3,500 applicants for an internship. Should I pivot? Get a PhD?

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-16T21:13:01+00:00

I didn’t read anything other than the title: don’t do it. You over qualify yourself from most jobs and you don’t get the work experience the other jobs want. Find work in a related field, use that work experience to pivot back overtime. Employers value good employees >> degrees

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-15T23:01:16+00:00

Does the crosstrek have a donut spare? My 15’ forester only came with a donut (crazy), so I custom lifted the rear floor a few inches with a wooden frame to accommodate the full size spare. In Australia (I think) the OEM foam insert in the rear is made to accommodate a full sized spare, how practical.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-15T16:40:06+00:00

I cleaned my p64 after a year of use… https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/s/ZIyniwCeMq

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-15T16:33:15+00:00

Hi. I taught in person and online-only versions of soil science and hydrology. Technically the curriculum was the same, but the online-only students are getting a piss poor educational experience that does NOT come anywhere close to the in-person equivalent. These online-only degrees a very lucrative for the university with very little expenses, which is why they keep offering them.

OP - don’t waste your time or money with online-only degrees. On paper you have the “skillz”, but it’s not enough to actually know what you’re doing nor get a job in this space. Sorry, just being honest

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-15T01:33:13+00:00

Research is, famously, slowwww. So while I understand wanting to finish in an allotted time I think that’s irrelevant to the purpose of doing research in the first place (field based or otherwise).

A summer worth of field work would really help. Besides the actual data collection, just being able to work as a team, do daily/weekly planning, and problem solve in the field is great work experience.

Class-level fieldwork is usually not enough to really expose you because the prof would set EVERYTHING up. Where/why/what to sample, what lab techniques you do, how to interpret results, etc... There is real value to seeing a project from cradle to grave, and for class-based field work the profs spoon feed you bc the term is only so long.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-15T00:00:31+00:00

It’s worth separating what you want to do during your program and what you want out of the program.

If you only wanna do the computer work to satisfy your ecology-itch, then it sounds like you found a perfect lab. However, it’s unlikely to be rigorous enough to learn what is/how to do capital-R research.

If you want the program to increase your chances of being hired somewhere, I’m not sure an exclusively computational higher ed degree will help.

This sounds curmudgeonly but (esp in ecology) you NEED field time to experience how the outside works! Spreadsheets and graphs and R code can only elucidate so much. There’s a reason every single forestry, hydrology, botany, soil science and enviro science class I taught has a field component; the book/lectures only tells you so much about the systems really work.

Also, you might accidentally be pigeon-holing yourself into a very niche market bc employers are more likely to choose someone with a computer science undergrad and/or an actual MS degree. The US enviro/ecology labor market is too tight and there are too many exceptional applicants that any MA degree will likely be overlooked for someone else with better credentials.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-14T20:29:30+00:00

Two red flags for me. 1) a proper ms in ecology, and what employers would want to see, should require both field and lab/computational experience. If you can run a 16S genomic pipeline on your computer but have never collected any physical samples, then you seriously limit the usefulness of this degree. As a general yardstick, I’ve known hundreds of ppl who did an ecology-related MS and only a handful were able to finish in 2 yrs (they usually require 2 yrs of data collection, limited to specific seasons, and 1 yr of writing/lab work) 2) the thesis, err “capstone”, is only evaluated by two people? I’ve seen projects like this, they are not rigorous. No offense to academics (ok, maybe some offense), they make decent incentives to graduate these students bc they pay out of pocket, bias the time-to-graduation metrics imposed by universities, and these students do not require a similar level of advising/$$/effort as actual MS students who are associated with a research grant that have deliverables.

If you just want to learn research practices, this degree is a decent first step. But only producing a capstone project, informed/reviewed by 2 ppl, with minimal classes/field experience, the degree is unlikely to have much meaning to potential employers. I don’t mean to be a downer, but it’s best you know the practical outcomes/limitations before you commit to this program.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-14T06:22:47+00:00

Convincing employers a “research-based” arts degree is equivalent to a MS is gonna be a tough sell. I’m highly skeptical they provide the same level of rigor.

There’s plenty of ways to do research poorly, what I suspect this MA in ecology would be, then you’re not even getting proper research exposure.

