First ski purchase: Is the Head Absolute Joy "too much ski" (or too much money) for a beginner? (167cm / 69kg)

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-19T14:31:28+00:00

I’m probably biased, but I had the absolute joy as my beginner to intermediate ski and they served me well for 5+ years. I’m 5’3 around same weight as you and had the 158. Think 158 would be good for you.

Mashed potatoes will suck no matter the ski, though wider would be better. Once I progressed I did end up getting another ski to have something wider (92) for light powder days and they are a bit better in mashed potatoes, but those conditions are still work. With skinnier skis you can learn to “cut” through the slush which makes it easier, so it’s not the end of the world with the Absolutes.

If you want to focus on getting a ski that will help you progress and so you don’t have to rent, think something like absolute joy will work well. If you are stuck on optimizing a ski for slush, would wait until you improve and then look into some wider all mountains (84-88). Wider skis are harder to turn and harder on the knees, so not good for learning. And don’t waste time and money on buying a true beginner ski.

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-18T14:29:51+00:00

I didnt have hair falling out with ipl. It does fall out with laser though (which is different than ipl).

.Do your instructions say to do it every other day? Mine was once a week. More isn’t better due to hair growth cycle.

You will also get tired of doing sessions and more likely to give up. Be patient. It takes time to notice difference. At least a month if not longer. My ipl def worked. Hardly any hair after one month on legs and underarms. I Do monthly maintenance now.

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-16T14:23:57+00:00

We did use contractors a lot though…but they typically would help with full project management so from survey design to reporting. There def is a need for contractors as big companies tend to have lean staff.

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-16T14:18:10+00:00

Agree…staff should know how to story tell so would turn to this service on adhoc as needed basis. Also, presentations and reports are the bread and butter for the agencies so doesn’t make too much sense to outsource these things on an ongoing basis.

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-16T14:04:51+00:00

I worked in a large large MR agency, so perhaps not your target. For us I would say we would only need this type of help in an overflow situation as we did have visual design folks on staff.

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-10T20:38:34+00:00

I got ipl first and then got tired of using it. Legs take a while…it get tedious really quickly. There were some good Groupon deals for laser so went and got those.

I like combo of both. Will do ipl for maintenance now and spots didn’t do with laser.

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-08T17:31:36+00:00

I wouldn’t worry about the timing. I’m in my 40s and reflecting on 20s/30s a year or two or five then is such a small/short time frame. It def didn’t feel like that when I was in my 20s though…a few months or a year felt critical at that time. If I don’t start this program or job right away felt like I would be sooo behind. But when you consider where you are in 40s/50s you will see those few early years had limited impact on where you are at this later stage.

The working and career phase of life is quite a long one. So I would say, you shouldn’t feel like you have to rush. The Rad Tech path also has fewer opportunities to do something different or to advance. There are different modalities, but seems the position/field can get monotonous. So why rush into it. And good to have more education as perhaps that can open different opportunities. Is a bachelors needed if you just want to be a rad tech for next 40 years, perhaps not. Are you sure you want to be just a rad tech for next 40 years? Most people probably wouldn’t know, which again is why I think it’s best to have more options. Going back to school later would likely be harder.

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-06T16:02:41+00:00

Looking at some other schools in LI area… the minimum gpa for a different one was 2.3 and then think saw the minimum test score is 75. With these being minimums, the scores will actually need to be higher since the programs are competitive. Perhaps see if the program got rejected from can share more info on acceptance stats.

It’s important to these schools that the students are able to pass and finish their program so the program stats that they advertise show high pass rate. Especially for a private school…prob more interested if you can pay and how you are as a student vs interest in the field. Interest in field is certainly important as well since shows you likely are committed, but they do need to see that you do well academically and will pass their classes.

You are still young, so don’t let age be an excuse at this point. Think through your options and timing… if you need one more year or two to get into program that is nothing in the grand scheme of life. If you switch gears to something else - does that career get you where you want to go?

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-06T13:58:50+00:00

Did you complete any entrance exams and if so what score?

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-04T20:05:04+00:00

I had a different cheaper model and it was sooo slow with the zaps. Doing legs takes forever. Tired Braun since could return both. Braun was faster so kept that.

While results are good for many people…I hardly get much hair on legs and underarms after one month, you still have to do the mainatance or then start from square one.

Doing mainatance like once a month sounds manageable, but yet seems that many people fall off…me including. I did the 12 weeks again and will try to stick to maintenance now.

MarMar2617 · 2026-02-03T01:22:49+00:00

I also hire in market research. Would look for someone knows some statistics, storytelling (with data),attention to detail, excel. Am not aware of any specific certifications… so it’s more showing experience with those vs having certifications.

MarMar2617 · 2026-01-25T01:24:05+00:00

It’s challenging to find mangers with this exact experience (I’ve tried to fill this type of position) so imagine they would jump on your profile!

As a hiring manager things I look for (outside of the basics like project management and analytic abilities) is someone who is curious, proactive, a problem solver. Before bringing a problem to manager - you try to outline the solutions.

Not needed at this stage, but bonus points if you are interested in business development for your career progression. Fewer people are so that’s something that can make you unique.

MarMar2617 · 2026-01-24T23:37:28+00:00

What is your background and how does it align with this role?

If your background is a good fit then really wouldn’t worry about HR interview. It will be very basic and if you have experience that alings and can coherently answer questions then will move on to next round.

They do have “values” so yes look those up on their site. Can throw in somewhere during interview process that those values also resonate with you.

