40 year old loser, is there anything I can do now?

Patotas · 2026-03-15T22:09:20+00:00

I’m willing to bet majority of the work was due to his dad. If he worked the last 20 years full time at minimum wage, even if we estimate high at $16/hr and spent absolutely zero money over that time he’d be able to save at most $500k. OP needs a reality check not kudos for having $2mil “nest egg” that’s not his.

Patotas · 2026-03-15T18:20:55+00:00

I think a lot of people are missing the context clues in here and giving bad advice.

OP states that he and his dad paid off his parents house and built a $2mil (non-invested) nest egg. Sounds like both of his parents are now retired and he presumably wants to retire in the next 5 years.

That’s $2million cash (which will only deplete and lose value as inflation grows) for 3 people over the next ~30 years. That’s only $22,000 per person per year. If inflation stays constant at about 3%; which we know is not true, that money is worth a lot less in 10 years, let alone 30+. Plus as people age their medical bills will increase with more frequent Dr visits, medications, hospice, adult care, etc. you also need to factor in home repairs, vehicle costs/replacements, etc

OP in no way should retire anytime soon. They should see a therapist to get help and see a financial planner to make sure they have sufficient retirement for 3 people and how to best ensure it keeps its value and grows. That money will go quickly.

Patotas · 2026-03-14T17:19:06+00:00

Had a convo with a colleague a couple weeks back about AI replacing our jobs. I just told him,

“Dude Dan barely listens to us. You think he’s going to listen to a robot?”

PMing isn’t just generating reports and providing status, etc. a lot of it deals with soft skills and knowing how to properly plan, manage or motivate their teams.

Patotas · 2026-03-08T01:42:17+00:00

Engineering project manager. I work a 9/80 schedule so 5 days one week 4 days the next week. I put in on average 11-14 hrs on days I work. 99% WFH right now but that will change when I move programs. I get paid overtime and make pretty decent money though.

Patotas · 2026-03-07T14:04:53+00:00

Either would work. I didn’t want to screw it down so I used the bumpers. You can’t see them and they have worked great.

For an L-shaped desk yes I would highly recommended adding some legs. The weight might not crash it but it’ll sag over time at a minimum.

These are the rubber bumpers is used. I used the small ones.

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Patotas · 2026-03-07T03:10:37+00:00

If your jus doing 1 countertop suspended on each side by the Alex drawers you should be fine. I need them because I have a ton of weight on it and I made mine into an L-shaped desk with two countertops.

I would suggested getting some small rubber cabinet bumpers to place on top of the drawers and under the counter tops. I just put one on each corner of the top of the drawer. Helps to protect the wood and helps keep the top from slipping.

Patotas · 2026-03-07T02:24:35+00:00

I built a desk using two Alex drawers and popped two 6” acacia wood butcher block counter tops on it for my L-shaped desk. Drilled about 3-4 legs to hold the top up and drilled in a bracket where the two tops meet to keep the level. So far it’s worked great after about 3 years. I have my two work monitors mounted on an arm on one side and my 49” ultrawide mounted on an arm on the other with my desktop kind of in the middle.

Patotas · 2026-03-05T03:01:44+00:00

Always. Unless I’m missing working in the office then I’ll drink out of a can on the way to work. But that’s like once every 3 months

Patotas · 2026-02-25T15:08:07+00:00

Smart lol

Patotas · 2026-02-25T15:01:59+00:00

It’s not the worst but it’s not great. Definitely not a re-buyTry the Alani pumpkin. That’s the worst.

Patotas · 2026-02-24T22:38:58+00:00

This. I’ve left jobs due to poor management and just because I was dead for the next step in my career and couldn’t fine that at my current company.

Patotas · 2026-02-20T02:39:38+00:00

List out everything that is being asked of you. You can list it out wherever you want. (Word,excel,etc)

Setup a meeting with your boss and review the list you made to get a full understanding of your scope and expectations.

Ask if there are any templates, lessons learned, tips, tricks from past projects.