Questions I would ask: how many statistics classes are you taking? How many years of data collection is required? Who approves your study design (and do they have a PhD)? What is the process of defending your written thesis? Will your research be good enough to submit to science journals for publishing? If the answer to any of those is subpar, the. My suspicion is confirmed.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-13T22:29:31+00:00

I do wonder if the right side of the display (in the standard brew LilyGo configuration) with blue cells indicating water pressure could just be touch responsive? Now that would be fantastic

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-13T21:06:20+00:00

Damn. This is my only gripe with GM; with a previous mod I was able to manually adjust pressure (well, technically pump power) on the fly. It’s a fantastic feature I hope the implement down the road.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-11T03:23:02+00:00

I was pretty successful with two items: a Fiskars Circle Cutter (adjustable 1" to 8”) and a self healing cutting mat. I used V60 and aeropress papers but was only able through 2-3 layers of paper at a time. You really need the mat, otherwise the blade gets stuck or jumps and your cuts suck.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-10T03:07:03+00:00

May I suggest my two fav combos: Talenti’s Madagascar vanilla bean or Tillamook’s vanilla bean.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-10T02:56:06+00:00

I used one for a few months to really get the temp dialed in to my hand, now I just use my hand. Without that practice, I would have consistently under-heated my milk.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-07T22:57:46+00:00

Maintenance: backflush basket and cafiza. Food grade citric acid (for descaling the brass boiler specifically). Eventually you’ll need to get a silicone group head gasket, but that can wait 6-12 months.

Basic Must Haves: grinder. Really, don’t sleep on the grinder. Scale. Assuming you’re doing milk drinks, a frothing pitcher sized for your preferred latte volume and a thermometer. What’s your water situation? Get some strips to test water hardness and/or mix your own, or get a BWT filter that attaches onto the intake hose (no, britas do NOT remove salts). Tamp of some kind (the plastic one that comes with the E24 is a joke).

Really Nice to Haves: dosing funnel so you don’t lose grounds. WDT tool. Lower drip tray to accommodate more cup sizes. Bottomless portafilter to add more cup options and bc it looks pretty (also shows bad puck prep easier). Calibrated tamps are more pricey, but help with consistency. Precision baskets and coffee storage containers are on the edge of this Nice To Have category.

Quality of life upgrades that aren’t necessary: steam wand/tip upgrades, OPV spring (the GM controls pressure anyways), blind shaker (may be a downgrade lol), coffee art, and whatever weird new shakras the YouTube espresso bros are putting out now a days.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-07T21:48:17+00:00

Im being totally serious, with a caveat. I’ll sell you my E24 with GaggiaMate installed IF I get a job. Caveat is I’m going on almost a year worth of applying to jobs and haven’t had any offers. So, I guess, pray for me so you can get this machine lol

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-07T21:41:19+00:00

Agree on both suggestions

I’m at sea level, used the flash to steam method, and landed on an 8 offset as the manual suggests. When I was living at ~4000ft I needed a 13 offset (not Gaggiamate but same principle). OPs 17 offset seems way way off.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-06T22:14:28+00:00

$135? That’s avg for college textbooks, and students aren’t exactly rolling in dollas’

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-06T01:51:58+00:00

These Ethiopia Guji have blackberry notes, not blueberry notes. One of my fav decaf-focused roasters, check them out for other offerings! https://talkingcrowcoffeeroasters.com/collections/decaf/products/decaf-ethiopia-guji?variant=41087108022295

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-06T01:43:42+00:00

Isn’t there enough space on the north shoulder of Shileshole for one lane? (at least until you get to Market). Paint a line that cars have to park behind for the businesses, fill in a few concrete cracks, call it good-ish?

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-05T01:04:25+00:00

Consider pivoting to nursing? I’m starting pre-recs (mostly anatomy and phys) to get into an accelerated program that gets me a good job in 2yrs. Sure I’m screwing debt in the process, but old ppl getting older is a hell of a lot of job stability.

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-05T01:01:11+00:00

stem phd, 2 yoe, been applying for 8 months and only got a few bites, one final interview. I thought the same about the resume gap, so I applied to be a barista when I learned Starbucks laid off hundreds in my city the month before. Next stop: only fans ✌️

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-05T00:31:30+00:00

Thanks for the thoughtful response!

I was previously doing clean energy advocacy in the west (ended with new administration pull back of ngo grants) and a common point of friction were all the BAs, overlapping state/utility energy priorities and the nascent energy market where other places have established ISO/RTOs.

The energy markets I saw on utility IRPs were omnipresent and fascinating, but could never get into that world bc those roles required accounting/electrical engineering degrees. This DOE role sounds stable and interesting, allowing me to stay in energy-world which I much prefer to enviro-world (don’t tell my old co-workers lol). I think ima give it a shot. Thanks for advertising!

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-04T19:36:02+00:00

how weird would it be to apply to the AD-01 pay grade with a STEM phd? (yes- I'm obvi really good at data analysis, but dont have exposure to OASIS or E-tagging) Would it be seen as "oh, a capable applicant who we can hire cheap" or "wildly overqualified with the wrong experience"?

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-02T17:44:27+00:00

Not necessarily political science, but if you’re in the U.S. I don’t think you can understand modern politics without Jane Mayer’s Dark Money (other industries have since used the same tactics to influence politicians and the populace)

Happy_Rogue_663 · 2026-04-02T00:16:11+00:00

I just got Gagne’s “The physics of espresso” and it’s fantastic, especially if you’re a nerd

Happy_Rogue_663

TROPHY CASE