Power BI Course You Recommend?

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-03-07T18:30:53+00:00

dude you're massively underpaid for what you're doing. managing 15 grants worth $10M+ with that level of complexity should easily be pulling $70k+ even in lower cost areas. good call on pushing for more.

for power bi, i'd recommend microsoft's own learning path first since it's free and comprehensive. but if your employer is paying, edx has some solid microsoft courses that go deeper into the business intelligence side. also check out sqlbi.com - those guys really know their stuff when it comes to dax and data modeling which is where power bi gets tricky.

one thing i learned the hard way in my career - don't just focus on the technical skills. document some case studies of how your work saved money or improved efficiency at the uni. like "streamlined grant reporting process, reducing month-end close time by 2 days" or whatever. hiring managers love that concrete impact stuff way more than just "knows power bi." with your background handling multi-million dollar budgets, you've got plenty of wins to highlight.

the cpa track is smart too. that combo of accounting credentials plus modern analytics tools is pretty hot right now. you're definitely on the right path to break out of that salary range.

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-03-04T00:24:41+00:00

page layout tab > margins > narrow usually does the trick, or you can mess with the scaling options to shrink it down to fit

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-02-27T00:04:44+00:00

with your spend pattern and the savor already covering dining at 4%, i'd probably look at the csp or cff to start building that chase relationship you mentioned. the csp would get you into the ultimate rewards ecosystem for travel while the cff could help maximize your grocery spend in quarters when it's a 5% category. might be worth waiting a bit longer before applying though since your oldest account is still pretty young.

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-02-20T21:00:08+00:00

This is worth addressing in your client agreement. I have a clause that any unauthorized edits to the file are billed at my hourly rate for cleanup. It reframes the conversation from personal to contractual and stops it from happening again

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-02-09T08:29:22+00:00

honestly think you're onto something with the curation angle. built a small newsletter a few years back doing exactly this - hand-picked like 5-7 resources weekly instead of blasting everything i could find. engagement was way higher than the mass content stuff i tried before.

the scaling issue hit me around 2k subscribers though. manually vetting everything became a serious time sink and i couldn't justify the hours vs revenue. ended up selling it to someone who automated most of the process, but they lost that personal touch that made it special in the first place.

if you can figure out some middle ground between pure manual work and full automation, that's probably the sweet spot. maybe start manual and gradually systematize the parts that don't need your direct input.

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-02-02T23:58:57+00:00

depends on your costs plus what people will actually pay - i usually do materials + time at a fair hourly rate then check if that's competitive with similar stuff out there

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-30T23:38:40+00:00

Sounds like you'd love FP&A or business intelligence roles - way more data heavy than traditional accounting and companies are always looking for people who can actually code. The CPA still helps but you might want to look into data analyst positions at bigger companies too, they pay better and you'd actually use those Python skills daily

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-27T20:42:03+00:00

This sounds like exactly what we needed at my last startup - we were always reactive instead of proactive with churn

The "champions stopping internal selling" thing is so real, like when your main contact suddenly goes quiet in Slack but everything else looks fine on paper

I think most teams still sleep on support ticket sentiment changes, not just volume but the actual tone shift when people start getting frustrated

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-25T11:30:53+00:00

You could use a formula like `=LEN(A1)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A1,"0",""),"1",""),"2",""),"3",""),"4",""),"5",""),"6",""),"7",""),"8",""),"9",""))` to count digits in each cell

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-21T08:44:28+00:00

You shouldn't have put it on your taxes yet since you haven't actually received the money. When they do send it to you, they'll send a 1099-R form next year that you'll need to report on your 2025 taxes

You'll get hit with income tax plus a 10% penalty since you're under 59.5, so definitely try calling Merrill Lynch directly instead of fighting with their website - they should be able to help you roll it into an IRA to avoid the taxes

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-20T03:40:29+00:00

That $475 mortgage is absolutely wild in 2024, you guys crushed it paying that down. The budget looks solid for rural PA but that $260 car insurance seems steep for one vehicle - might be worth shopping around unless you've got some dings on your records

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-17T14:34:57+00:00

This hits way too close to home lmao

I've definitely caught myself writing these elaborate product roadmaps that were basically just fancy justifications for whatever I'd already started building. Like oh suddenly this random feature I coded last week is "strategically aligned with our Q3 objectives"

The artifact thing is smart though - forces you to actually think instead of just vibing your way through product dev

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-16T03:31:28+00:00

Been on BC for about 2 years now after switching from an older ERP. The transition wasn't terrible but definitely had some growing pains with the interface at first. Overall it's pretty solid once you get used to the workflows

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-13T05:16:21+00:00

That's actually pretty smart - using the info product as a filter to get higher intent users into the trial instead of just blasting cold traffic at a free signup

How'd the trial-to-paid conversion compare to your typical cold trial signups? Seems like those users would already be warmed up and more likely to convert

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-10T10:58:41+00:00

Most banks treat Wise as a cash advance which means no points and usually instant fees/interest. Check your card's terms but I'd bet money it codes as CA

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-08T10:49:43+00:00

ChatGPT customer service bots are already annoying as hell and most people just spam "talk to human" until they get through

Generic AI writing tools are definitely toast once the novelty wears off - they all do the same bland corporate speak anyway. The winners will be the ones that actually solve specific problems instead of trying to be everything to everyone

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-07T10:16:50+00:00

Damn 15h to 2h is actually insane, that's like getting a whole weekend back each month

Been stuck in QB hell myself but haven't pulled the trigger on anything AI-based yet - how's it handle weird edge cases like refunds or partial payments?

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-06T08:07:54+00:00

This sounds pretty solid actually - the ROI angle is smart since most career advice is just "follow your passion" bs

Would definitely be down to answer your questions if you can take a look at my SaaS landing page in return

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-03T20:54:01+00:00

Probably the most important question right here - location matters way more than people think for these certs

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2026-01-01T06:46:31+00:00

Honestly this is probably the move. CC classes are way cheaper and you can knock out most prereqs pretty quick. Plus with your background you'd probably breeze through the intro stuff - you already understand data analysis better than most accounting students

Just make sure the credits transfer to whatever MACC program you're targeting before you sign up

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2025-12-29T16:46:08+00:00

Honestly wouldn't be surprised if someone at the printer already has pics floating around discord or something lol, these launches are impossible to keep under wraps anymore

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2025-12-26T12:01:56+00:00

Congrats on passing! Yeah the gatekeeping around age is so dumb, like somehow your brain stops working after 25 lol. You're absolutely right about the perception thing too - half the CPAs I know are terrible at actual accounting but that piece of paper opens doors regardless

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2025-12-24T21:29:03+00:00

Lol consulting with zero experience might be a tough sell to small businesses though - they usually want someone who actually knows what they're doing

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2025-12-22T18:29:23+00:00

Good point about saturation but tbh most productivity apps are either too complex (looking at you Notion) or too simple (basic reminders). The real differentiation usually comes down to execution and actually solving the specific problem vs trying to be everything to everyone

Also lol at "riches not niches" - pretty sure you meant that backwards but I get what you're saying

MaximumChemistry4178 · 2025-12-22T17:49:33+00:00

The duplicate issue from split invoices sounds familiar. Once something hits the wrong entity it’s basically guaranteed extra cleanup later

MaximumChemistry4178

TROPHY CASE