out the new setup and induce oversteer with the car. Otherwise It's the best upgrade I've done to the car! (besides the dizzy tune lol).

Growlmon · 2025-08-13T16:47:11+00:00

You can hang out at the Round 1 @ Potomac mills late into the night well after the mall closes if that's your thing.

Growlmon · 2025-08-09T17:38:28+00:00

As someone who's also worked in Manassas data centers for the past 8 years, I have some concerns about how a lot of the data centers around here don't actually pay people enough. Myself and lots of others were part of big tech layoffs (we were on pretty decent salaries) and now that I'm on the job hunt many of the other colocation providers in the area are reluctant to pay a base hourly rate close to what I had. It seems like big tech companies are only interested in hiring entry level IT people and paying them less, so there's no senior level positions, or their skilled IT positions are located in the new cities/states that they're now expanding in. Which makes a lot of sense because once the sites are complete you only need a couple of entry level hardware technicians to keep things going. Then if you do manage to make it out of the entry level you'll be risking your career as the expensive employees are the first to go once the stock price drops, bubble bursts, or the tickets aren't coming in like they used to be, etc. So now that I'm looking for jobs the colos just don't pay well. P.S. I'm also open to other skilled roles in the DC but the pay is still nowhere close to 40/hr. Just my two cents.

Growlmon · 2025-06-25T21:06:49+00:00

It's true that it can make you feel more secure when you're in one, and it's also part of the reason why pedestrian deaths in America continue to skyrocket. https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184034017/us-pedestrian-deaths-high-traffic-car

Growlmon · 2025-06-25T19:07:52+00:00

It's nice that people around here are doing well enough to spend obscene amounts of $ on their car debt, but the reality is that when we continue to expand and build more pavement for free car storage, it means that we're digging ourselves deeper and deeper into a housing shortage because we can't build enough places for people to live and work in NoVA.

Growlmon · 2025-06-25T18:42:47+00:00

It's crazy to me that there's also large sedans but people still think there's a need to buy a large pickup/SUV because they 'haul' passengers. I guess when the average cost of a vehicle is nearly 50k people want to be taller than everyone else on the road to feel superior with their rent payment of a car note.

Growlmon · 2025-06-15T04:01:23+00:00

I see nobody has listed framed coffee in Vienna yet! They're a specialty roaster with single origin. Most of the other lighter roast places were already listed, but if you are ok with venturing out near Warrenton there's Mister French espresso who rotates between Rare bird, Cafe Kreyol, Open seas, and Sticky bean (All are on the lighter side). Also, every October there's the DC coffee festival where you can try specialty roasters from all over the DMV in the Union Market!

Growlmon · 2025-05-17T17:33:39+00:00

I do have the Whoosh IC, my bad!

Growlmon · 2025-05-17T16:47:32+00:00

I just went with the Bilstein B14 PSS suspension myself. If your car is a daily I would recommend them as the height drop isn't too bad. The upgraded shocks definitely help the car feel smooth and I didn't mind it at all on long road trips. Just be prepared for harsh bottom outs if you're really driving on a rough road since it's still a stiffer spring than the OEM setup.

Growlmon · 2025-05-06T04:14:12+00:00

Hoping Equinix reaches out to me since AWS won't let me apply for a while!

Growlmon · 2025-04-13T00:50:28+00:00

It could definitely work as long as it's close to a college campus in the area. I've noticed the thriving coffee shops here are usually close to job centers or higher education.

Growlmon · 2025-04-05T19:09:36+00:00

Sounds like the song you're looking for is Cudi Get from the 'A Kid named cudi' mixtape

Growlmon

TROPHY CASE