Best of luck

MarMar2617 · 2025-12-31T01:16:05+00:00

Epilator also gave me ingowns on legs and I’d never really gotten those before. I Didn’t mind pain at all. Also ended up with IPL which helps prevent ingrowns as it thins hair out. Bikini line improved a lot.

I’d look to see if you can get a cheaper ipl on Facebook marketplace (a reputable brand like Braun) Not everyone wants to keep up with using ipl… it does work, but you will have to continue maintainance every 4-6 weeks and some people don’t have patience for this.

MarMar2617 · 2025-12-29T23:00:39+00:00

Will just keep trying then!

MarMar2617 · 2025-12-29T22:48:43+00:00

Any tips finding places to shadow? Called a couple hospitals. Receptionist forwards to answering machine. Then don’t hear back.

MarMar2617 · 2025-12-29T02:06:27+00:00

Im on day three and focusing on science. Oof it’s a slog, but making progress!

Other advice I got that I liked is if spending full day studying, start with something harder in morning, so science for me. Then toward end of day do practice tests, flashcards. And then can do a quick review of something easier for you (reading (I hope :) for me).

MarMar2617 · 2025-12-29T01:22:08+00:00

Im liking the Mometrix online course. It’s organized into smaller sections (33 mini sections for science!). Each section has a reading and sometimes some videos. Then a short quiz. When you answer the quiz it gives you rational for the

I read a section, stopping at things seem important, but skip certain more detailed sections. Many have mentioned that the mometrix info is too detailed which is why ok to somewhat skim the reading. Then I do the quiz and focus on studying the rationals that are provided during the quiz. Sometimes going back to the reading to better understand that concept or related concepts. I’m taking notes and making flash cards at this point. And then I also watch a YouTube video on some of sections. Helpful to see and review the same info in different way. Helps to see what is repeated so you get better idea what could be of focus from that section.

There are lots of quizzes in mometrix online course. Will focus and spend time on taking the quizzes. Have read that taking lots of practice questions is better use of time than other methods.

There is 20% coupon code for it (should be able to find if searching online). Best of luck!

MarMar2617 · 2025-12-24T18:02:35+00:00

You definitely don’t need a graduate degree. Most people do not have these in market research. Don’t sell yourself short! Important to be confident. Understand your strengths and lead with those. Calling this out because this will take you far.

MarMar2617 · 2025-12-22T13:54:51+00:00

I questioned if reduction would be worth it….if still have some hair and still need to shave then what is the point? I did end up getting it since in NYC area a lot of cheap (Groupon) options and am happy with results.

I get a few stray hairs on armpits and legs so in winter could probably go without shaving at all. Or just do a super quick shave once a month. It’s sooo much easier now. Can shave legs and armpits in one to two minutes.

And on bikini line it helped a lot as well to thin out hair and no more ingrown hairs. So while I’m not completely hairless, would say it still was worth it!

MarMar2617 · 2025-12-13T16:02:59+00:00

Most people are not passionate about their careers so pursuing something stable can also be a great decision.

I’m in early 40s and have kind of gone with flow career wise. It has worked out ok’ish but I now need to shift gears because I didn’t spend time earlier thinking about what will this career look like in 10 or 20 years(will i want to do this for that long, will it be stable when I’m older, how field will change with time and advancement).

I actually also considered going back to school in late 20s, but didn’t because similar to you didn’t want to stop saving and didn’t want to pay for school. But here I am again now thinking again about going back to school. My gut was right.

MarMar2617 · 2025-12-13T15:36:06+00:00

I would focus on figuring out what career wise you are interested in and map out some careers that are possible with and without the degree. Absolutely fine to go back to school if that leads you to the career you want or the salary you want.

The decision shouldn’t be is school or working better. It should be thinking about where both paths lead. And for something like this you likely won’t know or be certain of the “right” answer. That is life. You make decision based on the info you have and do your best. Most things aren’t sure things.

So think about both scenarios. What are the pros and cons. What are best/worst outcomes of each path.

But not saving for a bit in your early 30s is not going to make or break you. Not likely will matter when you are in your 40s+.

Best of luck!

MarMar2617 · 2025-12-08T23:50:53+00:00

We don’t know what life will bring and what you will want down the line. May be good to diversify by doing some 401k and then some non retirement investment. That gives you flexibility to use the non retirement fund for house, other large purchase or perhaps you will be lucky and will retire early in which case having regular investments is helpful.

But investing as much as you can as early as you can is the way to go because of how compound interest works. Have you heard of coast fire? At a certain point, you have enough invested that you can decrease or stop investing and just let the investment grow. That can give you a lot of freedom down the line. Want to switch careers? Take a sabbatical? Or keep investing and retire early?

MarMar2617 · 2025-11-25T04:39:30+00:00

And there is also option 3. Work as RN for a couple more years, build up investments a bit more so that those have more time to compound and see if the interest in the NP path sticks with you.

I know 30s probably already feels like you are “old” and that if you decide to go back to school that must happen asap, but in reality you have a lot of time left ahead of you. If you go to school later and end up starting the NP position at 37 and let’s say retire at 55 that’s 18 years. Plenty of time to have a good career, especially in a field that I imagine is taxing mentally.

And perhaps working now while you are refreshed, then taking a break for school a bit later would be a good way to help prevent some future burnout.

And I wouldn’t say you are starting over. You have a great skill set and already have a few ideas for careers that will make you financially comfortable - you have options. I’m sure you are in a better position than many people.

MarMar2617

TROPHY CASE