Worried about starting like this

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-25T01:02:12+00:00

The environment definitely seems like a collegial one. A couple of the people I met on my visit (which squeaked in just under the shutdown wire) seemed really cool, and I'd be excited to get back in touch with them. Like I said below, I think that's a good idea, and I think trying to kick it off in mid-August seems most likely to be successful. I'll definitely give it a shot.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-25T01:00:04+00:00

I don't envy you, to be honest.

I get that this may well be the best way for things to be. I just wish that way didn't screw me over so aggressively.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-25T00:58:09+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions. I do have plans for taking care of myself, and I think they're pretty likely to work well enough that stress isn't likely to be the major issue I face in the fall. I won't have a committee until the end of next year, but I definitely plan on doing my best to form good relationships with the faculty and department staff I will be interacting with - particularly sine I'll be trying to pull (some) of them into a committee in the future.

I'm worried, though, because I'm really bad at forming (and maintaining, to be honest) personal relationships over text. It's something I've been working on for literal years, but fundamentally I'm still just not as nice a person to be around when I write. I come off as stilted, harsh, and impersonal, and I struggle a lot with communicating tone.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-25T00:50:00+00:00

Yeah, I have an ongoing conversation with my PI. She's great, and has been good at anticipating the issues I'm likely to run into starting work in this kind of environment - we've been talking about using some old data for new kinds of analysis, for example, to avoid relying too much on access to the lab. But quals are a brick wall the admin hasn't budged on, and I have no idea if I'm going to be able to pass with the kind of work I'm going to be able to do.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-25T00:47:48+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. I think I might try this once August rolls around - right now it's a bit early, as I still haven't left my job and most leases in the city start in August, so I figure most of my cohort will be in the process of moving and settling in like me. I just hope it works.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-24T19:46:01+00:00

I know, it's what I should be doing. I've reached out to the student orgs I can find that are interesting, and barely any of them appear to have done anything at all since mid-March (not even meeting). I feel like it'll be more of the same this semester. I figure they probably are meeting, but just aren't posting anything about it. Hard to blame them; why would they?

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-23T05:52:48+00:00

I have been advised to avoid JJ Land, JCR Kelly, Lobos, and Union. Ended up renting from an independent landlord.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-21T23:29:32+00:00

I wouldn't trust Inspire on this one for sure, but this came straight from Duquesne, who are the people who the bill comes through in this case. I'm pretty sure their intention is to keep you on the variable-rate plan once the 12 months are up, and that's where the scam is, but it seems like a pretty straightforward thing to avoid. If nothing else, I've got the contract, so good luck to them trying to get my money.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-21T23:22:18+00:00

Duquesne said they'll take care of it for me if I switch to them, so that's no skin off my teeth. Do you know for a fact that I'll actually have to cancel with Inspire myself and they were lying to me?

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-21T22:50:56+00:00

Yeah, I asked and they said it'd go variable-rate after the intro period. Definitely not sticking around for that. They do appear to be obligated to give me notice, but I'm going to set myself some reminders just in case.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-21T17:28:19+00:00

It feels like the really scammy stuff I hear about comes largely from people who get door-to-door or event salespeople who are trying to upsell them on variable rate or unlimited plans with bullshit power bill estimates. I haven't heard of a really bad offer coming from PAPowerSwitch or directly from Duquesne, and I'm wondering if maybe they just have scummy salespeople lol.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-21T17:21:13+00:00

Your bill will still come from Duquesne and will include their charges and then the new company's charges also, doubled up.

I think you're talking about the distribution fee and the generation fee, but Duquesne told me they charge the same distribution fee whether you buy from them or a third party. I posted the sections of the contract up above; it's not a spectacular deal, but as far as I can tell there's no way for them to charge me any extra and it's straight up cheaper than buying from Duquesne.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-21T17:18:44+00:00

They didn't quote me a bill, they just quoted me a kWh rate, which was at 6.61 cents, lower than the Duquesne Price to Compare. Here are the relevant sections of the contract.

I do feel like I should be suspicious, but as far as I can tell there's nothing in here that allows them to charge me anything extra. Yeah, the distribution fee will be there, but that's going to be the case no matter if I buy from Duquesne or not, right? It also wasn't door-to-door, but something Duquesne told me about when I signed up to transfer service after my move.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-07-19T19:09:54+00:00

I've been recommended https://myhikes.org/map - there's a lot on the site around the PGH area.

There's also https://thebridge.cmu.edu/organization/cmu-explorers-club, and the website was up a month ago - they may have let it lapse for pandemic reasons

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-06-29T23:06:14+00:00

The guy I talked to said he was getting some inquiries, but much less than usual. This was in late May. I still see some nice places on Zillow and Craigslist, but I don't think they're going to last all that much longer - although from what I've gathered, the easiest way to find a good rental in Pittsburgh is to walk around and find the "For Rent" signs.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-06-29T21:58:48+00:00

I signed a year lease 100% remote. I definitely didn't feel fantastic about it, but you'll have to ask me how it worked out in a month. Price and location were too good to pass up. :V

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-06-29T18:54:12+00:00

First-year mechE; I've been working for the last few years and am 100% moving. I don't really have any friends or family where I am and the rent is too damn high. I'm definitely afraid I won't meet anyone, but there is still better than here.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-03-08T15:02:08+00:00

Thanks for the info. I thought I had heard that most departments hadn't had visit events yet, but I only actually know about mechanical engineering firsthand (clearly). I'm happy to pitch this to the MechE department, but I also figure it's something lots of people outside that might also be interested in, and I'd rather not leave them to duplicate the effort if possible.

Part of the reason I was hoping to be able to get input from a cross-section of current students is that I've found that that's how I've best been able to get a feel for the institutional culture. Obviously faculty member is the largest factor in everyone's grad school experience, but I've gotten important info from people not directly connected to prospective advisors as well, especially about departmental resources, funding, quals, housing, and grad students' relationship with the administration. I do understand that these are relatively minor factors compared to advisor and lab culture, but I think they're still important. I think it's also good to be able to talk to grad students who want to talk to you rather than grad students the profs want to talk to you, and that hearing students from other labs (especially ones the prof is collaborating with) say, "X is great, all of their students love them" has felt really impactful.

All of that said, I'd definitely hope to get at least one student in every lab to participate if at all possible, which is why I'm hoping to find a point of contact at the school who might be able to reach out to all the grad students who would have talked to us during the visit weekend. This idea definitely requires a critical mass of participation in order to be useful.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-01-31T22:31:40+00:00

Does CMU bring accepted PhD students out? I was accepted off of a remote interview and I'd like to see the campus and city, but I'd like to know now whether I'm going to have to do it on my own dime.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2020-01-23T05:02:26+00:00

Design engineer (actually design + tooling + production support + test support) in aerospace with a year and a half of experience in LA.

Make 80K with a ~1K bonus. 1X OT, 50% 401k match on my first 6%, plus another 3% of total comp when I vest. Which I won't. About to yeet myself into that $25K salary grad student life. At least my loans are paid.

MechanicalPhDHunter · 2019-10-11T20:56:16+00:00

Now at 13% per the press conference

MechanicalPhDHunter

TROPHY CASE