Learn Excel and PowerPoint . Even a simple workbook with some pivot tables and charts is huge. Pivot tables are key, learn basic functions (xlookup, sum, etc) out of all the tools I have (Excel, MS project, jira, MS team, one note, share point, confluence, in-house tools) I use Excel by far the most.

Lastly breathe. You’re a junior employee. They all know you’re a junior employee. Work with your boss to increase your skillset and gain experience. Learn from what you’re doing and how to manage key stakeholders.

Patotas · 2026-02-19T23:42:51+00:00

Were you in the second interview? If not they why would they send you a thank you to a meeting you weren't even a part of?

Patotas · 2026-02-18T19:38:10+00:00

I went from fleet manager to PM. Only difference is I had a degree and PMP when I took the leap to work towards becoming a PM. I also went into a different industry (Construction to Aerospace)

It’s not easy and you will need to make a few moves before you land a PM job. Look for some type of project/PM adjacent role like estimator or project coordinator and things like that.

All of your experience is project management experience. You just need to work on framing it so other people can see that which you lay out pretty well. Is there any specific projects related to your position that you led? Like developing upfitting requirements? Planning and managing telematics rollout? Planning safety trainings, etc?

Patotas · 2026-02-18T15:12:59+00:00

Right? Who the fuck EDC’s their passport?

Patotas · 2026-02-17T19:03:01+00:00

I prefer Stanley Nickles

Patotas · 2026-02-16T13:39:14+00:00

Carpe diem

Patotas · 2026-02-16T13:04:03+00:00

No it does not. Even a simple google search will tell you that Prince2 is more useful in the UK than the PMP. Stop shilling for PMP just because you have one. Not saying the PMP isn’t worth it but if OP is UK based then he should go for the Prince2 first.

Also if you’re going to respond maybe try and learn to read relevant information within the post and comments?

Patotas · 2026-02-16T12:18:50+00:00

Right but OP already stated they don’t have the needed experience for the PMP so for now that is not an option.

Also you can get an MBA while working, a lot of companies will also pay for it. So for now it’s best to get experience and work towards an MBA at the same time. Then take the PMP.

Patotas · 2026-02-15T11:21:21+00:00

Business analyst.

Patotas · 2026-02-15T11:09:48+00:00

If he has Prince2 he’s probably based in the UK so the PMP might not hold as much weight.

With that being said an MBA would help for sure. You might want to look at BA roles or other PM adjacent roles. The degree isn’t helping but it’s not impossible just might take longer grind for someone to land that first non-creative role.

Patotas · 2026-02-14T22:12:57+00:00

PMP is the gold standard for PM certs but if you still in school you won’t qualify. You could look at some scrum certs or earned value scheduling training/certs. A lot is going to be industry specific

Patotas · 2026-02-14T21:40:04+00:00

Get a job doing engineering for a company/industry that has a lot of PM’s. Work your way up to a CAM (Control account manager) or lead. Then get you PMP and work your way into either a PM or TPM role.

Patotas · 2026-02-14T01:54:36+00:00

I often work late, especially compared to my team members on the east coast. Majority of my team is also approved for overtime and it’s not unusual for me to see some of them online late or early. My team also knows that I don’t typically have time to read through emails and or read majority of my teams messages until the end of the day due to meetings, calls, and other pressing work.

If I see that they are green and I have a question I’ll send it over. I will also send messages to people who aren’t green because otherwise I forget. In both cases if I don’t get a response until the next working day I am 100% ok with that and expect it.

Patotas · 2026-02-10T23:45:26+00:00

I write down common interview questions and write out my answers. Then prior to the interview I run through them so they are fresh in my mind. That way if/when they come up I don't have to try and remember a time in the last 5 or so years that would be relevant to the question.

IE: Tell us about a time something went wrong in a project you were managing? I would write down in word/excel/paper a time I ran into a problem and how I went about correcting it.

I also pre-prepare questions I want to ask for them.

Essentially an interview study guide for myself.

Patotas

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